Karnataka: BJP, JD(S) jointly submit no-confidence notice against Speaker UT Khader

The BJP and JD(S) on Wednesday submitted a notice seeking a no-confidence motion against Speaker UT Khader, less than two months after he was unanimously elected as the presiding officer.

The Speaker who was elected unopposed has lost the trust of the members of the House, the notice submitted to the Assembly secretary stated.

The notice is signed by MLAs, including HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S).

Speaking to reporters, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai condemned the "dictatorial" manner in which Khader suspended 10 BJP MLAs.

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"Instead of facing the protest by the Opposition leaders, the Speaker made Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani to sit. If Lamani faced any inconvenience in the process, the Speaker is responsible for it," Bommai alleged, adding that they had begun a fight against the Congress' dictatorial regime in the Assembly and they would continue the fight by taking it to the public. "People are already regretting for voting for this government," he said.

Bommai also charged that the Speaker is acting like "a puppet" of the ruling Congress.

Khader has attracted the wrath of the Opposition for allegedly attending dinner with Congress leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and others. "If the Speaker is hobnobbing with Congress leaders to discuss politics, how can he be expected to run the House in an impartial manner?" former minister V Sunil Kumar said.