BENGALURU: The debate on the Constitution continued for the fourth day in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, with Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri announcing that Tuesday would be the last day for debate on the matter.
Owing to pressure from legislators not to disrupt regular House proceedings, question hour and zero-hours were held in the first half of the day, with the debate on the Constitution reserved for the post-lunch period. Khanapur MLA Anjali Nimbalkar who spoke about equal rights for women, minorities and socially-backward classes also highlighted freedom of speech. “The Constitution gives us the freedom of expression, but fear of sedition charges is stalling free speech,” Nimbalkar said.
Minister for Tourism CT Ravi, in his speech, denied RSS’ role in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and insisted that religion-based reservation or welfare schemes were extra-constitutional. The debate, however, broke into a tiny war of words when Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara pointed to a lack of Muslim representation in the BJP. “Muslims don’t vote for us despite us working for them,” claimed KS Eshwarappa, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.