Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Saturday witnessed a verbal duel between Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Congress leader Siddaramaiah over corruption charges against the former.
Yediyurappa asked Siddaramaiah to prove the corruption allegations against him or his family members or resign from the post of Leader of the Opposition.
Speaking on the no-confidence motion against his government, Yediyurappa said: “If Siddaramaiah proves even a single charge against me or my family members, I will resign from public life. Will you do the same (resign from public life) if you (Siddaramaiah) fail to prove the allegations against me?”
Yediyurappa added: “Are you not aware of the rules? One is not supposed to make allegations against a person who is not a member of this House. This is the basic rule which we ourselves have made. How can you, such a senior leader, break this rule?”
When the ruling BJP lawmakers started raising slogans against Siddaramaiah, Yediyurappa asked party members to remain silent as, he said, he was capable enough to handle such cases personally.
“Let him (Siddaramaiah) make allegations. I have all the gumption to reply back,” he said while instructing his party MLAs to remain silent.
When Siddaramaiah continued to level charges against Vijayendra, the Chief Minister remarked: “You (Siddaramaiah) should be ashamed of yourself. You are not supposed to make allegations against a person who is not a member of the House. You prove the allegations or resign.”
In response, Siddaramaiah caustically wondered of Yediyurappa would order a Special Investigation Team probe by sitting a Supreme Court Judge into sting operations conducted by electronic media.
The Congress leader said that the sting operations along with WhatsApp records and audio clips were in the public domain. “When these charges are in the public domain, why should I resign? I am an opposition member, raising it in the Assembly,” he said.
