Karnataka politics touched a new low last week with an unsavoury row breaking out during the legislative council session in Belagavi, and invectives being traded by Congress minister Laxmi Hebbalkar and BJP council member C T Ravi. Hebbalkar accused Ravi of murder—his driver allegedly mowed down two youngsters in a highway accident in 2019—to which Ravi reportedly responded with an unparliamentary, sexist term. Hebbalkar lodged a complaint and Ravi was arrested, but not before he was attacked and injured by her supporters. The police bundled him out and drove him to various police stations, ostensibly for his own safety, before presenting him in court the next day, where he was given bail. Ravi has accused the police of mistreatment and claimed that his life is under threat.
There is still confusion over the word used by Ravi, with council chairman Basavaraj Horatti shutting down the case saying it was a “closed chapter” as there is no audio or video evidence, and that he had adjourned council proceedings before the row. Horatti, who recently moved to the BJP from the JDS, has barred the police from an inquiry on the council’s premises. This could lead to an impasse, as the two politicians in the middle are refusing to back down. Hebbalkar, the minister for women and child welfare and a political heavyweight in Belagavi, is ready to take the case up with the president. Ravi, a former national general secretary of the BJP, is known for his acid tongue. Meanwhile, the government has handed over the case to the CID.
It is regrettable that unpalatable controversies are now common in legislatures, with MLAs and MPs tearing up bills, vandalising furniture and even coming to blows. It is ironic that our representatives lower the dignity of their high offices with street fights and abusive language. If indeed it is proved that Ravi uttered a pejorative term, then he should face legal and constitutional consequences. Women parliamentarians often have to deal with demeaning conduct from their male counterparts—MPs Mohua Moitra and Sonia Gandhi are often the subject of personal barbs. Such controversies make women chary of joining public life. If the law reserving a third of legislative seats for women is to be meaningfully enacted, we need tougher rules of conduct.