BJP ‘uncivilised, anti-democratic, anti-Constitution’: Siddaramaiah

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday called BJP MLAs “uncivilised” for tearing up copies of bills and the agenda and throwing it at Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani who was presiding over the assembly session.

Due to their action, 10 MLAs including four former ministers were suspended for the rest of the session, which ends on Friday. The BJP as well as the JD(S) boycotted the house on Thursday. Calling the BJP anti-democracy, he said the opposition MLAs behaved in an uncivilised manner.

“BJP is anti-democracy, anti-Constitution and antiParliamentary system. Along with that, they do not respect the Chair (Speaker or deputy), which is the most respectable position,” Siddaramaiah told the Assembly, replying to the discussion on the Budget, which he had presented on July 7.

“What should I call their behaviour yesterday? The word ‘indecent’ is still a decent word. They behaved in an uncivilised manner,” the chief minister said.

Expressing his anguish over the incident, he said he has been in the assembly since 1983, and twice he had served as the leader of the opposition but he never saw such behaviour. The Congress MLAs never behaved like this, he added.

Stating that Lamani has been low since yesterday, Siddaramaiah asked him to be happy as the ruling Congress was with him.

“He (Lamani) is a Dalit who is downtrodden for centuries. If there were no marshals in the House, then they (BJP MLAs) would have manhandled him. Such was their unruly behaviour,” he said.

The chief minister also took a swipe at the BJP for failing to appoint a leader of the opposition.

Siddaramaiah accused the opposition party of not having faith in the parliamentary system and the Indian Constitution as they spend their time in protests and demonstrations instead of serving as a constructive opposition.

He pointed out that for the first time the Budget discussion happened without the parties having a leader to represent them.