The Legislative Council on Tuesday witnessed unprecedented scenes, with members physically clashing and hurling abuse at each other over the issue of no-confidence motion against Chairman K. Prathapchandra Shetty.
While Mr. Shetty was physically prevented from entering the House on Tuesday morning, Deputy Chairman Dharme Gowda, who had occupied the chair before the opening bell stopped, was dragged out by Congress members. The turn of events at the House of Elders was described by senior members as “a blot on the Council’s dignity and tradition”.
In the melee, making its political intentions known, the JD(S) members moved over to the BJP camp in an attempt to bring down the Chairman — a Congress member whom it had supported in December 2018.
The session, which had been reconvened after being adjourned sine die last Thursday, was expected to be stormy as the agenda released on Monday night did not have the no-confidence motion listed, much to the chagrin of the BJP. This, secretariat sources pointed out, was because the Chairman had rejected the motion since there was “no specific charge” against him. However, the BJP insisted that the Chairman had lost the confidence of the House and that he had to step aside to enable the motion to be taken up.
The drama began to unfold even before the House proceedings could start on Tuesday morning. Taking the Congress by surprise, JD(S) member and Deputy Chairman Dharme Gowda, egged on by Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Law Minister J.C. Madhuswamy, occupied the chair even as the opening bell was still ringing. Incensed, the Congress members trooped in and physically dragged Mr. Gowda out of the chair, even as BJP and JD(S) members tried to make him sit back in it.
Chairman out
On the other hand, Mr. Shetty was not allowed to enter the House. A few Congress members, in a bid to enable the Chairman to come inside, started kicking the door through which the Chairman usually enters. Meanwhile, as Mr. Gowda was physically removed, Congress member Chandrashekar Patil sat in the chair. BJP members took objection to this and tried to surround the chair.
Amid the cacophony, Mr. Shetty, who had by then finally managed to enter, announced that the House was adjourned sine die. Soon, Congress chief whip M. Narayanaswamy was seen sitting in the chair, which was opposed again by the BJP. In the high-decibel drama, a couple of BJP and Congress members nearly came to blows even as a glass frame fitted to protect members from COVID-19 broke.