Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday, asked Council Chairman K Prathapchandra Shetty to “resign immediately” as he had failed to represent the majority in the state Legislative Council.
The development came hours after the Karnataka Legislative Council broke out into chaos where legislators allegedly manhandled Deputy Speaker S L Dharmegowda.
A delegation of legislators from the BJP and the JD(S) including Ministers Laxman Savadi, Basavaraj Bommai, R Ashok, J C Madhuswamy, and MLCs Ramesh Gowda, Basavaraj Horatti, and Puttana Shetty, met Governor Vajubhai Vala to file a formal complaint regarding the issue. They demanded that Chairman K Prathapchandra Shetty step down from his post as he had lost the “confidence with no majority in the House.”
Calling the events that took place in the Upper House “unprecedented in India’s history”, CM BSY said that they were witness to the Deputy Chairman of the House being dragged by the Congress legislators. “There is no better example for the Congress’ culture. The Chairman should have resigned at least then,” the CM said, according to a report by The Indian Express.
He added that the Chairman had to resign as he no longer had a majority in the House after the JD(S) openly said that they would support the BJP and not the Congress.
The Congress has, however, alleged that BJP and JD(S) legislators “blocked” Chairman Shetty from entering the House to convene the session with the Deputy Chairman on the seat before the ringing of the long bell.
BSY reacted to the allegations stating that the question should be whether the Chairman had the majority and not whether the bell was ringing.
Presently, legislators across parties are holding separate consultations to plan their next move. Meanwhile, the tabling of the anti-cow slaughter bill remains in limbo.
