BELAGAVI: The Congress party was cornered by the BJP legislators during debate on the anti-conversion Bill in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, when presented with evidence that it was the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah which had got an anti-conversion Bill drafted and cleared by the Screening Committee for the first time in 2016.
When Opposition leader Siddaramaiah disputed Law Minister J C Madhuswamy’s claims that it was Congress government which had brought such a Bill drafted by the Screening Committee and placed before the cabinet, Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri decided to hold a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Madhuswamy to clarify the issue. During the meeting, it came to light that Siddaramaiah had signed the Bill, drafted by the Screening Committee in 2016, and had also asked it to place the anti-conversion Bill before the Cabinet.
Despite several Congress MLAs including M B Patil, Anjali Nimbalkar, Ajay Singh and others, trying to prevent Siddaramaiah from participating in the meeting called by the Speaker, Siddaramaiah decided to go ahead. His claim in the House that the Bill was not placed before the Cabinet was debunked by Madhuswamy, who furnished documents to show the former had indeed signed the Bill drafted by the Screening Committee.
While trying to duck blame for coming up with the draft Bill during his tenure as CM, Siddaramaiah claimed, “A delegation of ‘BJP people’, led by litterateur Chidananda Murthy, had submitted a memorandum to the BJP government headed by B S Yediyurappa in 2009, suggesting that the government bring an anti-conversion Bill on the lines of the one brought by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.”
This led to a verbal duel between him and Yediyurappa. Minister K S Eshwarappa intervened and hit out at some Congress legislators who were alleging that it was the agenda of the RSS to bring such a discriminatory and anti-people Bill.
“Yes, it is the objective of the RSS and the BJP to bring such a Bill to stop religious conversions in the country which were going on unabated. We (RSS and BJP) will crush those trying to convert Hindus,” he said. Eshwarappa’s remarks enraged all the Congress legislators who rushed to the well of the House and opposed the passing of the anti-conversion Bill in the Assembly.
Kumaraswamy accuses Congress of doublespeak
Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused Congress leaders of doublespeak in opposing the contentious anti-conversion Bill. Kumaraswamy said the Congress leaders, who were vehemently opposing the anti-conversion Bill, now stand exposed since they were considering bringing in such a law when they were in power. On Thursday, during the debate on the Bill, the BJP cornered former CM and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah by coming out with documents to show that he had asked for the Bill to be placed before the cabinet in 2016.
“The same leaders are now talking against the anti-conversion Bill. The Congress and the BJP are two faces of the same coin. How can such people provide any protection to others? The JDS will continue to oppose it,” the JDS leader said.
On Congress’s padayatra in January to urge the government to start work on the Mekedatu Reservoir project, the former CM said the Congress and the BJP will never be able to implement it. The Congress is taking out a padayatra only for publicity, he said. ENS