Bengaluru: On Thursday, July 18, before the crucial vote of confidence in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Opposition leader B S Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah addressed the Assembly in the presence of Speaker Ramesh Kumar.
Siddaramaiah brought up the anti-defection law talking point with reference to the resignation of the 16 Congress and JDS MLAs. He recalled former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s contribution to the anti-defection law and said, “Defection should be stopped as a mark of respect to Gandhiji.”
The session soon broke down and chaos erupted in the Assembly with members of each party getting out of their seats and screaming at each other.
The Speaker interjected and tried to bring order back to the session. “I will not allow such disorderly conduct in the Assembly. When the Speaker starts talking, all are supposed to take their seats. Make any statement you want, I will not stop anyone from speaking. I want everyone to be able to speak their mind,” he said.
After order was restored to the session, Siddaramaiah went on to list the rules with regard to the anti-defection law and disqualification of members.
Meanwhile, 21 MLAs, including lone BSP MLA N Mahesh, did not show up for the crucial trust vote.
