Karnataka: Speaker expunges "unparliamentary" word used by senior Cong MLA in assembly
Bengaluru: Karnataka assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri on Wednesday expunged a word used by senior Congress legislator K R Ramesh Kumar, terming it as "unparliamentary", as it created an uproar in the house, with ruling BJP taking a strong exception to it.
After the Speaker's ruling, the MLA said he would abide by the decision of the chair.
It all began when Kumar intervened during Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar's reply to the discussion on government's 'failure' in handling the COVID-19 situation and 'misappropriation' in the procurement of medical equipment and charged him with trying to justify and deny the purchase at a higher price.
While doing so, Kumar, who was also a former Speaker, used a word that irked Sudhakar and BJP members.
Sudhakar asked Kumar to speak properly and mind his language, leading to an argument between the two.
"Does he (Kumar) have any morality... we cannot accept this,", he said.
Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said he did not expect such language from a senior member like Ramesh Kumar.
Chaos prevailed for some time as a few Congress MLAs stood up in support of Kumar, leading to arguments.
Addressing the chair, Kumar said he was ready to seek an apology if the word he used was unparliamentary and sought directions from the chair.
"I did not have a better word to use in this context," he said.".
Sudhakar took exception to Kumar trying to justify his language instead of expressing regret and said this was the second time he was doing it and sought protection from the Chair.
During the assembly session in March too, both leaders had a face-off, as Kumar had used an expletive against Sudhakar, creating an uproar in the house.
Minister Eshwarappa demanded that Kumar immediately apologize and take back his word.
"You (Kumar) are trying to defend the usage of the word. Will you accept if the word is used against you? Such words are used by goondas, so apologize and withdraw it," he said.
Kumar, however, stuck to his stand and said the Speaker has the discretion to decide whether any word used by a member is parliamentary or parliamentary.
The Speaker can use his powers after going through the list of unparliamentary words, he said.
Kageri said the word used by Ramesh Kumar was "not courteous language", but that he would have to examine whether it was unparliamentary and added that he has already given instructions to officials in this regard.
Kumar said it was not a prestige issue for him and he was not justifying the word he used, nor adamant that it has to remain on record.
"OK, I agree it's a mistake by me, but what is your answer to misappropriation in procurement?" he asked.
The Speaker while giving his ruling said he was not able to find out at a glance, the word used by Kumar, in the list of unparliamentary words, but there is a precedence of similar words being expunged by the Chair in the past.
"...so I'm now including the word used (by Ramesh Kumar) in the list of unparliamentary words and expunging it from the record," he ruled.
Kumar said he would abide by the ruling of the chair and apologized for the word he used.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
