BANGALORE: The former Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister D.B. Chandre Gowda said on Monday that Legislative Assembly Speaker Krishna should review his decision to recognise H.D. Kumaraswamy as Leader of the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party.

Addressing presspersons here, he alleged that Mr. Krishna failed to follow the procedure, and there was confusion about the exact number of MLAs who were supporting Mr. Kumaraswamy.

Mr. Chandre Gowda said there was confusion on whether the anti-defection Act had been amended to raise the number of MLAs required for the recognition of a split in a party to two-thirds of its members, from one-third. Janata Dal (S) President H.D. Deve Gowda should have given details to the Speaker. M.P. Prakash, he said, claimed that he was leader of the Janata Dal Legislature Party (S), and Mr. Deve Gowda had written to the Governor not to recognise Mr. Kumaraswamy as leader of the JDLP, he added.

Mr. Chandre Gowda criticised the Speaker for his "hasty" decision to declare Mr. Kumaraswamy as Leader of the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party. The session was convened for testing the majority of the N. Dharam Singh Government. How could Mr. Singh table the motion of confidence when there was commotion, he asked.

Mr. Chandre Gowda, who functioned as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1983, alleged that Mr. Krishna failed to discharge his constitutional duty impartially.

He blamed Mr. Deve Gowda for the collapse of the coalition government, and charged him with enacting a drama to install his son as Chief Minister. Mr. Deve Gowda, he said, planned his move when the Janata Dal (S) was defeated in the zilla and taluk panchayat elections. On the non-induction of an MP from the State in the Union Ministry in Sunday's reshuffle, he said it may be punishment for the State unit for losing power. "I am unhappy that Karnataka, which is a Congress bastion, has not got due representation in the Union Council of Ministers," he added.

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