Bengaluru, Sep 26 (IANS) BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy on Saturday said Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had created unrest among legislators by claiming that MLAs residing in Bengaluru had married twice, and demanded that he release the list of those with two wives to clear doubts.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, Narayanaswamy said Shivakumar’s statement had created suspicion about the MLAs among people in their constituencies.
“Since the Chief Minister said that some MLAs have married twice, a fire has been created in their homes. People are now looking at them with suspicion in their constituencies, and the MLAs have lost their peace of mind. If the Chief Minister releases the list of those who have married twice, the truth will come out, and the doubts will also be cleared,” he said.
Condemning Shivakumar’s remark, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy asked whether a person holding the post of Chief Minister could make such a statement in the Assembly. He said all 224 Congress MLAs should have protested against the Chief Minister’s remarks.
Shivakumar’s statement in the Legislative Assembly that several MLAs who came to Bengaluru from other parts of the state had married twice sparked curiosity, with Opposition Leader R. Ashoka and BJP MLA S. Suresh Kumar demanding that the Chief Minister disclose the names of the legislators he was referring to.
Meanwhile, Narayanaswamy urged the Chief Minister to provide additional security to former MP Pratap Simha, BJP MLA C.T. Ravi, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and several other leaders following the arrest of two persons in Chikkaballapur over alleged plans to target prominent political leaders. He termed the matter sensitive and said the state government should not take it lightly.
Narayanaswamy said Pratap Simha had protested against a police officer’s conduct during a Ganesh idol procession and had also spoken about the Nilishal incident.
He said he had learnt that an FIR had been registered against the former MP under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Appealing to members of the Dalit community not to escalate the issue, he said nobody should misuse the law.
He urged all sides to put the matter behind them and maintain harmony.
He also criticised the Congress protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Narayanaswamy said instead of demanding the resignation of the CEC, the Congress should demand the resignation of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
He alleged that such protests were creating confusion in the country and would not serve any public interest, accusing the Congress of holding them for publicity.
Asked about the upcoming Legislative Council elections to two graduates’ constituencies and a teachers’ constituency, Narayanaswamy said the NDA alliance had convened a meeting to discuss the polls as part of preparations.
–IANS
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