Karnataka Congress leaders attend budget session with flowers behind ears

Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress leaders -- Siddaramaiah, State President D.K. Shivakumar -- and all MLAs on Friday attended the budget session wearing flowers behind their ears.

In Kannada, wearing flowers behind one's ears symbolizes betrayal and fooling. On seeing them, Chief Minister Bommai got upset and said, "They are wearing flowers to the Assembly despite being asked to remove them. According to me it's not correct. It's their wish and I don't want to comment on it," he said.

Taking a dig at Siddaramaiah, he said, "All these days he was trying to put flowers on others' ears (fooling people). Now, the tables have turned. The people have kept flowers on his ears which will continue till the upcoming elections," Chief Minister Bommai stated.

At this, the BJP MLAS burst out in laughter and banged the table as applause.

Unwilling to relent, Siddaramaiah stood up saying that through this budget, CM Bommai is trying to keep flowers on the ears of seven crore people of the state.

This statement was opposed by BJP MLAs leading to a ruckus. They questioned how Siddaramaiah was allowed to speak. In his reply, the Congress leader asked whether the CM's remarks in the beginning were part of his budget speech.

"Was that a part of his speech? It is not correct. You (pointing to BJP legislators) don't have any respect, honor left. If you stand up together and shout, do you think we will get scared? Just take your seats. The BJP government is all set to put flowers on the ears of people of the state," Siddaramaiah maintained.

Amid chaos, Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri requested Siddaramaiah to allow CM Bommai to present his budget. Among the 600 assurances given by the ruling BJP not more than 50 are fulfilled from the last budget, the Congress leader said aloud.

Speaker Kageri again requested him to allow CM Bommai to read the budget.

Siddaramaiah retaliated that they will not allow him to present the budget. He went on to state that BJP is presenting a bundle of lies and they run a factory of lies.

Later, the budget session resumed and CM Bommai started the presentation of the budget.