Congress MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, staged an overnight protest in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday, 17 February.
They demanded the resignation of BJP leader KS Eshwarappa for his remarks on the National Flag.
Eshwarappa, who is the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, had said last week that in the future, the saffron flag could replace the National Flag and could be unfurled at the Red Fort, "when Hindu dharma will reign supreme in the country."
Congress MLAs said they had decided to spend the night in the Assembly as a mark of protest against the minister's comment, a day after they clashed with members of the ruling party in the Assembly, which led to the House's early adjournment.
The Karnataka Congress has been demanding that the minister be immediately terminated and a sedition case be filed against him. They had given the state government a deadline of 11 am on Thursday to respond to their demands.
After the house was adjourned, Siddaramaiah told the media that the "hidden agenda of the RSS had been revealed through Eshwarappa's remarks."
"Sedition cases were registered against farmers who tried to hoist their flag at the Red Fort. Similarly, a case of sedition should be filed against Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa for his statement," the former chief minister told ANI.
Responding to the Congress's protest, Eshwarappa said that there was no reason for him to resign, adding that he was a patriot who had been jailed during the Emergency.
CM Bommai Defends Eshwarappa
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai defended his colleague, saying that he had not committed any legal mistake.
"There can be no action taken against him... he had said it may or may not happen," the chief minister said. He also added that Eshwarappa had accepted the National Flag and had asked people not to disrespect it.
Earlier too, Bommai had tried explaining Eshwarappa's statements, saying that "he meant that a saffron flag may be hoisted in 300 or 500 years, and not immediately."
'Won't Allow Assembly to Function Until Minister Resigns'
Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said on Friday that the protest would continue unless their demands were fulfilled.
"Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa must resign (over his saffron flag remark). We'll continue overnight protests at Karnataka Assembly till he gets sacked from the Cabinet, otherwise, we'll go to the court & not allow the Assembly to function," Shivakumar told ANI.
"The BJP is a part of defaming the national flag, it's not just KS Eshwarappa, as they're supporting him," Shivakumar said, adding that the ruling party did not know the Constitution properly.
He also added that it was the Congress that had given the country its freedom, the national flag and the Constitution, and the BJP was "enjoying it".
(With inputs from ANI.)
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