Cong nominee becomes council chief; Furious JDS aspirant

Congress' Prathap Chandra Shetty was Wednesday unanimously elected Karnataka Legislative Council chairman, with a miffed aspirant for the post from coalition partner JDS Basavaraj Horatti accusing the Congress of using chief minister H D Kumaraswamy as a "rubber stamp".

Furious over being left out "at the last minute", Horratti, who was the pro-tem Chairman, also alleged that the Congress party that is in alliance with JD(S) was not following the "coalition dharma".

Four-time MLA from Kundapura and three-time MLC Prathap Chandra Shetty was elected, belying expectations that Horatti would occupy the post.

Horatti, a former minister, along with Congress' S R Patil were considered as contestants until the grand old party sprung a surprise by nominating Shetty as its candidate.

"Violating coalition dharma, feeling that they (Congress) have majority, they fielded their candidate...they did not listen to what party (JDS) leadership said," Horatti said claiming that his party supremo H D Deve Gowda had also taken up the matter during his visit to Delhi recently.

Speaking to reporters, at 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' (the legislature complex) here where the winter session of the state legislature is on, he said, for the Congress, majority was "bigger" than "coalition dharma".

Horatti said he had advised his party the JD(S) also, that the Chief Minister was just not limited to being a "rubber stamp"
When specifically asked whether the Congress was trying to use the Chief Minister as its rubber stamp, Horatti responded "that is what happening."