Karnataka Assembly witnesses stormy scenes as budget session begins

BENGALURU: The budget session of the Karnataka assembly, which began on Wednesday, witnessed stormy scenes from the beginning of business as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started protesting against the ruling coalition of the JD(S) and the Congress calling it a minority government.

The Governor Vajubhai Vala, who arrived to address the gathering, had to cut short the speech which ended within a few moments due to the ruckus and then exited the assembly. 

According to the BJP, around 11 MLAs from the Congress were missing from the session.

"We will continue protest inside the assembly. This is a minority government. We will meet the governor soon and give him a memorandum to dissolve the government. On no-confidence motion, the party will take a decision later," BJP leader Sriramulu said.

In all at least 6 MLAs of the Congress skipped the session. These include BC Patil, Kampli MLA Ganesh, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Umesh Jadhav, Mahesh Kumathalli and Nagendra despite a whip being issued.

Anand Singh who is recuperating was brought to the house by Zameer Ahmed. The BJP said that the Government would not be able to clear the budget as it did not have the support of nearly half of the MLA's. While the BJP had issued no whip, 6 of its MLAs including Balachandra Jarkiholi and CN Ashwathnarayana missed the session. 

CLP leader told Express, "I have spoken to Ramesh Jarkiholi. He will come to the house tomorrow."

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is all set to present the budget on Friday and this will be his second budget presentation in a row. The Congress, worried about the absence of 4 legislators, considered to have gone 'rebel', is still trying all means to woo them back and ensure that they attend the session to shore up its numbers.

On Wednesday morning, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah sent out fresh notices to the MLA's asking them to appear in person during or after the session and explain their absence.