Mounting attack on the six Ministers who obtained injunction against broadcast of objectionable CDs against them, the Opposition Congress on Monday demanded their immediate resignation.
Raising the issue in the Assembly, Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, D.K. Shivakumar, H.K. Patil, and K.R. Ramesh Kumar maintained that the six Ministers had lost moral right to continue in power after approaching the court.
“They approached the court as they are under fear,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said. He wondered why only six of the Ministers who had stayed in a luxury hotel in Mumbai prior to bringing down the JD(S)-Congress government had approached the court.
He pointed out that Ministers B. C. Patil, Shivaram Hebbar, S. T. Somashekhar, K. Sudhakar, Narayan Gowda and Bhyrathi Basavaraj had got temporary injunction from the court against broadcast of any objectionable video against them.
While the Ministers in question strongly defended their action, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai too came to their defence. “There is a conspiracy against them and also the law provides for protecting themselves from such conspiracy,” he said.
The Ministers launched a counter attack by said several leaders from the Opposition too had resorted to similar measures earlier. However, seeking to set the records straight, Mr. Siddaramaiah said it was the first time in the history of Karnataka that Ministers had resorted to such a measure. The Congress leaders alleged that the action of ministers had caused distrust among general public about them.
H.K. Patil even sought the intervention of governor to sack the ministers in question.
Earlier BJP member and former speaker Bopaiah took objection to discussing the issue as it was before the court. However, speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri allowed the discussion with an appeal to the members to exercise restrain.
