An embarrassed Congress has suspended its Kampli legislator JN Ganesh from the party following his drunken brawl with fellow legislator Anand Singh.
This action comes 36 hours after Ganesh was involved in a drunken, violent brawl with Singh at around 1 am on Sunday at the Eagleton Resort where the party had kept all legislators. Singh sustained an injury on his head, face and chest.
“Given the serious charges levelled against him in this case, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao has ordered the suspension of Kampli legislator JN Ganesh with immediate effect,” the party said in a statement. His suspension is based on a preliminary investigation conducted by the party, which included Singh’s testimony on whatever happened.
The party has also constituted an inquiry committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara to submit a detailed report on the incident. Ministers KJ George and Krishna Byre Gowda are members of this probe panel.
Earlier on Monday, Ganesh apologized for the incident. “I didn’t do this deliberately,” Ganesh told reporters. “There was a verbal duel, an argument, between Singh and (Hagaribommanahalli) MLA Bheema Naik. I went to reconcile and some things, wrong things, happened. I want to apologize to Singh and his family,” he said.