Bengaluru, February 5: The Chairman of the Legislative Council, Basavaraj Horatti, addressed Congress MLC Nasir Ahmed, who also serves as the political secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to learn to speak with decorum.
This exchange occurred during a session when Congress members were pressing for an apology from BJP MLC C.T. Ravi over his controversial remarks referring to a “Pakistani tongue.”
Amid the uproar, Nasir Ahmed demanded that the Chairman take action against Ravi and expel him from the house, accusing him of “match-fixing.” This provoked an angry response from Chairman Horatti, who admonished Ahmed to control his language. “Do not make statements at your whim. This is a warning for you, Nasir. You have spoken thoughtlessly in this house before. Do not show off. You have disrupted the entire proceedings. Sit quietly,” Horatti stated.
He further remarked, “I will tell the floor leader to silence him.”
On this occasion, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, questioned how Nasir Ahmed could accuse anyone of “match-fixing” and how such comments could be directed at the Chairman.
Horatti continued, “Floor leader, convey this to Nasir Ahmed. Otherwise, I will have to take strict action against him. He must control his tongue, or we will have to take it away.”
Nasir Ahmed stood up and asked the Chairman what exactly he had said. He insisted, “I asked BJP MLC Ravi Kumar if there was any match-fixing. Let him be called to the house.”
Horatti, visibly upset, warned that if Ahmed continued speaking in this manner, he would be expelled from the house. “Floor leader, this is not right. He is speaking to me. He pointed towards me with the match-fixing accusation,” he said.
Senior Congress MLC B.K. Hariprasad intervened, stating, “Mr. Chairman, Nasir Ahmed said nothing to you. He was addressing the opposition members. The comment about match-fixing was directed at BJP members, not at you.”
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S.C.H.