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 exchange of words.

Speaker U.T. Khader had to adjourn the House for 30 minutes to let tempers cool.

Trouble began during the reply of Home Minister G. Parameshwara on the Dharmasthala row, when BJP member V. Sunil Kumar accused the Congress government of supporting the efforts by some groups to tarnish the image of Dharmasthala and other centres of Hinduism.

Countering the Home Minister’s claims that the intention of probing the alleged mass burials through a Special Investigation Team was to bring out the truth, Mr. Sunil Kumar alleged: “More than bringing out the truth, the government intends to tarnish Dharmasthala’s image.”

This triggered angry response from the ruling benches with several senior Ministers including M.B. Patil and Dinesh Gundu Rao taking exception.

Following this, the Speaker suggested to the BJP member to withdraw his remarks. Refusing to do so, Mr. Sunil Kumar upped the ante by alleging that the Congress government was supporting such efforts as per instructions of its high command.

“This is evident with the fact that the government is yet to file any case against YouTubers who have been carrying out such propaganda,” he argued. “However, now the government is trying to play a balancing act as people are anguished over these developments,” he maintained.

Referring to the complainant who has levelled allegations of mass burials in the pilgrimage centre, he alleged: “It is not just one masked man; there are multiple masked men operating from Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.”

This plunged the House into pandemonium as incensed ruling members began a counter-attack. They accused the BJP of mixing politics with religion for selfish gains, while the BJP members too continued their attack. As chaos gripped the House, the Speaker adjourned the House again for some time.