Karnataka Assembly Chaos: Dramatic Scenes In Karnataka Assembly As Ten BJP MLAs Suspended; Party To Bring No-Confidence Motion Against Speaker

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader suspended ten Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs on Wednesday (19 July) for ‘indiscipline’.

The legislators had torn copies of the bills passed in the House and thrown them at Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani.

The lower house of the state legislature witnessed chaotic scenes as marshals removed the suspended legislators, including four former ministers — R Ashok, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Araga Jnanendra, and V Sunil Kumar.

Other MLAs suspended until the end of the budget session on 21 July are Arvind Bellad, Bharat Shetty, Yashpal Suvarna, Umanath Kotyan, Vedavyasa Kamath, and Dheeraj Muniraju.

During the first half of the session, papers were hurled at Lamani while the BJP protested the government's decision to depute IAS officers to welcome leaders attending the Congress-led opposition parties meeting in the city on Tuesday (18 July).

In the second half of the session, Khader announced that action would be taken against the legislators and named ten of them. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil then proposed the suspension of the members until the end of the session on 21 July.

Khader put the suspension under rule 348 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business for a vote, which was passed.

As a result, a scuffle broke out and lasted for about 10-15 minutes.

In the chaos of removing the legislators, some marshals mistakenly lifted Siddu Savadi, but they were stopped when it was realised that he was not among those who were suspended.

Despite the chaos, the government managed to pass five bills.

Speaker U T Khader decided to proceed with the discussion on the budget without adjourning the House for lunch. This decision further infuriated the protesting BJP legislators, who intensified their protest.

Lamani, who was temporarily in the Speaker's chair while Khader was on a break, faced the opposition's anger. Some BJP legislators even tore up copies of the bills that had been passed and threw them, causing anger among the treasury benches.

Legislators from the BJP have also made the decision to bring forth a motion of no confidence against the Speaker.