The former Minister C. Puttarangashetty has turned down the post of Deputy Speaker offered to him.
“I will not accept the post of the Deputy Speaker,” he told reporters at his native in Chamarajanagar district, near here, on Sunday.
He said the voters of his constituency had appealed to him against accepting the post as he would not be accessible to them if he were to become the Deputy Speaker.
If he were to accept the post of the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Puttarangashetty said he would find it difficult to keep in touch with the voters of his constituency.
“So, I will not accept it,” said Mr. Puttarangashetty, who claimed he had been assured of a ministerial berth during his visit to Delhi recently.
Mr. Puttarangashetty defeated BJP’s V. Somanna in a crucial electoral battle in Chamarajanagar constituency in the recent Assembly elections.
Though he had informed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of his inability to become the Deputy Speaker, the latter had insisted him to accept it. “I had told him that I will ask the people of my constituency and let him know…,” he said before adding that the voters of his constituency were against the idea of him accepting the post.
