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Updated: Jul 17, 2019 14:05 IST

The Karnataka rebel MLAs, holed up in a Mumbai hotel since their resignations on July 7, said in a video message that there was ‘no question’ of going for the trust vote scheduled on Thursday. This came hours after the Supreme Court ruled that the lawmakers could not be compelled to attend the floor test.

Of the 15 legislators putting up in the Renaissance hotel, 12 could be seen in the recorded video sent from the hotel. BC Patil, one of the rebel Congress MLA, said: “The decision of the honourable Supreme Court. We all honour it. We stick by our decision (resignation) and there is no question of going back at any cost. No question of going to the assembly.”

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However, according to sources, there is also a lingering fear among many rebel MLAs that the SC, which also acknowledged the Speaker’s right to decide on their resignations, may go against them.

In an interim order passed to maintain ‘constitutional balance’, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said while no time frame can be set for the Speaker to take a decision on the resignations, the lawmakers also could not be forced to attend the trust vote. The court said that the Speaker could not be ‘fettered’ with court directions.

Sixteen MLAs — 13 from the Congress and three from JD(S) — have quit since July 7, pushing the Congress-JD(S) coalition government to the brink of collapse.

The state has witnessed many twists and turns since then with MLAs being ferried to safe destinations for fear of poaching by rival camps.