Karnataka: Senior ruling Cong MLA walks out from Assembly after argument with Speaker
Belagavi, Dec 5: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Tuesday saw a heated exchange of words between a senior member of the ruling Congress and the Speaker over Question Hour proceedings going on for a longer duration than scheduled.
Unhappy with the Question Hour being stretched, Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy said the Speaker should "tear" the rule book if he is not following it. He walked out of the House in a huff after the Chair ticked him off for coming late and asked him not to interrupt the proceedings.
The incident occurred when Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy was replying to a question raised by Congress MLA N A Haris on "Brand Bengaluru", on behalf of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, which saw participation from opposition BJP members.
The discussion on this specific question went on for a slightly longer duration, with BJP and ruling Congress MLAs engaging in arguments on initiatives under 'Brand Bengaluru'.
Opposition legislators such as C N Ashwath Narayan and Satish Reddy alleged that no work has taken place in the city under the current government.
BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal alleged that Bengaluru has become a "Bomb City", citing the recent bomb scare at a large number of schools in and around the city, resulting in chaos. His remarks led to another heated exchange between both sides.
As the discussion and arguments between both sides went on for some time, senior Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy said, "I request you (Speaker), this is Question Hour, not Question Hours....
"There seems to be no law in this House, tear the handbook (on rules) and throw aside (M N) Kaul and (S L ) Shakdher (Compilation on Practice and Procedure of Parliament) ....Honourable Speaker, you are a Speaker, please follow the rules."
Irked by this, Speaker U T Khader told Rayareddy, "You came at 12 (one hour late) and come and preach here, please sit down...."
As the Speaker repeatedly told Rayareddy to sit down, the latter asserted, "I'm also a senior member, I have got my rights... I have respect for the Chair, please listen to me...if you don't have a patience to listen to a member, what can I do?"
Telling Rayareddy that the Chair had heard him and that he was speaking the same things repeatedly unnecessarily and wasting time, Khader asked the senior MLA, "You follow me, please sit down and allow the proceedings to continue."
Agitated as the speaker did not let him speak and asked the minister to continue with his reply, Rayareddy announced that he would walk out of the House if there was no value of his words, and marched out of the House.
He expressed his anger against ministers Priyank Kharge and Dinesh Gundu Rao, who tried to pacify him and referred to his seniority.
As Rayareddy walked out of the House, opposition BJP members asked the Chair and the ruling party to get the senior member back and treat him respectfully, but the Speaker did not relent and continued with the proceedings.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
