Bengaluru: The sight of rodents nibbling away at corners of carpet unnerved actor-politician Tara Anuradha just as the Legislative Council was discussing about raiding elephants of Hassan on Wednesday.
When forest minister B Ramanath Rai was replying to Mr Chowdareddy Toopalli of JD(S) on elephants pillaging crops in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district, Tara complained to Chairman D H Shankar Murthy about rats darting across the floor and nibbling away strands of the carpet inside the House. She said the sight of rodents had caused such fear that she was scared to rest her feet on the floor. All MLCs were taken aback about the complaint but before they could react, Mr Shankar Murthy denied permission for a debate on the issue.
Mr Rai, however, sought to know from her whether she was really afraid of rats.
Later, Tara told reporters that she had seen the rats moving about on the floor of the House. She pointed out that a separate department had been functioning for maintenance of the House and wanted authorities of that department to address this issue on priority.
In fact, the security staff had a tough time on Tuesday while trying to locate the body of a dead rat which was emanating a stench. Despite launching a massive cleaning drive, they could not locate the body of the dead rat. The upshot: they used incense sticks to neutralise the unbearable stench.
Last year, JD(S) floor leader Basavaraj Horatti had complained to the Council Chairman that he took an injection for an insect bite on his palm. The then Council secretary, Mr Shirish, felt that insects were flying into the House thanks to fresh flowers. Ever since, the staff stopped using fresh flowers to adorn vases!
