Election for Speaker to be held today

Team Udayavani, May 25, 2018, 10:15 AM IST

Bengaluru: K.R. Ramesh Kumar from the Congress-JD(S) and S. Suresh Kumar from the BJP filed their nomination papers for the election of the post of the Speaker, at the Legislative Assembly Secretariat here on Thursday. The election is scheduled to be held on Friday afternoon. Suresh Kumar has served as the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the BJP government while Ramesh Kumar served as the Speaker from 1994 to 1999.

Though Suresh Kumar is confident of winning the election, the coalition leaders seem to think otherwise. Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asked if BJP State President B.S. Yeddyurappa failed to win the trust vote, how a BJP nominee could possibly win the Speaker’s post. He also hoped Suresh Kumar would withdraw his nomination. Deputy CM Dr. Parameshwara opined that Ramesh Kumar should be unanimously elected as the Speaker, owing to his experience and his unbiased behaviour.

The Speaker’s election is likely to commence at 12:15 pm, followed by the Deputy Speaker’s election. The candidate who gets the majority votes from among the members present will be declared the winner. For the post of the Deputy Speaker, JD(S) MLA Srinivas Gowda is likely to contest for the post. After the election, the vote of confidence motion will be moved by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. He has also stated that he would respond to allegations against the coalition government on the floor of the House, when he moves the confidence motion.

Meanwhile, Legislative Council Chairman D.H. Shankarmurthy refused to accept the resignation of Parameshwara as a member of the Council. He stated that Parameshwara ceased to be a member of the Council after he took oath as a member of the Legislative Assembly (as the Deputy Chief Minister). He cited provisions of the Karnataka Legislature (Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership) Act of 1956.