Karnataka law minister under fire singles out woman legislator, says she has to be expelled

“She cannot talk to me like that by standing in the well… She cannot talk to me like this,” shouted Madhuswamy at the Congress MLA, much to everybody’s shock.

He further demanded that Kumara Bangarappa, who was occupying the Speaker’s chair in the absence of Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, expel Nimbalkar.

“I am serious. She should be sent out of the House,” urged Madhuswamy.

Karnataka’s Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister @JCMBJP lashes out at @INCKarnataka MLA @DrAnjaliTai over protests in the House. Agitated minister singles out woman MLA, even as several Congress MLAs were protesting. “She is not supposed to talk to me like this,” minister says. pic.twitter.com/5pw5lMwIeZ

— Anusha Ravi Sood (@anusharavi10) December 21, 2022

Back-and-forth in Assembly

When the Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah demanded that the law minister apologise for yelling at the woman MLA, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was found defending his Cabinet minister.

“This issue should not be dragged any further. Can this be called attack, harassment, and rape?” he asked.

“There are many instances where you (Congress leaders) were also behaving in a similar fashion in the House. Can we call it an attack?” Bommai asked the Congress leaders.

Siddaramiah was quick to object to the chief minister’s statement on the matter.

“Basavaraj, you have also been in the House as a legislator for many years. You were in the Upper and Lower Houses. Is it inappropriate for a minister to speak in such a tone?”

He added: “I have been in this House for the past four decades. I have never witnessed a minister talking in such a tone. How can a minister tell a legislator to go out of the House?”

When Madhuswamy continued his demand for Nimbalkar’s expulsion, Congress veteran and Haliyal MLA RV Deshpande said: “It is inapt to suspend her. No woman legislator has ever been suspended from this House. Nimbalkar has not spoken rudely with the law minister.”

Kumar Bangarappa tried to calm the tense situation in the house. “It is not a healthy environment. Even after answering the questions — jumping into the well and protesting is not a good sign,” Bangarappa appealed to Congress legislators, who were protesting in the well.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah demanded that the law minister apologise over the incident in order to continue the session.

“If regrets are not expressed and half-an-hour discussion on poor bus services in the state is not allowed, then there is no question of withdrawing the protest. Do ministers have the right to speak as per their wishes in the House?” asked Siddaramaiah.

Madhuswamy, Nimbalkar stand their ground

When South First contacted Madhuswamy on the incident, he said, “I am not interested to speak again on this episode. I will not comment on this as everyone has witnessed it.”

Meanwhile, Nimbalkar contended that she neither said anything to the law minister nor made any harsh comment when she was in the well.

“I did not say a word to the minister. I was shocked to see the law minister yelling at me. Why are women MLAs being targeted?” she asked.

“All the party MLAs were in the well shouting against the BJP government. We were protesting seeking half an hour’s time from the Speaker to discuss the poor bus services in the state,” she told South First.

“He demanded my suspension and also said I should be thrown out of the House. This is not the way a minister addresses a woman legislator,” said Nimbalkar.

On whether she would demand an apology from the law minister, she said, “I will not pursue this matter further. The chief minister and the leader of the Opposition held a meeting with a Speaker on the matter. It was decided not to pursue the matter and pave the way for the smooth conduct of the session.”