Karnataka Assembly proceedings were paralysed today amid chaos over a BJP MLA watching a zoomed in picture of Priyanka Gandhi on his mobile phone in the House, with ruling Congress members on the offensive demanding action against the legislator.
As angry Congress members raised the issue demanding action against Prabhu Chavan for his "indecent act" in the House yesterday, their counterparts in BJP also hit back with both trading charges against each other, causing pandemonium.
Speaker Kagodu Thimappa adjourned the House for ten minutes initially till afternoon and later for the day as the bedlam persisted despite his efforts to restore calm.
As the House assembled in the morning, slogan shouting Congress members rushed to the front row of seats, demanding strict action against Chavan, saying his "unacceptable" conduct had hurt the dignity of their leader.
In a major embarrassment to BJP, Chavan was caught on TV camera watching a zoomed in photo of Priyanka Gandhi on his mobile phone and another BJP MLA U B Banakar playing video games during discussion on the plight of sugarcane growers.
Hitting back at Congress, BJP members led by Jagadish Shettar sought two-day suspension of minister M H Ambareesh and Congress MLA S S Mallikarjun from the House, alleging they were also surfing through mobile phones during proceedings.
TV footage was being aired showing Ambareesh and Mallikarjun using mobile phones during discussion on the plight of sugarcane farmers yesterday, Shettar said.
Raising the issue, Law and Parliamentary Minister T B Jayachandra demanded action against Chavan and sought a permanent solution to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
