On Wednesday, December 6, the third day of the Winter Session of the Karnataka Assembly, MLAs from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested and created a ruckus seeking a response from the Home Minister regarding an attack on MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi’s assistant and party worker, Prithvi Singh, in Belagavi district. Singh, a 55-year-old BJP leader and member of the BJP SC Morcha, had alleged on December 4 that he was assaulted by Congress MLC Channaraj Hattiholi’s henchmen.
State BJP chief BY Vijayendra, addressing the House, expressed dissatisfaction with the state government’s handling of the stabbing incident and said that the FIR filed did not include serious charges. He urged the inclusion of IPC sections 397 and 398 against the accused for a more stringent legal response.
The argument in the Assembly went on for several hours between the Congress and the BJP, after which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara would address the concerns raised by Vijayendra on December 7. In response, BJP MLAs protested by rushing into the well of the House. Speaker UT Khader appealed for restraint, stating that the members must wait for Parameshwara's response. As the MLAs continued their dharna, shouting slogans against the government, Khader adjourned the House for 30 minutes.
In a police complaint, Prithvi Singh’s son Jasveer named Sujit Jadhav as the attacker and claimed that Hattiholi and others supported the offence. Following this, the Belagavi city police registered a case. The accused, including Hattiholi, his followers Sujit Jadhav and M Saddam, and two security personnel, face charges under various sections, including 147, 148 (punishment for rioting), 323, 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504, 506 (criminal intimidation), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.