The Karnataka Congress on Monday requested the Supreme Court hearing the MLA disqualification case to take on record a fresh audio clip in which chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa is purportedly referring to rebel MLAs.

A bench headed by Justice N. V. Ramana said it will consult Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for constituting the bench tomorrow to consider the fresh material given by the Karnataka Congress.

A purported audio clip of Yediyurappa expressing anguish against leaders at a recent party meeting in Hubballi over their opposition to giving tickets to disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs for the December 5 bypolls in 15 Assembly constituencies had surfaced on Friday.

In the audio, he is purportedly saying that the rebel Congress JD(S) MLAs, who were later disqualified, were kept in Mumbai during the final days of the coalition government under BJP national president Amit Shah's watch.

He had purportedly hit out at party leaders for lack of support in 'saving' the BJP government and not recognising their 'sacrifice,' behind party coming to power.

Meanwhile, Yediyurappa on Monday said the party had nothing to do with the disqualification and the state Congress was free to take whatever steps they wished.

'We have no connection with the resignation of the 17 disqualified MLAs. Further, what they want to do is left to them,' Yediyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru.

The chief minister alleged that Siddaramaiah had doctored the audio clipping in a bid to create 'confusion' among people.

'Just see to what extent he has gone! He says Union home minister Amit Shah too has to resign. He should be ashamed of saying so,' Yediyurappa said.

'When you were responsible for their resignation, how suitable it is for your stature to level baseless charges against the BJP?' asked Yediyurappa.

Bypolls to 15 out of 17 seats represented by disqualified MLAs, whose resignation and absence from trust vote led to the fall of Congress-JD(S) coalition government and made way for BJP to come to power, will be held on December 5.

Amid opposition from local party leaders in these 15 constituencies, Yediyurappa had recently assured that tickets would be given to the disqualified MLAs if they wished to contest for BJP and had appointed party contenders for the tickets there as heads of boards and corporations.

Stating that it was a different matter whether the BJP wins or loses an election, he had said the disqualified MLAs have given the party an opportunity to come to power by resigning the MLA's posts and have even moved the Supreme Court with a plea that their resignations be accepted.

After the fall of the coalition government, the then speaker K. R. Ramesh Kumar had disqualified them as MLAs, ruling that they cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in 2023). The disqualified MLAs have challenged it in the Supreme Court.

The top court had on October 25 reserved verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the disqualification of 17 Karnataka MLAs before the trust vote moved by the previous H. D. Kumaraswamy government.