BJP MLAs 'attack' Dy Speaker; 'bid to diminish, insult Dalits '

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed chaotic and unruly scenes as angry BJP legislators tore copies of bills and the agenda, and threw them at the Deputy Speaker, who was presiding, following which Speaker UT Khader suspended 10 of them for the reminder of the session.

Minister Priyank Kharge strongly criticised the behavior of BJP MLAs during the assembly session, expressing deep concern over their disrespectful treatment towards the Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani, who happens to be a Dalit.

Kharge condemned this act as not only deplorable but also reflective of BJP's mindset. In fact, the Deputy Speaker himself, hailing from the marginalised Tanda community in the state, acknowledged the honour bestowed upon him in assuming the position.

The BJP members' act of throwing papers at the Deputy Speaker serves to exhibit their ideological stance and is seen as an attempt to diminish, insult and demoralize the Dalit community, says Kharge.

Kharge also highlighted that although he had protested on the assembly floor during the previous government's rule, he had never resorted to such behaviour, unlike the BJP MLAs' actions on Wednesday.

Kharge firmly demanded that they immediately apologize to the Deputy Speaker for their actions. In turn, MLAs of the opposition BJP and JD(S) gave notice of no confidence against Speaker Khader to the Assembly Secretary.

The turn of events unfolded after both the opposition parties staged a protest in the assembly against the Congress government for allegedly "misusing" IAS officers to work for the meeting of leaders of 26 opposition parties, which was held in Bengaluru in the past two days.

The 10 BJP legislators who have been suspended for the reminder of the session for their "indecent and disrespectful conduct" in the House are --C N Ashwath Narayan, V Sunil Kumar, R Ashoka, Araga Jnanendra (all former ministers), D Vedavyasa Kamath, Yashpal Suvarna, Dheeraj Muniraj, A Umanath Kotian, Arvind Bellad and Y Bharath Shetty.

They were suspended after the House adopted a motion to this effect. A few of the suspended BJP MLAs were forcibly taken out of the assembly chambers by marshals. BJP members gave vent to their anger as Deputy Speaker was conducting the proceedings, after Speaker Khader left stating that the House would not break for lunch and the discussion on the Budget and demands would continue.

He said that those members who want to go for lunch could do so and return for the discussions. The Speaker's decision not to break for lunch was seen as an attempt to put the agitating BJP MLAs in a fix, as they now had to decide whether or not to continue their protest.

Upset by this, the BJP members went into a huddle for a brief period and then, all of a sudden, threw papers at the Chair and the Deputy Speaker stating that the House cannot be run like this.

As several members repeatedly threw papers at the Deputy Speaker, objecting to the way in which the House was being conducted, assembly marshals surrounded the Chair and tried to protect Lamani.

At one point, Lamani ordered the marshalls to send the unruly BJP MLAs out, and said their behaviour was unbecoming.

The Congress MLAs too strongly objected to the "unruly" behaviour of the BJP MLAs, resulting in chaos. The Deputy Speaker then adjourned the house for the later part of the day