Won or lost? Cong confused on SC Karnataka verdict

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17

The Congress appeared confused today about whether it had won the Karnataka case in the Supreme Court or lost it.

While party’s chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala in a series of tweets called the order a terrible precedent indicating a loss for the Congress, his senior colleague Abhishek Singhvi said, “We have won 90 per cent of the case we argued.”

Surjewala earlier said, “SC’s order nullifying the whip and by extension, operation of Constitution’s 10th Schedule (anti-defection law) to punish MLAs betraying the public mandate, sets a terrible judicial precedent! Tragic that SC didn’t appreciate the context and designed history of defections to subvert democratic mandates by Modi government over last 5 years.”

“SC should recall own judgment of May 2016 striking down the illegal attempt of the BJP in Uttarakhand to form government. Blanket protection to MLAs, who are driven not by ideology, but by far baser concerns, is unheard of,” Surjewala tweeted, arguing that the SC had nullified the whip.

Singhvi, who represented Karnataka Speaker in the SC today, however, argued the opposite. He said the BJP was spreading misinformation on the verdict. “Political sixers are being scored on what’s a purely legal matter where the SC had upheld the Constitution,” he said.

“Ninety per cent of what we argued was that the Speaker should decide the fate of rebel MLAs. The SC had said the Speaker’s right cannot be fettered. So now the Speaker will decide when he wants – either disqualify the MLAs or accept their resignations. It is Speaker’s call. There’s no whip in force right now and what happens in future was not the subject matter of the SC. Where is the question of acting on a whip which has not even been issued yet?” Singhvi said.