BENGALURU: Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Sunday “unconditionally” revoked the suspension of 18 BJP MLAs who had shown disrespect to his chair during the assembly session on March 21.
Khader took the decision after holding deliberations with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, DCM D K Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil at his chambers at Vidhana Soudha.
“They (MLAs) expressed regret for their mistake, saying it happened in excitement. During the suspension, they could not take part in certain committee meetings or go on official tours and faced embarrassment among officials and the public. It is my responsibility to safeguard their dignity,” he said.
“I have faith in them that they will not repeat the mistake of disrespecting the chair.”
The order will be ratified in the House in the upcoming session, he clarified. Wearing a huge smile, Khader expressed happiness that the issue ended on a happy note, especially on the eve of his Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ashoka welcomed the decision of the speaker. Jayanagar MLA C K Ramamurthy, who anxiously awaited the decision, expressed regret over the incident in the House and said there will be no more disrespect to the speaker’s chair.