Tensions flared in the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday as BJP MLAs barged into Speaker U T Khader's chamber, expressing strong objections to his handling of the proceedings.
The confrontation came amidst heated debates over the recent police lathi charge on Panchamasali Lingayat protesters, with the ruling Congress and opposition BJP trading accusations.
The issue arose when Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar, himself a leader of the Panchamasali Lingayat community, criticized the decision of previous BJP government to scrap the 4 percent Muslim reservation and reallocate it equally between the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.
He alleged that the BJP government, under Basavaraj Bommai, had backtracked on its decision by assuring the Supreme Court it would not implement the reservation changes.
"For the sake of elections, they announced reservations, but later told the Supreme Court they wouldn't go ahead with it," Kashappanavar said.
BJP members objected, insisting that the discussion focus solely on the police action during Tuesday's protests near Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, where the Panchamasali Lingayat community demanded inclusion in the 2A category of the OBC reservation matrix (15 percent), as opposed to the current 3B category (5 percent).
The protests turned violent earlier this week, with stone pelting from demonstrators and subsequent lathi charges by police.
During the assembly debate, Kashappanavar accused the BJP of misleading the community and the Panchamasali seer, alleging that the protest was "sponsored and instigated' by the party.
He also claimed RSS members were involved in the stone pelting, sparking a heated exchange between BJP and Congress MLAs. -- PTI