The legislative assembly witnessed uproar on Wednesday as opposition members staged a protest against BJP state president KS Eshwarappa’s diatribe against governor HR Bhardwaj over the issue of appointing a new Lok Ayukta.

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Accusing Bhardwaj of indulging in ‘cheap politics’ over appointing Lok Ayukta, Eshwarappa accused Bhardwaj of acting as a puppet of the Congress. He also wanted Bhardwaj to be shunted out of Karnataka.

Eshwarappa’s attack drew protests from the Congress and JD(S) members. They raised slogans against Eshwarappa and demanded an apology from him for his comments. It drew strong retaliation from the BJP members.

Speaker KG Bopaiah’s repeated appeals for restoring order in the house proved futile as the opposition members started a dharna in the well of the house. At this stage, Bopaiah adjourned the house for a brief period. The verbal duel between the two sides continued even after the house resumed business in the afternoon.

Leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah and JD(S) leader HD Revanna, taking exception to Eshwarappa’s diatribe, said: “The governor is the custodian of the Constitution in the state. It is shocking that the president of the ruling party is making such irresponsible allegations against the governor.”

However, Eshwarappa refused to budge from his stand and continued his attack against the governor and this further infuriated the opposition members. Bopaiah expunged these comments against the governor from the records.

The opposition insisted that Eshwarappa withdraw his comments. When the ruckus continued between the two sides, the Speaker adjourned the house for the day.