Mining sets Assembly on fire

DHNS

Bangalore, 10 July 2010: The controversy over illegal mining took an ugly turn in the Legislative Assembly on Friday with a handful of BJP MLAs aligned with the ‘Bellary Reddys’ menacingly moving towards Congress legislators and one even threatening a to “finish” a Congress member when he came out.

In the surcharged atmosphere, even Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who was replying to the discussion on mining, lost his cool at one point and charged towards Opposion leader Siddaramiah,  but he was pulled back by a colleague. He later apologised to the House.

The House witnessed heated exchanges between the Congress and the Treasury benches when the CM said that Tourism Minister Janardhana Reddy should be allowed to give his version on the allegations against him regarding mining.

The Congress leaders strongly opposed it saying that the CM should first clarify their doubts over the mining issue. “Reddy is an interested party in the issue. Also, he is not the mining or forest minister to speak about it,” they vehemently argued.

With no meeting point between the two sides, Speaker K G Bopaiah adjourned the House for Monday even as the Congress members were staging a dharna in the well of the House.

After the adjournment, suddenly there was a din in the House. Dinesh Gundu Rao (Cong), looking at the supporters of the Reddys, said, “This is Bangalore and not Bellary. Don’t show your high-handedness here as you do in Bellary.”  Provoked by this, Suresh Babu, BJP MLA from Kampli, Bellary, pounced on Rao saying, “We will finish you...Come out...”

Babu is a close confidant of Janardhana Reddy and related to Minister B Sriramulu. Immediately, Janardhana Reddy, his minister brother Karunakara Reddy and another brother Somashekar Reddy along with party MLAs Nagaraj and Nagendra began shouting at Rao. There was a free flow of unparliamentary words from the warring factions. Some MLAs made futile attempts to pacify the fighting MLAs.

The CM had left the House by that time. Somashekar Reddy was seen throwing a book at the Congress members. The din continued for sometime before the Reddys of the mine-rich Bellary and their supporters left the Assembly hall. But the Congress and the JD(S) members refused to leave the venue.