Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar resigned from the legislative post on Monday, 14 months after he was unanimously elected as the Speaker. Following his resignation from the prestigious post, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader KG Bopaiah is expected to take his charge on Wednesday, July 31.
Bopaiah is seen as a confidant of CM BS Yediyurappa.
Bopaiah who was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since his childhood, went on to become an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad during college days. Bopaiah was arrested during the Emergency in Bangalore and imprisoned along with other opposition activists.
He went on to serve as the BJP’s pro tem Speaker and as the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Before resigning, the KR Ramesh – veteran Congress lawmaker from Kolar assembly segment, about 100 km east of Bengaluru, presided over the proceedings that included the BJP’s Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa moving and winning the confidence motion by voice vote, approving the finance bill for the state budget for fiscal 2019-20 and its appropriation estimates.
“As I have to rush to Hyderabad to attend the last rites of Congress veteran Jaipal Reddy, who passed away on Sunday, I seek the permission of all the members to leave the House, handing over the chair to Deputy Speaker Krishna Reddy of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).
Though Kumar has been in the spotlight throughout this month for his conduct inside and outside the Assembly during the political crisis that gripped the southern state, his decision to disqualify 17 rebel legislators of the Congress and the JD-S on July 25 and July 28 made him controversial. The rebels and the BJP criticised him, terming his decision one-sided, bad in law and against the spirit of the Constitution.
With inputs from IANS
