BJP accuses DKS of goonda culture, storms out of house

BENGALURU: The state legislative assembly witnessed sharp exchanges between the ruling JD(S)-Congress combine and BJP members on Wednesday so much so that proceedings were briefly stalled after opposition leader B S Yeddyurappa walked out of the house following an argument with deputy speaker Krishna Reddy.

It all began when A S Patil Nadahalli of the BJP countered a statement made by water resource minister D K Shivakumar on the issue of regional disparity during a debate on the state budget. Shivakumar struck a defiant pose, saying: “Don’t make a hue and cry over regional disparity and don’t try to act smart.”

It immediately brought BJP members to their feet as they objected to Shivakumar’s tone and tenor, even dubbing it “goonda culture”. This led to a heated exchange of words which spanned 15 minutes between the members of the treasury and opposition benches.

When the furore refused to die down, Reddy intervened and asked BJP members not to use harsh language in the house. That riled Yeddyurappa even further.

“You should be asking Shivakumar to maintain decorum in the house as he was the one who used harsh language against our member,” Yeddyurappa shot back. “It’s unfair on your part to only advise our party members.” Yedyyurappa then walked out of house with members of his party. This allowed the treasury bench to launch a counter attack against Yeddyurappa.

“A heated exchange of words between ruling and opposition members is common during a session,” Shivakumar said. “But the opposition leader should not go to the extent of disrespecting the chair.”

The deputy speaker then adjourned the house for 10 minutes and invited senior leaders from the parties to his office for peace talks.