BENGALURU: Vociferous and unruly opposition Assembly members drove Speaker UT Khader angry enough to make him warn them on Monday that he will send the legislators out of the House if they don’t mend their ways. There was utter chaos during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reply to the Governor’s address in the Assembly on Monday.
When the Speaker told Belthangady BJP MLA Harish Poonja to “get out” of the House when he was refusing to sit in his designated chair, the situation descended into utter chaos.
Ruling and opposition members were involved in a heated exchange over the alleged diversion of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (SCSP/TSP) funds for the guarantee schemes. The issue was raised by BJP members when the CM was giving his reply.
Khader said there is a limit to everything. “If you do not want to listen, leave the House. Otherwise, I have to throw you out. Either sit and listen, or leave,’’ he told BJP members, who were creating ruckus in the House.
When Poonja was refusing to sit in his seat, Khader told him to “get out”. An angry Poonja protested and said the Speaker should not speak to him in such a manner.
Other members of his party too joined to protest and senior BJP MLA CC Patil said no Speaker has ever been so curt to members of the House. He said it is unparliamentary for the Speaker to utter such words, which should be removed from official records.