BENGALURU: The Finance Bill was passed amid a din in both Houses of legislature on Thursday, with BJP members creating an uproar over the alleged ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan, when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was replying to the budget discussion. The supporters of newly-elected Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain allegedly raising anti-national slogans in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday, rocked the Legislative Council as BJP members interrupted the CM, who came to the Upper House to reply on the budget discussion.
As soon as Chairman Basavaraj Horatti asked the CM to reply to the budget speech, Opposition leader Kota Shrinivas Poojari raised the sloganeering issue, stating that Vidhana Soudha was the strength of seven crore Kannadigas, and the incident had created fear in their minds.
He demanded that the CM update the House on how the incident happened and action taken. The Chairman intervened and said the CM was there to reply to the budget speech, and the Home Minister would inform the House about the case later. But BJP members did not budge and raised slogans against the government.
Amidst the chaos, CM Siddaramaiah spoke on several programmes in the budget for the development of seven crore Kannadigas, and said it was a pro-people budget. “This will give social, financial and academic strength to the people,” he said, explaining how the Congress government had followed fiscal discipline and put the state, which had suffered during the previous BJP government, back on the path of progress.
He attacked the BJP, stating it was unable to digest the good administration being delivered by the government, and took a jibe at BJP members clad in saffron shawls.
“Will you become patriots if you wear that shawl?” he questioned, alleging that RSS had collaborated with the British, and BJP had no moral right to speak about patriotism.
He also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his claim that Karnataka would go bankrupt if the five guarantees were implemented, and said the Congress had done it successfully. As he continued slamming Modi, BJP members started chanting ‘Modi, Modi!’ Siddaramaiah said the BJP had never got the people’s mandate in the state and had always made a backdoor entry through ‘Operation Lotus’.
BJP MLC N Ravikumar attacked the state government for not taking any action though 48 hours had lapsed after the slogan incident, and others joined him in accusing the government of protecting traitors. Congress members urged the Chairman to throw the BJP members out of the House as they were not allowing the CM to speak.
Amid the pandemonium, six Bills, including the Finance Bill, were passed in the Upper House, before the Council was adjourned sine die.