'Congress planning to remove Council chairman'

JD(S) MLC Sharavana on Sunday said the ruling Congress is planning to remove D H Shankaramurthy from the post of Legislative Council chairman with the support of his party.
 Sharavana said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has shown interest in this regard. “The chief minister himself proposed it and sought the support of JD(S) in this regard. He (chief minister) is of the view that secular forces should unite to check the communal BJP in the state. And he said that this process should begin from the Upper House,” the MLC added.

Sharavana had earlier in the day led a delegation of representatives of Arya Vysya community and submitted a memorandum to the chief minister seeking reservation for the community. Shankaramurthy belongs to BJP.

But Congress and JD(S) are unlikely to initiate steps to remove Shankaramurthy from his post in the ongoing budget session of the legislature. Further, the JD(S) MLC said leaders of both the parties will take a decision in this regard after the upcoming byelections to Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly constituencies.