Karnataka Congress on Monday staged a protest outside the state Assembly after chief minister Basavraj Bommai unveiled a portrait of V D Savarkar inside the Karnataka Assembly Hall.
The protest on the first day of the winter session of the state assembly was led by Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and the state unit chief D K Shivkumar.
"They want that our Assembly proceedings should not take place. They want it disrupted. They have brought this photo because we are going to raise a lot of corruption issues against them. They don't have any development agenda," Karnataka Congress chief and MLA Shivakumar said.
Addressing a press conference Siddaramaiah condemned the decision to install Savarkar's portrait." It is not a protest. It is demand. I am making it clear to install portraits of other national leaders and social reform leaders".
Siddaramaiah said this was a tactic to divert the attention of people, "In order to divert the attention of people, they are doing this. We will not continue with the protest. It is a symbolic demand made by the Congress Legislature party. The Speaker should have taken the confidence of the house. That has not been done. It has not been discussed in the business advisory committee also".
"Keeping all of us in the dark, unilaterally the Speaker has taken a decision to put up Savarkar's photograph and other leaders. Who are the other leaders? We do not know. We are ignorant of these things," he added.
Siddaramaiah said as a leader of the opposition he should have been informed about the portrait issue.
"See, I am an opposition leader. As a leader of the opposition, I should have been invited. that is why we demand you put portraits of all national leaders and Socialist Republics leaders. We are not opposing portraits of any leader. They inspire us. They put a portrait of Savarkar to divert the attention of people from many issues like corruption, water theft and farmers' issues".
( With inputs from ANI )
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