From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Feb17: Senior BJP leader and Rural Development and Panchayat Minister KS Eshwarappa’s controversial statement that saffron flag may be hoisted at the Red Fort in place of the National Flag in the future, is snowballing into a major friction point between the ruling treasury benches and the opposition Congress party.
The opposition Congress led by former chief minister and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief D K Shivakumar, who have been demanding the resignation of the minister for insulting the national flag and staged a dharna in the State Assembly on Wednesday, continued their protest on Thursday, February 17 too forcing abrupt adjournment of the House at 3 PM.
Undaunted by the abrupt adjournment of the Assembly by Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri at 3 PM, the Congress party has announced that they will continue the dharna for the whole night.
“We are firm in our demand that Eshwarappa should tender an unconditional apology and must resign,” Siddaramaiah told the media after the adjournment of the House, adding, “We will continue the dharna for the whole night.’’
The Legislative Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes for the second day on Thursday as the Opposition Congress members staged a dharna in the well of the House seeking resignation of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister for his remarks earlier that the saffron flag could in future fly in place of the tricolour on Red Fort.
As soon as the House commenced proceedings in the morning, Congress members rushed to the well of the House and staged a dharna in front of the Speaker.
Amidst sloganeering against the BJP government, Speaker Vishweshwara Hege Kageri moved an obituary reference and condoled the death of former MLA and MLC Mallur Ananda Rao.
Mallur Anand Rao was the first MLA elected from the Rajajinagar constituency in 1978. Earlier, the constituency was part of the Malleswaram constituency.
Eshwarappa, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, S Suresh Kumar, Bandeppa Kashempur and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy condoled the death of Rao.
The Speaker also completed the question hour amidst dharna by Congress members. With Congress members continuing to raise slogans, the Speaker adjourned the House to 3 pm.
The Congress has demanded that Eshwarappa be removed from Cabinet for his “anti-national” remarks and a sedition case be booked.
On Wednesday, in the course of the heated exchange argument, KPCC President D K Shivakumar and Eshwarappa nearly came to blows when the latter passed a personal remark that enraged the latter.
BJP countered by arguing that Congress, which protested holding up the Tricolour in the well of the House, was “insulting” the national flag.
The ruling party led by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy defended K S Eshwarappa by contending that the latter did not say the saffron flag may be hoisted at the Red Fort in future. ``He (Eshwarappa) did not say it will happen one day in future. It might be after 100 or 200 years or perhaps in 500 years,’’ Madhuswamy argued.
However, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar said Eshwarappa was speaking as agent of RSS, which never honoured the national flag and refused to hoist it at its headquarters in Nagpur. The RSS or BJP and its earlier Hindu Maha Sabha did not participate in the country’s freedom struggle. They want to propagate the RSS agenda and ideology, the Congress leaders said.