Can\'t work at lightning speed, need to examine resignations: K\'taka Speaker
SC on Thursday had ordered the Speaker to meet rebel MLAs and decide whether he would accept their resignation or not.
New Delhi: On Thursday, ten rebel Karnataka lawmakers rewrote their resignation and if those are accepted, the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition will be in minority.
"They have submitted their resignations," Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar told reporters after the one-hour meeting, reported NDTV.
Read | K'taka crisis: Cong-JD(S) MLAs to tender resignations afresh to Speaker
Asked whether he had accepted the resignations, the Speaker said: "You cannot expect me to work at lightning speed. I have to go through the procedure as per the constitution. I need to examine these resignations all night and ascertain if they are genuine."
Earlier, Kumar had rejected the resignations on grounds of wrong formats.
The Supreme Court on Thursday had ordered the Speaker to meet rebel MLAs and decide whether he would accept their resignation or not.
Read | 'Meet MLAs today,' SC denies K'taka Speaker's request for more time
A group of 11 rebel lawmakers resigned on Saturday and five more have quit since then. After examining the letters on Tuesday, Kumar rejected eight, asking the lawmakers to meet him on July 17.
The HD Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka coalition, which came to power in May last year, is hanging on to power by the fingernails after 18 resignations since last week.
The coalition's 118 members will come down to 100 and the majority mark will drop from 113 to 105. The BJP has 105 members and the support of the two Independents, which takes its tally to 107.