Eshwarappa’s resignation row washes away session

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Proceedings in both Houses of the State Legislature were washed out for the fifth day on Monday with Congress members continuing their dharna demanding the ouster of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K.S.Eshwarappa for allegedly insulting the national Tricolor.

As soon as the Legislative Assembly session started, Congress members trooped into the well of the House demanding the sacking of Eshwarappa. Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri requested the MLAs to resume their seats to take up the obituary reference to condole the death of veteran Kannada actor , Rajesh to which they agreed. After that, the members returned to the well and raised slogans against the government and Eshwarappa. Amidst the din, several bills were passed by a voice vote. Kageri’s request to Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah to call off the stir and speak on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address, failed to yield results. The slogan shouting members continued to disrupt the proceedings which forced the Speaker to adjourn the House till 11 am on Tuesday.

It was a similar scene in the Legislative Council with Congress MLCs staging a dharna in the well for the fifth consecutive day. Chairman Basavaraj Horatti’s request to participate in the obituary reference was honoured. Once it was over, Congress members resumed their dharna. Horatti then adjourned the House till 11 am on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, MLAs and MLCs belonging to Janata Dal (Secular) staged a dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Vidhana Soudha premises demanding the adjournment of both Houses for the fifth consecutive day. They slammed the ruling BJP for its ineffectiveness and the opposition Congress for disrupting the House for ‘selfish reasons.’ The protest was held as per the directions of former CM and JD(S) leader, H.D. Kumaraswamy and was led by Sakleshpur MLA and State JD(S) President H.K. Kumaraswamy and core committee president Bandeppa Kashempur. The state government was accused of not properly handling the session, they said while slamming the Congress Party for its ‘opportunistic politics.’

Later, talking to reporters, Kumaraswamy said the two national parties, Congress and BJP have disappointed people of Karnataka by not taking up any of their problems. “We wanted to discuss people’s problems in the House but the BJP and Congress did not allow it. The lives of people have been affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation has not improved yet. In the name of the hijab-saffron shawl, there is a confrontation among communities. Educational institutions have turned into places where animosity prevails. The JD(S) wanted to discuss all these issues in the House”.The former CM felt the Speaker should have sent out the agitating MLAs or MLCs from the Assembly and Council to allow the Houses to run smoothly. Another option for Kageri was to adjourn the House sine die. The session started last Monday and so far, no consultation has been held with the people concerned. In the current situation, there was no need to convene the House at all. It is the right of members to discuss problems of their constituencies and wasting people’s money in the name of an overnight dharna is not acceptable, he added.