In yet another case of alleged “inappropriate” behaviour of an MLA inside the Legislative Assembly, the BJP MLA for Aurad, Prabhu Chavan, was caught by television cameras viewing and zooming in on a photo of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on his mobile phone on Wednesday.
Mr. Chavan did not realise that his act would be caught on camera and the images of him zooming in on Ms. Vadra’s picture would be played repeatedly on television channels later in the day.
Widespread criticism
The act triggered widespread criticism, embarrassing the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which was flexing muscles and taking on the government on the floor of the House.
Soon after the incident, Mr. Chavan maintained that he had zoomed in on Ms. Vadra’s picture “only to read the caption below”. He told reporters that he should not have carried the smart phone to the Assembly when the proceedings were going on.
Reacting to the episode, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said such an “objectionable” behaviour was not new to the BJP. “It is left to the Speaker to decide on any disciplinary action,” he said.
This is not the first time a BJP MLA has been caught indulging in “inappropriate” behaviour in the Assembly. The then BJP Ministers in the D.V. Sadananda Gowda government Laxman Savadi, C.C. Patil and Krishna Palemar were caught watching a porn clip on a mobile phone when the Assembly was in session. The incident resulted in a public outcry and the BJP later sacked the Ministers.
On Wednesday, another BJP MLA, U.B. Banakar, was shown by TV channels allegedly playing games on his mobile phone during the session. Mr. Chavan’s episode happened after he put up a novel show in the Assembly. As the gong signalling the start of the Assembly proceedings went on at the Suvarna Soudha on Wednesday morning and MLAs started walking in, Mr. Chavan entered the House carrying a basket of rejected ration cards on his head.
Reprimanded
He wanted to draw the attention of the government to the BPL ration cards that were rejected in his constituency during the revision exercise. His experiment, however, was short-lived as the marshals rushed in to confiscate the basket, sparing the cards. Mr. Chavan later put a garland of the cards around his neck, only to be reprimanded by Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa.
