Sulking Vishwanath to move SC, hits out at BJP colleagues

Faced with a political setback, BJP MLC AH Vishwanath on Tuesday said that he would move Supreme Court against the High Court ruling that he cannot be inducted as a minister since his disqualification was intact.

The High Court on Monday ruled that Vishwanath’s disqualification continued even after he was nominated to the Legislative Council and, thus, cannot be inducted into the Cabinet as per Articles 164 (1-B) and Article 361-B of the Constitution.

“While I welcome the High Court verdict, I will move the Supreme Court with an appeal against it,” Vishwanath said.

“My membership is unaffected, but the question here is me becoming a minister, which is an office-of-profit and all that. I’m yet to get the full text of the HC order and I’m in touch with my lawyers,” he said.

Vishwanath led the “mutiny” of Congress-JD(S) legislators last year, which saw the resignation and disqualification of 17 legislators, including himself, leading to the BJP coming to power. Vishwanath, along with other rebels, had camped in Mumbai during the protracted political drama.

Vishwanath was with the JD(S) before jumping ship to the BJP. In December 2019, Vishwanath contested the bypoll from Hunsur and lost.

In July this year, a sulking Vishwanath was nominated to the Legislative Council under the ‘litterateur’ quota. He has penned a few books. Vishwanath minced no words in making his disgruntlement clear on his situation.

“In June, four names were approved by the BJP core committee and sent to Delhi for the MLC elections. My name was on top, followed by MTB Nagaraj, R Shankar, and Pratap Simha Nayak. When the list came back, my name had been replaced with Sunil Vallyapur. It’s still a mystery,” Vishwanath said, adding that he took this up with Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

“He pointed to Delhi. It was the Sangh Parivar’s support that got me nominated. But, I should’ve been elected.”

Vishwanath’s political journey began as a youth leader with the Congress, which he quit in 2017 to join the JD(S). He was first elected as MLA in 1978. He won four of the ten Assembly polls that he contested. He was also Mysore-Kodagu MP.

“I've served as a minister in the Veerappa Moily and SM Krishna governments. What happened last year was a mutiny. It wasn’t so that I could become a minister in another government. We resigned to put an end to the demonic, dynastic politics in the state,” he said.