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BJP leader CN Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday slammed the Congress-led Karnataka government and accused it of promoting "Gunda culture" in the Assembly House, backing the Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot amid the growing criticism for his recent walkout without reading the complete address drafted by the state government.
Narayan charged the Congress leaders with hooligan culture, saying it is being "promoted by this Congress government inside the house itself." Making his stance on the Karnataka Governor clear, he stated that Gehlot fulfilled his constitutional duty and criticised the state government for its behaviour. "The way the Congress government have been behaving is a black mark on the state and the proceedings of the house," he criticised. The controversy comes amid a faceoff between the Congress-led State government and Raj Bhavan over the Governor's customary address to the joint sitting of the legislature. Governor Gehlot had expressed reservations over 11 paragraphs in the speech, which reportedly criticised the Central government's policies, including the VB-G RAM G Act replacing MGNREGA. He walked out of the Assembly session, refusing to read the address prepared by the Council of Ministers and instead delivering a speech drafted by himself. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condemned the Governor's action, calling it a "violation of the Constitution" and stating that the government is examining whether to approach the Supreme Court. He noted that the move contravenes Article 163, which mandates that the Council of Ministers advises the Governor, and Article 176, which requires the Governor to deliver a "Special Address" at the start of each session. Narayan also commented on the recent case involving Karnataka Minister Ramappa Timmapur. Senior officers from his department were caught allegedly accepting a bribe for issuing a bar license. He claimed that Timmapur has been caught repeatedly, saying,"This excise minister; there have been many corruption charges against him." BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Friday demanded the resignation of the Karnataka Excise Minister Ramappa Timmapur. R Ashoka alleged that Minister Ramappa Timmapur was involved in the scandal. "He collected the money from the wine shops, bars, and liquor. They collected between Rs 2000 and Rs 3000 crores for the Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu elections. It's a big scandal. We demanded the resignation of the excise minister," he said. "We will fight for the resignation if not the CM has to resign," he added (ANI)
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