K'taka Legislative Council chairperson Horatti takes exception to CID probing C T Ravi episode
Bengaluru (PTI): The Chairperson of the Karnataka Legislative Council, Basavaraja S Horatti, has taken exception to the CID probing the episode involving BJP MLC C T Ravi allegedly using foul words against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar inside the council in Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on December 19 last year.
In a letter to state Home Minister G Parameshwara on January 10, Horatti underlined that he has already given his verdict on the episode, which is final.
The letter was shared with the media on Sunday.
"The chair has already given its verdict after reviewing the Constitution of India, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Karnataka Legislative Council, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Kaul and Shakter's Practice and Procedure of Parliament and Subhash Kashyap's Balimantori Procedures regarding the incident that took place in the Legislative Council of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, Belgaum on 19.12.2024," the council Chairperson said.
He further said, "The chairperson, being a constitutional post, has the sovereign power over the parliamentary system and process, and the House has the power to punish its members for disorderly conduct or other abuses in the House while it is in session."
Accordingly, the chairperson has the power to maintain the traditions that have been followed so far and to control the proceedings within the premises of the House, and his decision is final, Horatti added.
He said it seems that the executive is allowing a constitutional conflict by entrusting the case to the CID, in violation of parliamentary procedure and process and the special powers granted to the legislature and the Speaker in the Constitution of India.
The Chairperson said that there should be no premise of unnecessary conflict between the legislature and the executive.
"It is a matter of course for you to know that the incident that took place in the Legislative Council falls within the purview of the Chairperson, and we, the Executive and the Legislative, must perform our respective duties with mutual respect within the framework of the Constitution," he said.
Noting that Parameshwara has vast experience of working in various institutions of the Constitution, he exuded confidence in him that he will perform his duties under the Constitution.
"Accordingly, I trust that you will handle this case keeping in mind the special rights provided to the Legislature/MLAs in the framework of the Constitution and the rights vested in the Speaker in parliamentary procedures and processes, and the sovereignty of the House," Horatti said.
Reacting to it, Parameshwara told reporters here on Sunday that he has not received the letter though he came to know about Horatti’s letter in the media.
"I will first see what is there in the letter, after which I will get the advice of legal experts and law department. We will do whatever is within the framework of law," the Home Minister said.
He said the matter has been handed over to the CID to find out the truth behind the incident to put an end to the confusions.
The police registered an FIR against Ravi on December 19, 2024 for allegedly using derogatory words against Hebbalkar and arrested him the same evening.
He was finally released on the High Court order which maintained that his arrest was prima facie illegal for not following the due process of law.
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Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir floats new party days after laying foundation for Babri-style mosque
Beldanga (WB), Dec 22 (PTI): West Bengal MLA Humayun Kabir on Monday floated a new outfit, Janata Unnayan Party, days after he was suspended by the TMC for laying the foundation stone for a Babri-style mosque in Murshidabad district.
Addressing a public meeting in Beladanga, Kabir named eight candidates that his new party will field in the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
Kabir, the MLA of Bharatpur, said he would contest the assembly polls from two seats, Rejinagar and Beldanga in Murshidabad.
"We can only tell you later how many seats we will be finally contesting," he told the gathering.
Kabir said his mission is to oust Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from power in the assembly polls, which will be due in less than six months.
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"Mamata Banerjee is no longer the same person I knew. She is beyond the reach of the common man," he alleged.
The BJP alleged Kabir was working to help the TMC return to power.
"Kabir will not be a factor in the next assembly polls. He will face the drubbing of the electorate along with his old friend TMC, with which he is still in touch in a clandestine manner. Both Kabir and his new party will be rejected by the people of Bengal," state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya claimed.
He claimed Kabir was attempting to split "BJP votes" in the assembly polls.
"In the wake of the situation in Bangladesh, people of Bengal will thwart Kabir's attempts and elect a strong nationalist force like the BJP, only which can defeat fundamentalists," he claimed.
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The TMC is yet to comment on Kabir's new party.
The TMC had suspended Kabir on December 4 after his announcement to build a Babri-style mosque triggered a massive row.
On December 6, the day the Babri Masjid was razed in Ayodhya in 1992, a defiant Kabir laid the foundation stone for the mosque at Rejinagar.
Kabir has had a tryst with most of the major political parties in the state over the last 10 years.
In 2015, he was "expelled" by the TMC for six years for criticising the CM and alleging that she was trying to make her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, the "king".
He contested the 2016 assembly elections as an Independent from the Rejinagar seat, but lost to Congress candidate Rabiul Alam Chowdhury. He subsequently joined the Congress, which then had a huge presence in the district, but switched to the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP fielded him as its candidate in the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat, and managed to secure the third spot after the TMC and Congress nominees. He then returned to the TMC and, in 2021, became the MLA of Bharatpur.
