Bengaluru: Hours after the JD(S) and the BJP boycotted the Assembly proceedings for the second consecutive day in protest against suspension of 10 MLAs, the two parties announced to fight together against the ruling Congress government in Karnataka to protect the country's interests.
Announcing this at a joint press conference with former chief minister Basavaraja Bommai, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said that the party had requested for a debate in the ongoing session against several illegalities, including the Bangalore-Mysore NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Limited) Road work but no discussions were held.
"In order protect the interests of the country, we have joined hands with the BJP to fight against the Congress led government," said Kumaraswamy.
"The NICE agenda was purposely being listed in the end of the agenda although we had been pressing for a discussion on it," the JD(S) leader alleged. According to him, former minister Madhuswamy was fined Rs 5 lakh while former Prime Minister Deve Gowda was fined Rs 2 crores for questioning about the NICE Road earlier. In the past, the Basavaraj Bommai-led government did a good job in road construction and the court had reprimanded the company, Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy said that even if JD(S)'s land is related to NICE road works, it should be confiscated. "Our fight will continue. We have many records that we can handover to the government. Let's investigate the issue. I am ready to give suggestions to the government to take necessary action in this regard. The Bangalore-Mysore Expressway was completed in four years but, why is the NICE Road not being completed yet?'' Kumaraswamy asked.
Echoing the same, Bommai said that a highway was proposed between Bangalore and Mysore to ease traffic congestion but the construction work has not been completed yet.
"We are saying that the surplus land should be returned to the farmers. But, the terms and conditions are being violated. Also, the company is serving notices to some people over land acquisition. The concerned farmers are contacting us. The order issued by the Cabinet Sub-Committee, Supreme Court, and High Court should be followed. If the toll collection is excessive, the government should investigate and confiscate the money. The government's stand on the illegality of NICE should be communicated, else we will have to doubt their intention," Bommai said.
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Earlier in the day, both JD(S) and BJP MLAs boycotted Assembly proceedings for the second consecutive day on Friday after Speaker Speaker U T Khader suspended 10 legislators for their "indecent and disrespectful" conduct inside the House. On the concluding day of the monsoon session that began on July 3, BJP MLAs staged a sit-in demonstration in front of Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, raising slogans against the Speaker and terming chief minister Siddaramaiah as 'Hitler'.
On Thursday, a joint delegation of BJP and JD(S) submitted a petition to Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot about the "suppressive and dictatorial" manner of "functioning" of the Congress-led government in Karnataka along with the conduct of the Speaker. Also, the Speaker had met the Governor along with his deputy Rudrappa Lamani and submitted a report in connection with the Assembly proceedings on Wednesday.
Chaotic and unruly scenes were witnessed in the Assembly yesterday after BJP legislators tore copies of bills and the agenda and threw those at Lamani, who was presiding over the session. Following which, the Speaker suspended 10 members for the remaining session.
The suspended MLAs are C N Ashwath Narayan, V Sunil Kumar, R Ashoka, Araga Jnanendra, D Vedavyasa Kamath, Yashpal Suvarna, Dheeraj Muniraj, A Umanath Kotian, Arvind Bellad and Y Bharath Shetty.
