Bengaluru, Feb 4 The Chairman of the Legislative Council, Basavaraj Horatti, on Wednesday asked Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad, who is also the political secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, that he must learn to speak decently.
The development took place while Congress members were vehemently pressing for an apology from BJP MLC C.T. Ravi over his controversial “Pakistani tongue” remark.
Amid the chaos, Congress MLC Naseer Ahmad demanded that the Chairman take action against Ravi and have him expelled from the House. He also alleged “match-fixing”.
This angered Chairman Horatti, who asked Naseer Ahmad to mind his language. “Do not make remarks at your whims and fancies. This is a warning to you, Naseer. You have spoken without restraint in this House earlier as well. Do not act smart. You have disrupted the entire proceedings. Sit quietly,” Horatti said.
“I will ask the floor leader to make him sit quietly,” the Chairman added.
At this stage, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, questioned how Naseer Ahmad could allege “match-fixing” and direct the remark at the Chair.
Chairman Horatti further said, “Floor leader, convey this to Naseer Ahmad. Otherwise, I will be forced to take drastic action against him. He must mind his tongue. Otherwise, we will have to snatch it away.”
Naseer Ahmad stood up and questioned the Chairman, asking what exactly he had said. “I asked BJP MLC Ravikumar whether there was match-fixing. Let them call Ravi to the House,” he said.
Horatti angrily remarked that Naseer Ahmad would be expelled from the House if he continued in this manner. “Floor leader, this is not correct. He is talking to me. He showed the match-fixing sign at me,” the Chairman said.
Senior Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad then intervened, saying, “Mr Chairman, Naseer Ahmad did not say anything to you. He was speaking to the opposition members. The match-fixing remark was directed at BJP members and not at the Chair.”
Chairman Horatti responded, “Mr Hariprasad, when I was conveying a message to BJP members, he called out to me, made a match-fixing sign, and asked whether there was match-fixing. He addressed me first before speaking to the opposition.”
Naseer Ahmad countered by saying that he knew how to respect the Chair. “Don’t we know how to respect the Chair?” he asked.
Addressing Naseer Ahmad, Chairman Horatti said, “First learn to behave respectfully.” Thereafter, Naseer Ahmad sat down as senior Congress leaders asked him not to make any further statements.
Earlier, the controversy surrounding the “Pakistani tongue” remark made by BJP MLC C.T. Ravi continued on Wednesday, disrupting proceedings in the Legislative Council as Congress members pressed for an apology from Ravi. As Ravi remained absent from the House, Chairman Basavaraj Horatti stated that proceedings would continue until Ravi arrived.
--IANS
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