The drama began with a vote of no confidence against the president of the Legislative Council, Prathap Chandra Shetty.
A few minutes after the Karnataka Legislative Council reconvened on Tuesday morning, uproar broke out and lawmakers who opposed Vice President SL Dharmegowda as president abused him. Marshals were called in to intervene even when BJP’s MLCs tried to get the vice president back into his chair. The Council has been adjourned sine die.
The drama began with a vote of no confidence against the President of the Legislative Council, Prathap Chandra Shetty. Congressional MLCs alleged that the vice president forcibly took the chair. In the footage shortly thereafter, Congressional MLCs Naseer Ahmed and Narayana Swamy are seen pulling the vice president out of his chair. As Dharmegowda is seen resisting, BJP’s MLCs are seen pulling him towards the chair. There are more than a dozen bailiffs trying to restore order and protect the vice president.
The Council was reconvened on December 15 after the government requested the Governor that important bills be needed in the Council. The controversial Karnataka draft law for the prevention of slaughter and the preservation of livestock, 2020, which was passed in the Assembly, was among those that had to be presented.
The council was also expected to accept the motion of no confidence that the BJP has made against President Shetty, as the ruling party has a majority in the upper house of 75 members. The BJP leader on the Council, Kota Srinivas Poojary, asked Shetty to file the motion against him on December 11. Instead, Shetty adjourned the House session on December 10 after refusing to allow the motion as it required 14 days’ notice. “In our opinion, as the President of the Council (Shetty) does not enjoy the confidence of the House. He cannot adjourn abruptly when a motion against him and important bills must be passed,” Poojary had told IANS.
K Prathap Chandra Shetty was elected Chairman of the Legislative Council in November 2018 during the 14-month coalition government of JD (S) -Congress. Vice President SL Dharmegowda, who was with JD (S), was elected in December 2018
.
