BJP, JD(S) disrupt Karnataka Assembly for fourth day; Ashoka alleges govt misled House on Nagendra case

Bengaluru, Aug 20 (IANS) BJP and JD(S) members continued to disrupt proceedings in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Planning and Statistics Minister B. Nagendra over the alleged Tribal Welfare Corporation case.

The Opposition members raised slogans against the Karnataka government and demanded that Nagendra step down, as soon as the House commenced. Several BJP members wore black badges as a mark of protest and stood at their seats while Speaker G.S. Patil proceeded with the Question Hour amid the disruptions.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said the government should not waste the time of 224 legislators for the sake of one minister.

“For the last three days, we have been protesting against the loot of Dalits’ money in the state. The rights of all 224 MLAs are being affected because of the Nagendra issue. We have continued the protest for the fourth day for a simple reason — the rights of 224 MLAs should not be compromised for one minister,” Ashoka said.

Speaker G.S. Patil intervened and urged Ashoka to discuss the issue in the House instead of disrupting proceedings.

Ashoka said he had already discussed the matter for nearly two-and-a-half hours in the Assembly and submitted documents relating to the case.

He also took exception to Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara’s statement that Nagendra had no cases against him and had received a clean chit.

“I have a list of cases against Nagendra. He has 24 cases against him,” Ashoka alleged, displaying what he said was a copy of a CBI chargesheet in the Assembly.

Ashoka alleged that the House had been given incorrect information and accused Parameshwara of misleading the Assembly. He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate had filed three chargesheets and that the Lokayukta had also registered cases.

Responding to Ashoka, Minister for Scheduled Tribe Welfare T. Raghu Murthy said the Opposition leader should seek answers from the government.

Ashoka, however, said he was responding to Parameshwara’s statement and asked Raghu Murthy to allow him to continue.

Parameshwara maintained that Nagendra was not guilty and said he had documents to establish his position. Ashoka reiterated his allegation that Nagendra faced 24 cases and said he could provide the case numbers.

Amid the continued sloganeering, the Speaker proceeded with the question-and-answer session.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara appealed to the Opposition in the Legislative Council to withdraw its protest, saying that the matter had already been discussed for three days.

“It is enough now. There are several other issues, including drought, that need to be discussed. I appeal to the Opposition to withdraw the protest,” Parameshwara said, referring to the statement he had made in the House on Wednesday regarding the case.

The Opposition, however, continued its protest over the demand for Nagendra’s resignation.

–IANS

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