A group of rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday against the Karnataka Speaker, alleging that KR Ramesh Kumar has failed in his “constitutional duty” by not accepting their resignations.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took note of the submission of senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi and assured him that it will see whether their petition can be listed for an urgent hearing on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, a high drama was witnessed outside the Mumbai hotel after Congress leader DK Shivakumar was stopped from entering the hotel where rebel lawmakers are stationed.
Shivakumar told reporters that he had booked a room in the hotel but was not being permitted inside.
According to the reports, the rebel MLAs had written to the police expressing fears of threat during the visit of Shivakumar to the city and have asked for protection from him.
“We are staying at Hotel Renaissance Powai in Mumbai. We have heard that HD Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar are going to storm the hotel premises and we feel threatened because of the same. Kind request to help us in this matter and do not allow them to enter the hotel premises,” the rebels had written to the Mumbai police last night.
Shivakumar said that he would not leave without meeting the MLAs.
Since last week, the 13-month-old Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka has been fighting for survival with several exits.
