Priya Aditi
Friday in Bengaluru, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protestes near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Vidhana Soudha and continued its boycott of the Bengaluru assembly session. BJP legislators from the Legislative Assembly and Council, led by former CM Basavaraj Bommai, demonstrated against the suspension of 10 BJP MLAs and the deployment of IAS officers for private political events by the CM Siddaramaiah-led government.
The chief minister, Siddaramaiah, ridiculed the opposition by implying they should have demonstrated in front of Nathuram Godse’s statue. CM Siddaramaiah acknowledged the right to protest and oppose government actions in response to the protest, but he condemned the uncouth behaviour of the BJP members, who tore pages and behaved disorderly in the House.
This situation (disturbance and boycott) has never occurred before. This demonstrates the anti-people and anti-democracy stance of the opposition. They have the freedom to demonstrate and attend the Well (of the Assembly). However, they proceeded to hurl paper at the deputy speaker. We do not know what would have occurred if the marshals had not been present… They have boycotted and are protesting in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. He stated that they should be seated in front of the statue of Naturam Godse.
Wednesday, the Assembly adopted a resolution suspending ten members of the Legislative Assembly, including four former ministers: R Ashoka, Dr. C. N. Ashwath Narayana, V. Sunil Kumar, and Araga Jnanendra. According to individuals with knowledge of the situation, they were suspended for their “indecent and disrespectful conduct” after they tore copies of bills and agenda documents and hurled them at the chair.
Thursday’s session was boycotted by members of the opposition BJP and JD(S) in response to the suspension. In addition to demonstrating in front of the Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, BJP leaders marched to Raj Bhavan to lodge their complaints against the speaker and the state government. HD Kumaraswamy, leader of the JD(S) Legislative Party, joined the BJP leaders in their criticism of the speaker.
Kota Srinivas Poojari, a former minister, criticised the administration on the basis of democracy. “If Siddaramaiah remembers, when he was in the Opposition in 2010, he caused a commotion in the Assembly. Zameer Ahmed, a Congress MLA, threw the microphone in front of the speaker, and DK Shivakumar tore volumes. They were not punished but given a warning instead. “However, Speaker Khader has suspended the MLA from the BJP in order to remove our MLAs from the Assembly,” he said.
In the meantime, the absence of an official Leader of the Opposition (LoP) from the BJP in the Assembly has been a significant source of contention. The position of the LoP is a mandatory requirement, and the failure to appoint one indicates internal problems within the BJP, according to statements made in Vidhana Soudha by individuals with knowledge of the situation.
The Assembly session is anticipated to be adjourned’sine die’ on Friday, concluding without an official LoP and enhancing the BJP’s unique status as a party without a designated opposition leader.
The assembly passed the budget, followed by the chief executive’s response to the debate, in an unprecedented absence of opposition parties. Members of the BJP and JD(S) boycotted the proceedings. “To my knowledge, this is the first time in Karnataka’s history that the entire opposition is absent when the finance minister is responding to the budget debate and the house is enacting the budget. They have violated their constitutional duty by boycotting the house after engaging in disorderly and incivility. Shame on them,” said Siddaramaiah.
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Siddaramaiah criticised the BJP for failing to elect its legislature party leader, who is to serve as the leader of opposition in the assembly. The BJP, he said, boasts of its “Vishwa Guru” but could not locate an opposition leader in Karnataka.
