After murder bid charge, Congress suspends Kampli MLA JN Ganesh

BENGALURU: As if the ongoing strife wasn’t enough, the Congress had more trouble on its plate on Monday when it was forced to suspend Kampli MLA JN Ganesh after police registered a case of attempt to murder against him for assaulting his colleague, Anand Singh, at a resort in Bidadi on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Police, who were accused by the BJP of trying to cover up the case, registered a first information report (FIR) after recording Singh’s statement at a hospital in Bengaluru where he is being treated for injuries suffered during a brawl at the resort.

AICC president Rahul Gandhi is said to have taken a serious view of the incident and reportedly told senior leaders that “party workers should be given tickets in elections, not party-hoppers”. Ganesh and Singh joined the Congress from the BJP before the 2018 assembly polls.

The Congress has formed a committee led by deputy CM G Parameshwara to investigate the brawl and recommend action. Law minister Krishna Byregowda and industries minister KJ George are part of the committee.

Over 70 MLAs get a break, head home
The week-long political turbulence in the state took a break on Monday following the death of Shivakumara Swami, pontiff of Siddaganga mutt in Tumakuru. More than 70 of the 80 Congress legislators, who were accommodated in the resort, were allowed to go home and attend to issues in their home constituencies. TNN

He bit gunman: Witness

Congress MLAs were camping at the resort since January 18 to shield themselves from BJP’s poaching attempts. A witness said Ganesh and Singh were sitting together, drinking from 7pm. They were still together at 3am when the fracas erupted. “No one knows what provoked Ganesh. He took a flower pot and hit Singh,” the witness said, adding: “Singh fell to the floor even as Ganesh’s gunman tried to intervene. Ganesh bit the gunman.”

The gunman was given an anti-tetanus shot and first-aid. Water resources minister DK Shivakumar and his MP brother, DK Shivakumar, who were staying in the resort, rushed to Singh’s room to enquire about his condition. In the FIR, Singh alleged he was hit by Ganesh with pots and a stick. He was thrown on the floor and “thought Ganesh would finish me there”. Minister E Tukaram and MLA Tanveer Sait were witness to the attack and tried to stop Ganesh. However, Ganesh has denied attacking Singh and claimed they had only had a heated argument.

"Iwould like to apologise to Singh’s family,” said Ganesh, who was reportedly on BJP's radar in its alleged bid to topple the JD(S)- Congress government. “Whatever the media is reporting is false. We had a heated argument and it snowballed. He slipped and suffered injuries,” he said.

The incident has come in handy for the BJP to attack the Congress. BJP leaders claimed CM HD Kumaraswamy's coalition government has failed to provide protection to their MLAs. “How will they protect others?” The BJP tweeted, adding: “Congress MLAs fear for their life under HDK’s government. Siddaramaiah preaches constitutional values to everyone; in reality, they do nothing.”