The very existence of the government came under question on Wednesday when Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa walked out of the Assembly just as Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah began to flag the decision to cancel Tipu Jayanti.
Congress members were up in arms when Yediyurappa left the Assembly on the pretext that he had to attend Siddhartha’s funeral.
“Only the chief minister is there in the government. There are no ministers. To whom should we address issues,” Siddaramaiah angrily asked Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri. “There is no government,” he said.
Siddaramaiah was pointing to the fact that besides the chief minister, there was no minister in the government. The BJP is said to be still finalising the names of ministers for the expansion of Yediyurappa’s Cabinet.
Siddaramaiah wanted to question Yediyurappa over the government’s decision to cancel the celebration of the erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary. When he first rose to speak, Kageri did not allow him and instead urged Yediyurappa to proceed with the business as scheduled. Despite Siddaramaiah’s request to stay for just five minutes, Yediyurappa left the Assembly.
Congress members then questioned the Speaker. “How can you do this on your first day on the chair? You could have asked the chief minister to wait and listen to us,” Siddaramaiah said.
Kageri said the Congress had not given him any notice, seeking to raise an issue. The Congress countered this saying there was no need to give a notice to raise an issue in the Assembly. Amid the din, Kageri adjourned the Assembly sine die.