Ready to quit, but need to know if I was right: Shetty

A day after the Legislative Council witnessed unprecedented scenes, Chairperson K Pratapachandra Shetty on Wednesday offered to resign on condition that he does not go out as the bad guy.

“I have no intention of causing a constitutional crisis. When there is no majority on my side, I am obliged to resign. But it has to be officially made clear that I was acting in conformity with rules and that there was no error of judgement or procedural lapse from my end,” Shetty told DH, adding that either the Governor or the court should provide clarity on this. “We will have to wait and see.”

Going by Shetty’s stand, the tussle is likely to drag on with both the ruling BJP and the Congress exploring the next steps, which may include a legal battle. The government might also consider taking a Cabinet decision to re-convene the Council.

There is pressure on Shetty to quit, especially after the BJP and JD(S) joined hands to move a no-confidence motion against him, leaving the Congress without numbers to save the chairman’s seat.

Shetty, whom the BJP has accused of arbitrarily rejecting its notice to move the no-confidence motion against him, said his decision was based on legal advice.

There was no legal provision for the motion to be taken up for discussion, Shetty pointed out. “The House was convened with the intention of taking up Bills and questions and answers,” he added.

On December 15, the Legislative Council turned into a wrestling ring as BJP, Congress and JD(S) members brawled over the no-trust motion against
Shetty.

Lamenting the incident, Shetty said it was unusual to see the deputy chairman of the JD(S) take the seat. “I felt it was not right to enter the House when he was sitting in the chair. Hence, I stayed in my chamber. Then, the secretary informed me that the situation was going out of hand. That is when I adjourned the session,”
he said.

That the JD(S) would side with the Congress was another unexpected turn. “When I was elected in 2018, the Congress had 37 members (majority). A week later, the deputy chairman was elected with Congress’ support. We naturally assumed that we had their support. I would have 100% resigned had the JD(S) announced its stand earlier. I couldn’t have resigned when only 11 members signed and moved the motion,” Shetty said.