BENGALURU: Pandemonium erupted in the Council on Monday evening as BJP members, led by LoP Chaluvadi Narayanaswamy, MLC Ravi Kumar and MLC Bharati Shetty and other BJP members, charged into the well of the House, furiously chanting “Nazeer Ahmed Dhikkara! Nazeer Ahmed Dhikkara” (Down, Down Nazeer Ahmed).
Th protest came moments after Congress MLC Nazeer Ahmed delivered a criticism of PM Modi — words so strong that even Chairman Basavaraj Horatti announced they would be expunged. The BJP contingent refused to return to their seats and demanded an immediate apology from Nazeer Ahmed. The confrontation overshadowed CM Siddaramaiah’s detailed reply to the Council earlier in the evening.
Defending his government’s performance, Siddaramaiah declared that Karnataka had spent over Rs 1 lakh crore on development works and more than Rs 1 lakh crore on guarantees. When BJP members challenged him on the alleged diversion of SCP/TSP money to fund guarantee schemes, the CM hit back hard.
“What was the allocation for Scheduled Castes before SCP/TSP came into existence? A mere Rs 6,000–7,000 crore per year. In our previous budget it has risen to Rs 42,000 crore. This is the only government that has implemented reservation in promotions. Why didn’t you do it when you were in power?”
On law and order, Siddaramaiah dismissed BJP allegations of rising crime, brandishing statistics to show a decline in heinous offences — robbery, dacoity, rape and murder-for-gain. “Crime can never be eliminated completely,” he conceded, “but it can certainly be reduced — and the numbers prove we have done exactly that.”
As the session descended into slogans and confrontation, the Chairman struggled to restore order while both sides dug in over language, funds and crime figures. Siddaramaiah also was seen gesturing to the opposition benches to sit down when they were trying to challenge the words he spoke.
Horatti, too, lost his patience and gestured to them to sit down and even asked the opposition members who permitted them to stand up and speak. He said let the CM complete his address and then he would give them time to speak and said he would hear them out.