Speaker sullied Karnataka's image: Krishna

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has expressed anguish over the latest political developments in his home state, Karnataka, maintaining that they had tarnished its image globally.

“It’s a blot on the fair name of Karnataka — the way the session was conducted with all kinds of people getting inside the state Assembly,” Mr Krishna, who’s also a former chief minister of the southern state, told newspersons in New Delhi.

Mr Krishna was critical of the Assembly Speaker’s conduct, asserting that Mr K G Bopaiah should have maintained decorum in the House.

“Karnataka is the new face of India. Bangalore has become the focal point. They (the world) look at India through Bangalore,” said Mr Krishna, adding that bedlam in the state assembly on Monday affected India’s global image. He, however, declined to comment on the role played by governor H R Bhardwaj or chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Congress, too, renewed its assault on BJP for the manner in which it had won majority in the assembly, arguing that events in the state in the last few days had “far-reaching implications’’ for Indian democracy.

Alleging that the Speaker, acting at the behest of his BJP handlers in New Delhi, had manufactured a majority, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari warned that such a strategy could be employed in other states. “Can you imagine what will happen if this repeated in other states,’’ he wondered.

“If the legal battle is kept aside for a moment, we’ll realise the 16 MLAs were disqualified illegally. A minority was converted into a manufactured majority. The matter is sub-judice, but we feel that it was illegal,’’ Mr Tewari maintained.

The Speaker, by barring 16 MLAs only hours before the start of the trust-vote proceedings, had manufactured a majority for the government.

The entire nation saw it. It was shameful, the Congress spokesman added. He alleged that the script for the entire drama was drafted in the Capital.

“The Speaker only executed it and completed the formality,’’ Mr Tewari said. BJP, according to him, had lost all moral authority to rule the state. ``Does the Karnataka government have the mandate to run the state. BJP should reply,’’ he said.