Bengaluru, March 26 The Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed chaotic scenes on Thursday, with ruling Congress MLAs storming into the well of the House, demanding that the Speaker take action against BJP MLA Munirathna, accusing him of inappropriate behavior and making personal comments against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
The incident occurred while Shivakumar was replying to a discussion on issues related to Bengaluru. Shivakumar is also the Minister in-charge of Bengaluru Development.
As Munirathna made certain comments against Shivakumar, demanding answers to some of the issues raised by him concerning the city, Congress members strongly objected, calling it "inappropriate behavior."
Munirathna demanded that Shivakumar answer his questions, even after Speaker U T Khader had declared the discussion on Bengaluru closed and proceeded to the Question Hour. This further enraged the Congress MLAs.
Congress legislators demanded that the Chair expel Munirathna from the House.
The ruling party MLAs then stormed into the well of the House, demanding that the Chair give its ruling and announce action against Munirathna by expelling him.
As the chaos continued, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka urged the Speaker to end the stalemate by ensuring that Munirathna receives a response to the issues on which he is demanding answers, through officers, and by expunging certain inappropriate comments that were made.
However, Congress members demanded that Munirathna apologize or that the Speaker suspend him.
Khader, while expunging the comments made during the exchange, said, "Karnataka is not known for revenge politics, but for humanity and harmony. This is the tradition of this House. We must uphold the honor and decorum of the House. This is not a place to display power or indulge in personal attacks."
Warning strict action against any act of indiscipline, he said, "We should ensure that such things don't repeat."
He said that the Chair can only give a ruling expelling or suspending a member when the government has named him or her.
Following the Speaker's warning against any act of misconduct, and a request to them, Congress members withdrew their protest.
Earlier in the day, Shivakumar and Munirathna engaged in a verbal altercation after the former referred to cases against the MLA, which the Speaker had expunged from the records.