New Delhi: Till Tuesday, both the disgruntled elements (13 MLAs in Karnataka who had tendered their resignations) and the government can breathe easy.

The Supreme Court which continued hearing the case on resignations of rebel Karnataka MLAs on Tuesday (July 1) has asked Speaker Ramesh Kumar not to accept the resignations nor disqualify the MLAs.

As the hearing began, sparks flew thick and fast as the counsels representing all the three parties made their points.

Here’s a breakdown of the arguments:

Arguments of Mukul Rohatgi, counsel for rebel MLAs

The Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly blatantly lied in the presser which he held on Thursday (July 11). What he did is a violation of the fundamental rights of the rebel MLAs. By not following the diktat of the Supreme Court, he has committed contempt of court. How can a whip be issued when the MLAs have resigned? Please issue a contempt of notice against the Speaker.

Arguments of Abhishek Singh, counsel for the Speaker

The Speaker hasn’t run away from his duty. He has given the rebel MLAs time to hear their side of the story. Moreover, he has also said he is bound by the verdicts of the Supreme Court, but in certain cases, he says the Supreme Court can’t direction based on article 190 of the Indian Constitution. The very aim of these rebel MLAs is to weaken the government and side with the BJP. They are hand-in-glove with the BJP. If government falls, 10 rebel MLAs who are in Mumbai, will become ministers in BJP government. So, the disqualification case must be first decided by the Speaker.

Arguments of Rajiv Dhawan, counsel for chief minister HD Kumaraswamy

The Governor has no right to interfere in the issue. With the drama being enacted by the rebel MLAs, they have only reintroduced resort politics in the state. When the Speaker has given dates to them to hear the cases, what was the need for them to do all these things? It is not appropriate for the Supreme Court to have taken up the case.

Interim order by the Supreme Court

Maintain status quo till Tuesday, July 16. As the issue involved a lot of sensitive issues (whether Supreme Court can intervene or not and issue directions) the Speaker can neither accept the resignations nor disqualify the rebel MLAs.