Rajanna's sacking: 'Level-headed' Siddaramaiah mum in Assembly but BJP won't let it go

Citing rules, minister HK Patil said discussing a minister's exit from the Cabinet cannot be allowed unless that member wants to speak. Rajanna was not present in the Assembly.

Bengaluru: The sacking of senior Congress lawmaker KN Rajanna from the Cabinet created an uproar in the Assembly and Council on Tuesday with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah preferring to keep mum on the matter.

When the Assembly proceedings commenced Tuesday morning, the opposition BJP demanded an explanation from the government on why Rajanna was sacked.

Assuring the opposition that the government would make a statement, Speaker UT Khader said it was an "internal" matter, a view that did not go down well with the BJP members.

Even as Siddaramaiah was in the Assembly, Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil tabled the notification on Rajanna's removal from the Cabinet.

When BJP members demanded Siddaramaiah to speak, Khader said, "Eating the dosa is more important than who cooked it."

Citing rules, Patil said discussing a minister's exit from the Cabinet cannot be allowed unless that member wants to speak. Rajanna was not present in the Assembly.

"Jagdeep Dhankar resigned as vice-president. Was that discussed?" Patil said.

"Resignation is not the same as dismissal," Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad said.

"Why is the CM looking so dull?" he asked.

IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge asked the BJP to explain why Bijapur City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was expelled from the party. "He was expelled from the party, not the government," BJP's V Sunil Kumar retorted.

Priyank argued that it was Siddaramaiah's prerogative to add or remove members to the Cabinet. "How is that your concern?" he asked. "The point here is that the prerogative here is that of the Congress high command and not CM's," Kumar said in response.

In the Legislative Council, Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy raised Rajanna's sacking. "We want to know the reason for his removal. Was he facing corruption charges? Was he sacked because of his statements against the party and the high command? Or, was it because of his statement on honey-trapping?" he said.

Rajanna's son, MLC Rajendra Rajanna, was quiet throughout the discussion. He went out after the conversation ended.

During a separate discussion on the June 4 stampede, Siddaramaiah told the opposition that he is not under despair. He said this when Bommanahalli BJP MLA Satish Reddy said the CM looked dull after sacking Rajanna.

"I'm never disappointed. I'm always level-headed," he said.