BANGALORE: Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra has refuted allegations of breach of privilege levelled against Municipal Administration Minister Qamarul Islam.
He was participating in a discussion on the admissibility of allowing a debate on the 75th report of the privileges committee, which had indicted Qumarul Islam. The alleged breach relates to a report of the Karnataka State Minority Commission which investigated charges of misuse of Wakf properties. “It is unfair to impute such charges against a minister who has over three decades of parliamentary experience. If at all there was any breach of privilege, the previous government should be hauled up, not the present government and any of its ministers,” he said.
He said the government never accepted the report of the Minority Commission headed by Anwar Manpadi. Informing that the minister had informed the House that the government had not accepted the report, Jayachandra said had the government received the report, it would have tabled it in the House as well.Claiming that the then commission chairman wrongly accused many Congress leaders of misusing Wakf properties, he said, Intervening in the debate, CM Siddaramaiah said, “Since the matter had been debated in length, I appeal to the chairman to drop it.”
G Madhusudan (BJP) said the privileges committee, after lengthy deliberations and accepting the sworn affidavits of various witnesses, had come to the conclusion that Islam had deliberately misled the House. Shankaramurthy reserved his ruling on the issue. As a mark of protest, BJP members decided not to ask any questions to Islam pertaining to his department.