Congress issues whip, sleepover to continue till February 21
Congress has issued a whip mandating all its legislators to sleep in the Legislative Assembly and the Council through the weekend to sustain its demand for RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa's sacking.
The Congress’ protest prevented business from taking place in both houses for the third day in a row, forcing adjournment till Monday. They are demanding Eshwarappa's sacking for his controversial statement on the Bhagwa (saffron flag) possibly replacing the tricolour.
Opposition chief whip Ajay Dharm Singh issued a whip asking legislators to set aside all their engagements to take part in the sleepover protest till Monday.
Earlier in the day, Congress MLAs entered the well of the Assembly. The Assembly was to start at 11 am but was delayed by 40 minutes BJP and Congress leaders huddled with Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri. The government's attempts to reach a compromise with the agitating Congress was unsuccessful.
Congress legislators raised slogans against the government and called Eshwarappa a 'deshadrohi' (traitor). BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, lashed out at Congress for "curtailing the rights of other MLAs" by disrupting proceedings.
After the Speaker concluded question hour amid the din, Law Minister JC Madhuswamy said that the protest was unbecoming of Congress legislators. "The House, which should discuss issues of the state, has been reduced to a rabble," he said, demanding action against protesting MLAs.
Former speaker K Ramesh Kumar asked Kageri to suspend Congress legislators leading to a heated exchange between the two. "Instead of blaming them, you can suspend them," Kumar said.
Bommai said that Congress was spoiling the future of children by refusing to discuss issues related to them in the wake of the hijab row. "All students are our children. We should discuss in the House and give a solution. We should send a message to students, parents and college authorities," Bommai said.
Following Bommai's remarks, Kageri urged Congress MLAs to return to their seats, to which Kumar questioned why Kageri was reluctant to suspend the legislators. "If Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah seeks suspension in writing, I'll do it," Kageri said.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Council BK Hariprasad claimed there was a threat to his life. He said he had given an oral complaint to Council chairperson Basavaraj Horatti.
"BJP state president Nalin Kateel provoked his party colleagues at a recent legislature party meeting to 'take me on'. What does this mean? It could mean any sort of confrontation," Hariprasad said.
Hariprasad provided the screen grab of a news channel's ticker to substantiate his claims. According to the ticker, Kateel asked his colleagues to develop enough competence to take on Hariprasad. However, the context in which Kateel reportedly issued the directive was not clear.
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