Former chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti has said that he was deeply pained by the developments that led to his resignation to the post.

Speaking to press persons at his home office in Hubballi on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), Mr. Horatti said that after 1956, it was the first time that such a development of seeking resignation had taken place.

Recalling the developments on the day of his resignation, Mr. Horatti said: “After the chief minister asked for my resignation, I had conveyed to him during my meeting with him that I will resign on August 14, the day the House commences its proceedings after the condolence motion on August 13. However, on August 7, the CM, the KPCC President and around 20 legislators — including Saleem Ahmed who was chosen to succeed me — came into the annexe and sat there for over an hour insisting that I resign immediately”.

“I tried to convince them that I will anyway tender my resignation on August 14, which I had already announced and was also published in the media, but they were in no mood to listen and insisted I should resign immediately. They also got the resignation letter typed. I didn’t want to have any confrontation and to calm down situation, I signed the resignation letter,” he said.

As per Section 183, the Chairman should tender his resignation to the Deputy Chairman. “As the position was vacant, I wanted to complete the process of the Deputy Chairman’s appointment and then tender my resignation to him,” Mr. Horatti said.

“As the sudden developments shocked me, I wrote a letter to the Governor informing him about the incidents that led to my resignation. It was not a complaint but I wanted to inform him about the developments. Appointment of Pro-tem Chairman was indicative of acceptance of the resignation,” he added.

Mr Horatti said that Karnataka Legislative Council had been a model to the whole country and it was painful to see such a development. “What is more painful is that I was not allowed to make a parting speech through which I wanted to thank the House for the cooperation extended to me during my tenure as Chairman,” he said.

He added that the Congress’s announcement of the candidate’s name for the Chairman’s post in its party letterhead was wrong and should not have been done, as it was a Constitutional post. On his next move, Mr. Horatti said he would continue to participate in the House proceedings as a member.

Published - August 11, 2026 03:56 pm IST