Visibly angry over the deputy chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council SL Dharme Gowda being manhandled by the members in the Upper House, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday insisted that the Council Chairman Pratapchandra Shetty must "resign immediately" as he does not enjoy the support of the majority in the House.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Yediyurappa blamed the Congress for the incident. "None had dared to drag or push or shove those occupied in the chair. This speaks volumes about the Congress Culture. The Chairman (Shetty) should at least resign now from his post, as he lacks the confidence of the majority," he said.
He added that with JD(S) coming out in the open there is no ambiguity over the fact that the BJP has the required numbers. "It is now very clear that BJP has numbers and Shetty does not have numbers, so he has no option but to resign," he said.
The Congress, on its part, maintained that the BJP-JD(S) tried to begin the session even before the long bell went off by having the Deputy Chairman on the seat.
"This shows that the BJP has no respect or faith towards the Constitution and the system of democracy," Congress leader Siddaramaiah countered.
He questioned why the BJP-JD(S) took steps like closing the entrance of the House through which only the Chairman is allowed to enter. "What is the need for such a move? Besides this, even before the House bell went off, why was the deputy chairman allowed to be seated on the chair? These two questions will keep haunting them," he asked.
He described that this was nothing but a “murder of democracy” and the BJP is proving again and again that they are firm believers of parliamentary democratic set-up.
Later in the day, a joint delegation of legislators from BJP and JD(S) met governor Vajubhai Vala to lodge a formal complaint on the matter.
Ministers Lakshman Savadi, Basavaraj Bommai, R Ashok, JC Madhuswamy, and MLCs Ramesh Gowda, Basavaraj Horatti and Puttana were among those who met the Governor and demanded Chairman K Prathapchandra Shetty to step down from the post with no majority in the House.
In the Karnataka Council, the BJP is the single largest party with 31 members, followed by Congress with 29 members including the Chairman. While the JD(S) has 14 members, an independent MLC is also part of the 75-member house at present.