The Congress on Wednesday was divided over the Supreme Court order on the Karnataka rebel MLAs, with senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi claiming victory but the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala describing it as a “terrible judicial precedent”. In a series of tweets, Mr. Surjewala reminded the Supreme Court of its May 2016 order regarding defections in Uttarakhand, while Mr. Singhvi, who represented Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.R. Mr. Surjewala, soon after the interim order was given, took to Twitter to argue that nullifying the whip had provided “blanket protection” to the rebel MLAs. Mr. Surjewala, who is also a lawyer, argued that the top court’s order abandoned the principle of separation of powers. Mr Singhvi, however, argued that the court order empowers the Speaker to act on the disqualification petitions that were moved by the Congress previously, some of which are pending since February.

Source: The Hindu July 17, 2019 17:03 UTC