You own 'Tukde-Tukde gang,' Home minister Basavaraj Bommai tells Congress

The Citizenship Amendment Act and remarks over the ‘Tukde-Tukde gang’ rocked the Assembly on Tuesday, with the Congress staging a walkout after Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri refused to allow a debate on the Mangaluru police firing incident and the Bidar sedition case.

Moving an adjournment motion, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said the law and order situation in Karnataka had “completely collapsed” and that Karnataka, like the rest of India, had seen protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

“Two innocent people died in police firing in Mangaluru. Two women were jailed in Bidar on charges of sedition. It’s the essence of democracy for people to voice their opinions against the decisions of the government. Calling this sedition is against the Constitution and stifles freedom of expression,” Siddaramaiah said.

At this point, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai intervened to say it was the Congress that imposed the Emergency, during which all civil liberties were suspended. This led to pandemonium.

“You opposed Indira Gandhi then. Now that you’re in the Congress, you’ve changed track,” RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa said. “We protested against the Emergency to save Bharat Mata.”

To this, Siddaramaiah said Indira Gandhi’s Emergency was one that was declared.

“What we’re seeing now is an undeclared emergency,” he said. “Bharat Mata isn’t your asset. All 135 crore Indians are children of Bharat Mata.”

The House plunged into chaos when Tourism Minister C T Ravi said some of Bharat Mata’s children belonged to the ‘Tukde-Tukde gang,’ a moniker for “left liberals”. When Congress members dared the BJP to arrest the gang members, Bommai said: “We will certainly arrest them all. But you (Congress) are the owners of the Tukde-Tukde gang.”

Siddaramaiah charged that “false cases” were being slapped against those opposing the CAA and NRC. “Be it in Mangaluru or Bidar, the police are being misused. The police aren’t acting responsibly or professionally. They’ve become puppets,” he said.

Kageri decided to convert the adjournment motion to a short discussion and scheduled it for Wednesday.

“What’s important now is to take up the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address,” Kageri said, amid resistance from Congress. At one point, Kageri said the pandemonium was “a waste of time,” a comment Siddaramaiah wanted expunged.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa locked horns with Siddaramaiah, saying he could not dictate to the Speaker. “You have to accept the Speaker’s decision and cooperate.” Accusing the BJP of scuttling the Opposition, the Congress staged a walkout.