Former Minister S.T. Somashekar’s refusal to walk out with the BJP members over Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reported assurance to the Minorities Department raised many eyebrows in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
When the BJP members led by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok walked out of the House after Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil defended the Chief Minister, Mr. Somashekar was the only member of the BJP who stayed put.
He refused to budge even when fellow party MLAs asked him to join them in the walkout.
The JD(S) members, including former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, remained in their seats when the BJP members walked out on the issue.
Minutes before the walkout, Mr. Ashok, in the midst of an animated exchange with the Congress on the issue, said the Opposition’s 85 members had enough “strength” to take on the Congress in the Assembly.
But, the JD(S) members neither joined the BJP in their wordy duel with the Congress nor participated in the walkout, raising questions over the proclaimed floor co-ordination between the two Opposition parties, who had forged ties to contest the Lok Sabha elections jointly.
