In a shocking incident, Karnataka Legislative Council Deputy Chairman SL Dharmegowda was found dead on a railway track near Kadur of Chikkamagaluru in Karnataka. A suicide note was also recovered along with the body.
Dharmegowda, who was a member of Janata Dal (Secular), made headlines when he was manhandled during a ruckus in the council, earlier this month.
High drama unfolded when Dharmegowda was forcefully removed from chair
On December 15, chaos broke out at the Karnataka Legislative Council during which Congress MLCs were seen manhandling the Deputy Chairman from his seat. In a video, members of the council are seen surrounding Dharmegowda forcing him out of his seat.
The Congress legislators manhandled the chairman saying it was unconstitutional of him to occupy the chair.
On speaking about the incident, Gowda previously said, "Do they (Congress leaders) have any decency left in them? These people dragged me and shoved me around. This is not the way to behave with a person who is sitting on that chair."
He claimed that his sitting on the chairman's seat was constitutional as the incumbent council chairman, K. Pratapchandra Shetty, had not only lost the mandate after JD(S) decided to back the BJP, but also the BJP had already moved a no-confidence motion against him.
"According to the legislature norm, it is not correct on his part to come and sit on the chair when a no-confidence motion has been moved against him," he said.
As per reports, JDS leader and senior-most MLC Basavaraj Horatti said that stated, SL Dharmegowda was terribly upset over the ruckus in the Upper House and had not come out of his house for over a week. According to Horatti he felt humiliated and told him he had chaired after the Govt asked him.
Yediyurappa, Kumaraswamy express shock
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa expressed shock over the incident, terming it "unfortunate". He lauded the MLC for efficiently conducting the legislative council as its deputy chairman.
JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, in a tweet, expressed shock over Dharmegowda''s death and remembered him as a gentleman politician. His death is a loss to the state, Deve Gowda added.
JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said Dharmegowda was like a brother to him. "His death has caused a shock to me. He was an upright politician," Kumaraswamy said in a tweet.
