Karnataka crisis rocks Parliament again

New Delhi: The ongoing political crisis in Karnataka rocked the Parliament on Tuesday, with Rajya Sabha witnessing repeated adjournments before getting adjourned for the day and Congress’ Rahul Gandhi joining party members in Lok Sabha, who were raising slogans like “Down with dictatorship” (tanashahi band karo) and  “Stop the politics of poaching” (shikar ki rajneeti band karo band karo).

Arriving in the Lok Sabha at noon when Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was raising the Karnataka issue and accusing the ruling party of “poaching” its MLAs in the state, Mr Gandhi joined Congress members who were raising slogans.

Mr Gandhi joined them but his pitch was not as high as others. He merely repeated the last words of the slogans.

After Mr Chowdhury was disallowed by Speaker Om Birla to raise the Karnataka issue, Mr Chowdhury scribbled a few slogans on a piece of paper and gave it to his fellow MPs sitting behind him, who promptly raised them.

The Speaker also warned members against bringing posters. “This is our right,” said one of the members. To which the Speaker said, “No it is not your right”. “The country is watching you. This is your House. Don’t make it the house of a civic body,” Mr Birla said.

In Rajya Sabha, Congress members sought a discussion over developments in Karnataka, which was denied by the Chair, which led to two adjournments before 2 pm and then getting adjourned for the day.