Karnataka Assembly passes the Bill for suspension of 18 BJP MLAs for six months for disrupting the proceedings of Assembly and creating a ruckus during the proceedings over the 'honey-trap' scandal. The Bill was tabled by Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil.
The MLAs were dragged out of the assembly by marshals.
Karnataka Congress leaders backed the decision and said that the opposition MLAs disrespected the house by tearing documents and protesting the well of the Parliament.
The incident occurred on the last day of the assembly's budget session, when the opposition BJP MLAs staged a massive protest. The legislators climbed onto the podium where Speaker Khader’s chair is situated and threw papers at him.
The protest was sparked by opposition anger over the allocation of a four percent reservation to Muslims in public contracts.
Earlier, the BJP members had protested from the well of the house, accusing the government of attempting to 'honey-trap' a minister and demanding a judicial probe into the matter, even as the Chief Minister addressed the budget discussion.
opposition BJP MLAs who were suspended are: BJP chief whip Doddanna Gouda Patil, C N Ashwath Narayan, S R Vishwanath, B A Basavaraju, M R Patil, Channabasappa, B Suresh Gowda, Umanath Kotyan, Sharanu Salagar, Dr Shailendra Beldale, C K Ramamurthy, Yashpal Suvarna, B P Harish, Bharath Shetty, Dheeraj Muniraju, Chandru Lamani, Muniratna and Basavaraj Mattimood.
While reading out the suspension order, Khader said, “The incident has hurt us a lot and it’s painful. This seat is not just a chair. This is the symbol of democracy, truth and justice. To speak from this chair is a matter of pride. Every member should protect the dignity and sanctity of this chair. None of us are above the chair. Our personal sentiments should not be above the dignity of this chair. We should behave with commitment, calm and civilised way. Let this incident be a lesson for us. Let us in the coming days respect constitution and sanctity of this chair.” “This chair cannot tolerate interrupting the proceedings of the House, ignoring the dignity of the Chair and behaving in a way that damages the parliamentary traditions,” he added.
Leader of Opposition, R Ashoka condemned the resolution, saying that the government should be ashamed after Minister K N Rajanna raised the issue of "honey trap" and it failed to protect him.
A similar display of unruly behavior was witnessed in the Legislative Council, where BJP MLCs tore the bill and threw it into the well of the House, directly in front of Council Chairperson Basavaraj Horatti.
(With agency inputs)
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