Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti suspended 14 Congress members for a day for carrying out a dharna demanding a debate on allegations of land-grabbing involving a Minister and a BJP legislator.
The suspended members are S.R. Patil, B.K. Hariprasad M. Narayanaswamy, M.A. Gopalaswamy, Naseer Ahmed, C.M. Lingappa, U.B. Venkatesh, Aravind Arali, Pratap Chandra Shetty, C.M. Ibrahim, Harish Kumar, Veena Achaiah, R.B. Thimmapura and Basavaraj Itagi.
Congress member M. Narayanaswamy has raised the issue alleging that a Minister and a legislator grabbed land by creating fake documents in Bengaluru. A court in Bengaluru had taken cognizance of the case and ordered criminal cases against the accused.
The Congress members demanded adjournment of all other proceedings to facilitate a debate on the issue . However, members in the treasury benches opposed the plea stating that the matter is sub-judice and it could not be debated in the Council.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said that the trial had begun and the next hearing had been scheduled for December 23. “When the matter has been heard in court, it cannot be discussed,” he said.
The chairman denied permission for the adjournment motion. However, Congress members continued the protest in the well of the House. The Chairman suspended them. However, the members continued to raise slogans in the well of the House.
