Bengaluru: BJP leaders criticised the Congress Government in Karnataka after 18 of its MLAs were suspended for 6 months and forcibly removed from the Assembly.

The BJP alleged that the suspension was an attempt to suppress their opposition to the Government’s decision to grant 4 percent Muslim reservation in Government tenders and their demand for an inquiry into an alleged honey trap scandal.

BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla condemned the move, stating, “Eighteen BJP MLAs were forcibly removed from the Karnataka Assembly by Marshals, carried out on their shoulders and suspended for six months. They will not even be able to participate in meetings. It is a murder of democracy.”

BJP Karnataka President B.Y. Vijayendra questioned the Speaker’s decision, calling it undemocratic. “What mistake did our MLAs commit? They were merely trying to protect a ruling party Minister who himself claimed to be a victim of the honey trap scandal.”

Vijayendra also criticised the Chief Minister’s reluctance to order a probe into the honey trap case. “If a senior Minister from the ruling party has demanded a probe into the honey trap issue, why is the Chief Minister hesitant?” BJP leader C.T. Ravi accused the Congress of stifling democracy, drawing parallels to the Emergency. “Which party implemented Emergency? Congress. They are continuing it today by suspending 18 BJP MLAs.”

Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also condemned the suspensions, alleging a breakdown of democracy. “Democracy in Karnataka has been reduced to anarchy. Ministers in the Government are entangled in a honey trap scandal and yet the Chief Minister remains evasive.”