February 15, 2007
 

Ambareesh quits Lok Sabha in protest

'Sandalwood' angry-young-man, grandson of the legendary violinist Chowdiah, Mandya MP and Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, MH Ambareesh resigned from his Lok Sabha seat, in protest over the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's ruling last week.

He made it clear that power didn't interest him and that he wanted to do his bit to benefit the Kaveri basin farmers of Karnataka.

I hope he lives upto his words and doesn't seek re-election, when a by-election will be announced. I've said it earlier, and I'll say it again. When legislators resign their seats in protest, while switching parties, to score brownie points, or on technicalities, the state must not bear the expenses of the by-election in case they put themselves up as candidates.

In fact, I'm of the opinion that in such situations, those who've resigned must not be allowed to contest any election until the tenure of the legislature completes.

We saw Sonia Gandhi, Chandrasekhar Rao and Siddaramiah do this in the recent past. Now, Navjot Singh Sidhu, is contesting the by-election for the Amritsar constituency. He was convicted by the Punjab & Haryana High Court in December for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but obtained a Supreme Court stay on the conviction.

Labels: cauvery, elections, karnataka, kaveri, lok sabha, resignation, water