Bengaluru: A derogatory remark about minority communities by BJP opposition leader in the legislative council K S Eshwarappa led to uproarious scenes in the House on Tuesday. Though Congress and JD(S) members demanded an apology, Eshwarappa firmly declined.
Following protests by Congress and JD(S) members belonging to the minority community, council chairman D H Shankarmurthy expunged the word from the records.
The issue, triggered during chief minister Siddaramaiah’s reply to the debate on the state budget who said of the Rs 1.86 lakh crore budget for 2017-2018, only Rs 2,000 crore was allocated for the minorities.
While intervening, Eshwarappa said the BJP does not give election tickets to anyone, just because he or she is from a particular community. He said any person who wants to seek a ticket from the party needs to work for the BJP office and then seek a ticket. The BJP has a policy of “no votes, no seat”.
He said, “There are MLCs representing minorities in this House who have secured tickets from other parties due to their, or their families’, influence. In our party, people need to work for the ticket in the office.” He then used a derogatory word against the minorities.
(Agencies)
