Karnataka Assembly speaker U.T. Khader on Wednesday suspended 10 BJP MLAs till the end of the ongoing Legislature session for “unruly behaviour” in the House and for showing disrespect to the chair by flinging torn copies of the bills at the chair.
Interestingly, both the BJP and the JD(S) have issued notice seeking to move a no confidence motion against the Speaker. The suspended MLAs are Dr 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.
On Wednesday, the House witnessed chaotic scenes when the BJP members entered the well of the House to protest against the Congress government deploying IAS officers for the two-day meeting of opposition parties held in the city this week. The BJP alleged it was a misuse of government machinery as it was a political programme.
The BJP legislators also objected to the speaker’s decision to conduct the House proceedings (budget discussion and passage of bills) without giving a lunch break and tore the copies of the bills.
They flung the paper bits at Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani who was officiating the proceedings in the absence of the Speaker. Lamani asked the marshals to send the agitating members out of the House and finally adjourned the proceedings.
When the House resumed in the afternoon, Speaker U.T. Khader told the legislators that they were doing a grave injustice to the people of the state and also tarnishing the image of the state Assembly by their bad conduct. The Speaker suspended the 10 BJP MLAs after Law Minister H.K. Patil moved a motion seeking the suspension.
In the meantime, Congress minister Krishna Byregowda raised eyebrows after he targeted the BJP for insulting a “dalit” deputy speaker. He was criticised for choosing to identify the deputy speaker only by his caste.
