Guv forced to abandon speech at joint session

The Opposition parties in Karnataka assembly, which are seeking resignation of the B S Yeddyurappa government over land scams, today forced governor H R Bharadwaj to give up his speech to the joint session of the state legislature.

As soon as the governor stood up to read his speech on the first day of the 11-day joint session, the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) members started raising slogans and urged him not to read the speech. Siddaramaiah, leader of the opposition Congress and H D Revanna, leader of the JD-S in the assembly along with their respective party members demanded the resignation of Yeddyurappa government over various scams, particularly over the nepotism of the chief minister in allotting prime land to his kin in and around Bangalore.

Bharadwaj had to abandon his speech within seconds of starting and left the hall after the national anthem was played. The governor stood for a couple of minutes as the opposition members pressed him not to go ahead with the speech. He then said he is laying the address on the table, treating it as read.

Later the assembly secretary announced the speech as delivered by the Governor has been placed before the house and Speaker of the house, K G Bopanna adjourned the house for Friday.

Yeddyurappa and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members sat impassively through the ruckus. This is the first session since the Yeddyurappa government won a vote of confidence on two occasions in October last year.

The uproar was expected as the JD(S) had announced it would not allow the 10-day session to conduct any business till Yeddyurappa quits.

The Congress, the main opposition, had said it would intensify the agitation in the two houses seeking Yeddyurappa’s resignation.

Later, talking to reporters, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said, “It is unfortunate that the Congress (I) and JD(S) boycotted the address of the governor to the joint session. Being a responsible national party, Congress (I) should not have resorted to this and should have conducted themselves in a more responsible manner. It is an anti-democratic conduct by the Opposition parties and disrespect to constitutional authority.”

He said the opposition parties have not learnt any lesson even after their drubbing in the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections. “At least now they should give up their disruptive politics and cooperate for the development of the state,” he said.

Siddaramaiah and G Parameshwar, president of state unit of Congress said the opposition would move an adjournment motion on Friday demanding an investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into all scams. “The chief minister has called the governor as an agent of Congress and why should the governor read the speech prepared by the government,” he said.