Cong:Drop KSE or face our wrath

The Congress Party has asked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to drop Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa from the Cabinet by Thursday morning failing which the party has warned of protests both inside and outside the Legislature.

Addressing a joint news conference here on Wednesday, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar said the governor should have intervened and taken action immediately after Eshwarappa stated that the saffron flag would be hoisted atop Red Fort. Besides, the CM should have asked the minister to quit. Even the chief secretary or DG &IGP should have booked a suo motu sedition case against Eshwarappa, he said and recalled how the police booked a suo motu case against Congress leaders for making statements against BJP leaders and sent them to jail.

The Congress leaders also wondered why Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri allowed the minister to reply before the government could come up with a reply

“We have a lot of responsibility when it comes to protecting the nation and the national flag. At the time of contesting elections and swearing in as members, we take an oath to work as per the Constitution. The oath is read out by the governor and we swear in the name of God or the Constitution. Even Eshwarappa took an oath at the time of becoming minister and now he has made an irresponsible statement that the saffron flag will be hoisted on Red Fort”.

They leaders also slammed the CM for terming the recent farmers’ protest as a ‘Congress sponsored drama. ’‘Wait till 10:30 am’

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad said they would wait till 10:30 am on Thursday before registering a sedition case against Eshwarappa failing which they will hold a day and night dharna inside the House from Thursday.

It may be mentioned here that Congress members in the Council had planned to hold a dharna overnight from Wednesday and had asked its members to come prepared. But they changed their strategy and resolved to hold it from Thursday in case Eshwarappa is not dropped from the Council of Ministers.