Bengaluru, March 21 (IANS) Karnataka BJP has slammed the Congress-led government’s move to suspend 18 of its MLAs, saying that the party MLAs were suspended for demanding justice in the honey trap case involving the Minister for Cooperation K.N. Rajanna.
The suspension of MLAs who demanded justice is condemnable. This reflects the Congress party’s malicious intent, said Opposition Leader R. Ashoka, expressing his outrage.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, he stated that when Minister Rajanna mentioned the honey trap scandal inside the Assembly, neither the Chief Minister nor other Congress ministers found it obscene and wrong. In the past, Congress leaders had created an uproar over legislators looking at mobile phones, but now they do not consider the honey trap scandal obscene.
“We have demanded a judicial inquiry to uphold the dignity of the Assembly. Even when it was stated that the honey trap scandal involved leaders from their own party, the government remained silent,” he alleged.
BJP MLAs have been fighting for justice. “How is it justifiable for Speaker U.T. Khader to attack them with a mace? With what face do the ministers come to the Assembly? Suspending 18 MLAs is unjust. We did not commit any wrongdoing against the Speaker; we only demanded justice. We did not expect this from the Speaker. This is Congress’ malicious policy, and they are willing to go to any extent,” he said.
“We strongly condemn the suspension of the MLAs. This is a dishonour to the Assembly. Is demanding a judicial inquiry considered hooliganism? The Speaker is acting like an agent of the Congress party,” he remarked.
BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra has stated that the decision of the Speaker to suspend 18 BJP MLAs is an anti-democratic move.
Speaking to the media on Friday, he said that senior minister Rajanna stood inside the Assembly and admitted that he had fallen victim to a honey trap, further claiming that over 48 politicians across the state and country had been trapped similarly. It was the responsibility of the Chief Minister, as the leader of the House, to ensure the minister’s protection. Likewise, the Speaker had a duty to safeguard the dignity of the Assembly, he added.
He stated that all 224 MLAs have now been tainted by this issue. “The Speaker, who is in a position to protect these 224 MLAs, has instead thrown us out when we, as the opposition, stood up for justice. This is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Vijayendra criticised the Chief Minister for failing to take responsibility for protecting his ministers. “It was your duty to safeguard them. Instead, when we protested for their protection, you expelled our MLAs from the Assembly. This is not acceptable,” he objected.
He further alleged that the dignity of the legislators has been put up for sale in front of the nation. “Congress is drunk with power. The party is filled with corruption, and the fight for the Chief Minister’s position has led to ministers and MLAs being thrown onto the streets by their own government,” he criticised.
He questioned whether the Chief Minister had the courage to protect Dalit and Scheduled Caste ministers, saying, “When you were the Chief Minister earlier, Muslim rioters set fire to the house of Dalit MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy. However, at that time, you did not come forward to protect him.”
The BJP leader claimed that history was repeating itself and that the government had no concern for Dalits or Scheduled Caste communities. “The Chief Minister is only focused on appeasing Muslims. If he cannot protect legislators and ministers in the Assembly, should he continue to remain in his position?” he questioned.
He further demanded an investigation into the events in the Assembly, asking, “Who passed the note yesterday? Let there be a full inquiry.” The BJP and JD(S) strongly condemned this “anti-democratic move” and announced that they would approach the Governor regarding the matter.
Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of failing to protect his own ministers, calling it a murder of democracy. “The Chief Minister’s actions are questionable. The honey trap controversy involving Karnataka’s ministers has become a topic of national debate,” he said.
He pointed out that Minister Satish Jarkiholi himself had acknowledged that the scandal was real. “The Chief Minister should have ordered the disclosure of the names of the MLAs and ministers involved in the honey trap. He should have shown the courage to initiate an investigation. But he has failed to do so,” Vijayendra challenged.
In a major development, 18 BJP MLAs were suspended for six months from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly with immediate effect, on charges of showing disrespect to the Speaker’s Chair on Friday.
The suspension came following the disruption of the proceedings while staging a protest in the Well of the House while demanding a judicial or CBI probe into the alleged honey trap attempt involving Minister for Cooperation, K.N. Rajanna.
–IANS
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