Ramesh Kumar, Karnataka Assembly Speaker, resigns after Yediyurappa wins floor test

Bengaluru: Ramesh Kumar, the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly has resigned.

For the last week or so, he had hit the headlines for taking the harsh step of disqualifying all the rebel MLAs of the Congress-JD(S) coalition for the end of the term, till May 2023.

Today (July 29), after the new chief minister BS Yediyurappa proved his majority on the floor of the house and the financial bill was passed, bringing massive relief to government employees, the Speaker spoke eloquently and poignantly, stressing upon the need to lead a clean public life and becoming the voice for the voiceless.

His swansong speech touched upon the imperativeness to have a relook into the tenth schedule of the Indian Constitution of the anti-defection law.

The Speaker said, “There is an urgent need to have a total relook into the anti-defection law. I think it is not serving its purpose.”

To the tenth schedule, the Speaker also added that the Representation of People Act should also be overhauled.

The Speaker also urged the Election Commission to strengthen laws related to declaration of the assets of the candidates.

He said, “For example, if I declare that I have assets worth Rs 380 crore through an affidavit, they should question me as to how I got it. Presently, they leave it at that point. They should initiate an enquiry and make the guilty naked in front of the public.”     

Ramesh Kumar is a six-term MLA from Srinivaspur, near Kolar, Karnataka. He is a member of the Congress. He started off his political career in the seventies. He even joined the JP movement. Later, he got into the Janata Dal and finally got back into Congress.

Ramesh Kumar is also a familiar name in the world of television. He has acted in a number of Kannada soap operas.

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