Bengaluru: The Deputy chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council, S.L. Dharme Gowda, said on Tuesday that he was “deeply hurt” by the manner in which Congress legislators behaved with him.
Speaking to reporters at his chamber, Gowda said, “Do they (Congress leaders) have any decency left in them? These people dragged me and shoved me around. This is not the way to behave with a person who is sitting on that chair.”
He claimed that his sitting on the chairman’s seat was constitutional as the incumbent council chairman, K. Pratapchandra Shetty, had not only lost the mandate after JD(S) decided to back the BJP, but also the BJP had already moved a no-confidence motion against him.
“According to the legislature norm, it is not correct on his part to come and sit on the chair when a no-confidence motion has been moved against him,” he said in response to a question.
Answering a query, Gowda asserted that he sat on the chair after the government directed him to sit on it. “Whether I sat on the chair as the bell rang or stopped is another matter. But the matter of fact is that Shetty had no business to come and occupy the chair when I was sitting,” he said.
It may be recalled that the BJP had earlier served a notice of no-confidence but the council chairman had adjourned the house on December 10, saying it was not meeting the minimum 14-day rule requirement.
After the BJP went to the Governor, a single day session of the council to remove the chairman as well as pass the controversial Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill 2020 was to be taken up for consideration.
Of the 75 members in the upper house, the BJP has 31, including the support of one Independent, while the Congress has 29 seats, including the chairman, and the Janata Dal (Secular) has 14 members.
