Published Feb 03, 2026 | 1:06 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 03, 2026 | 1:06 PM
Karnataka Legislative Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti. Credit: facebook.com/Horattiofficial
Synopsis: Karnataka BJP petitioned Legislative Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti seeking suspension of Congress MLC Naseer Ahmed for allegedly calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “deshdrohi” during Assembly debate. Remarks were expunged, but BJP staged protests demanding an apology from Ahmed.
Karnataka BJP submitted a petition to Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti demanding immediate suspension of Congress MLC Naseer Ahmed from the House for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The issue erupted during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reply to the discussion on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address on Monday, 2 February, when Ahmed allegedly made some remarks against the prime minister during a heated exchange between the Opposition and treasury benches.
The Chairman expunged the remarks made by the MLC. However, BJP members staged a protest from the well of the House, demanding that Ahmed apologise.
“Calling the country’s proud Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi a ‘deshdrohi’ (traitor to the nation) and ‘one who has committed great betrayal against the country’ right in the presence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, is an extremely inhuman and condemnable act,” Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Earlier, on 29 January, Karnataka BJP leaders walked out of the Legislative Assembly in protest against a government advertisement published in newspapers today criticising the Union government’s Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G), 2025.
Opposition accused the government of “disrespecting” Mahatma Gandhi, alleging that the advertisement carried caricatures of Gandhi in conversation with a man named Sangappa, who is depicted wearing a white shirt and khaki trousers.
BJP claimed it resembled the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) uniform. The man was depicted as highlighting the alleged shortcomings of the Union government’s new scheme.
BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said in the Assembly, “There is a front-page advertisement in all newspapers. The government functions using taxpayers’ money.” He alleged that it was a “clear loot” of taxpayers’ money by the government for “false propaganda” and “vendetta politics.”
Defending the advertisement, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge claimed that the BJP appeared to suggest that the state government must accept everything the Central government says “with folded hands and remain silent.”
Reiterating that they did not violate any law, Kharge said, “Let the BJP point out which law has been violated.”
