Vishwanath’s nomination to Council violates SC ruling, contends S.R. Mahesh

MYSURU

Former Minister and JD(S) MLA representing K.R. Nagar Assembly segment in Mysuru S.R. Mahesh on Friday contended that the nomination of former Minister A.H. Vishwanath to the Legislative Council was ‘illegal’ and ‘violative’ of the Supreme Court order.

He said at a press conference here that he would be writing not only to Governor Vajubhai Vala bringing to his notice the ‘illegality’, but also to the Chairperson of the Legislative Council Pratap Chandra Shetty cautioning him against administering the oath of office to the former Minister.

Mr. Mahesh has a running feud with Mr. Vishwanath whom he had earlier accused of accepting illegal gratification from the BJP for changing sides, leading to the two leaders daring each other for a truth test in Chamundeshwari temple.

After Mr. Vishwanath’s nomination to the Upper House, Mr. Mahesh contended that the Supreme Court, which had upheld the disqualification of the MLAs by the then Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, had permitted them to re-enter the Legislature only after a re-election and not through a nomination. As per the apex court order, there is no place for Mr. Vishwanath in the Legislative Council or in any State-run board or corporation, he contended.

He accused Mr. Vishwanath of securing nomination by ‘blackmailing’ the BJP government through his threat of penning a book titled “Bombay Days” to unravel the behind-the-scenes exercises that had taken place to unseat the H.D. Kumaraswamy-led coalition government and install the B.S. Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka.

However, Mr. Mahesh clarified that he will not go to court questioning the nomination of Mr. Vishwanath. “I will leave it to the people’s court to decide”, he said.

Describing Mr. Vishwanath’s nomination as a ‘tragedy’ in Karnataka politics, Mr. Mahesh said the BJP had ‘dishonoured’ the literary field by nominating the former Minister under the writer’s category.