The Minister for Municipal Administration and Wakf has been indicted by Privileges Committee of the Legislative Council for “misleading” the House.
A query posed to Minister for Municipal Administration and Wakf Qamarul Islam, who has been indicted by the Privileges Committee of the Legislative Council for “misleading” the House, led to a heated debate between the Opposition and the ruling party members on whether or not he can be allowed to answer on the floor of the House.
When a query was raised by BJP member Achar Halappa Basappa during the Question Hour, committee’s chairperson G. Madhusudhan argued that the Minister was “not accused but indicted” and therefore cannot be allowed to answer on the floor of the House. Leader of the Opposition K.S. Eshwarappa added that Mr. Qamarul Islam had misled the House by providing false information on Wakf properties and would do so again if given a chance to speak.
Countered
Leader of the House S.R. Patil and Congress MLC Veeranna Mattikatti countered this by saying that the committee report had only been submitted, but there had been no debate on it and the House had not arrived at any conclusion.
JD(S) MLC Basavaraj C. Horatti said Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy should put an end to the arguments and counterarguments by giving a ruling on whether or not Mr. Qamarul Islam was eligible to answer. This, however, went unheeded.
When Mr. Madhusudhan said Mr. Shankaramurthy should not give a ruling before hearing him out, Mr. Patil and other Congress leaders said he was “dictating” to the Chair and he should apologise.
The BJP members rushed to the well of the House and staged a dharna, demanding that Mr. Qamarul Islam should not be allowed to speak, even as Mr. Shankaramurthy asked the members to calm down and return to their places. The melee ended only after the chairperson adjourned the House.
