Assembly plunges into pandemonium over Dharmasthala row

The Legislative Assembly plunged into pandemonium on Monday over the case of alleged mass burials in Dharmasthala, with the ruling and the Opposition members indulging in heated change of phrases.

Speaker U.T. Khader needed to adjourn the House for half-hour to let tempers cool.

Trouble started through the reply of Home Minister G. Parameshwara on the Dharmasthala row, when BJP member V. Sunil Kumar accused the Congress authorities of supporting the efforts by some teams to tarnish the picture of Dharmasthala and different centres of Hinduism.

Countering the Home Minister’s claims that the intention of probing the alleged mass burials by means of a Special Investigation Team was to convey out the reality, Mr. Sunil Kumar alleged: “More than bringing out the reality, the federal government intends to tarnish Dharmasthala’s picture.”

This triggered indignant response from the ruling benches with a number of senior Ministers together with M.B. Patil and Dinesh Gundu Rao taking exception.

Following this, the Speaker recommended to the BJP member to withdraw his remarks. Refusing to take action, Mr. Sunil Kumar upped the ante by alleging that the Congress authorities was supporting such efforts as per directions of its excessive command.

“This is clear with the truth that the federal government is but to file any case towards YouTubers who’ve been finishing up such propaganda,” he argued. “However, now the federal government is attempting to play a balancing act as individuals are anguished over these developments,” he maintained.

Referring to the complainant who has levelled allegations of mass burials within the pilgrimage centre, he alleged: “It isn’t just one masked man; there are a number of masked males working from Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.”

This plunged the House into pandemonium as incensed ruling members started a counter-attack. They accused the BJP of blending politics with faith for egocentric beneficial properties, whereas the BJP members too continued their assault. As chaos gripped the House, the Speaker adjourned the House once more for a while.