Bengaluru: BJP and JD(S) members, who continued their dharna on Friday for the resignation of minister K.J. George over DySP M.K. Ganapati’s suicide, held placards saying,“Sonia, Rahul, open your eyes, hear us.” But their attempts to draw the attention of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi did not go down well with Floor leader and Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwar, who requested Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy to restrain them from carrying the placards in the House. Dr Parameshwar noted that the government had ordered a judicial probe and a CID inquiry. “Without inquiry the truth will not come out. And so it is inappropriate to seek the resignation of Mr. George at this time. If he was directly involved in the case, I would accept your demand,” he said, adding that if the minister’s involvement was established by the inquiry, the opposition had every right to seek his resignation.
But opposition leader K.S. Eshwarappa argued that the reason for DySP’s suicide was clear and if the government didn’t want to believe it, the House should play the video footage of Mr Ganapati mentioning the names of Mr George and two IPS officers.
With opposition members refusing to return to their seats, the House passed the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Karnataka Stamps (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the KSOU Amendment Bill, 2016 without discussion. All four bills were passed by the Assembly as well. While the Chairman adjourned the House to Monday, council sources said it could be adjourned sine-die that day.
