Legislative Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti on Tuesday said that the decision of the State government to hand over the case pertaining to BJP member C.T. Ravi’s alleged derogatory remarks on Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar to the CID was the discretion of the government and it did not come under the purview of the Upper House.
Speaking to presspersons in Hubballi on Tuesday, the chairman, however, said that the reported mention about “the incident in Legislative Council” in the terms of reference for CID was wrong and it should not have been mentioned.
Deliberating on matter
Mr. Horatti said that the Council secretary and the Advocate General were already deliberating on the matter and ascertaining what the Council regulations mandated. The issue of allowing the spot mahazar in the Legislative Council as sought by the Police Commissioner was also being looked into.
On his statement that the matter was a “closed chapter”, the chairman clarified that it was pertaining to the complaints filed by Ms. Hebbalkar on which he had already given his ruling. “However, if there is any fresh complaint by either of the parties, including Ms. Hebbalkar, it would be verified and further action taken. As of now I have not received any fresh representation or plea by the Minister. If submitted it will be verified,” he said.
To a query, he said that if any audio-video documents were submitted they would be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to ascertain the veracity.
The chairman said that the Legislative Council had never witnessed such an incident. “Rather than looking at the issue considering Ms. Hebbalkar as a Minister, we should look at the incident from the point of view of a woman. As a woman, she is deeply hurt. At the same time police action against Mr. Ravi in a reportedly inhuman manner is also wrong,” he said.
Not related to Council
He maintained that the CID probe had nothing to do with the incident in the Legislative Council. The Minister had given a complaint of atrocity on a woman, based on which a case had been registered and now the CID probe had been ordered.
Based on advice of the secretary and the Advocate General, further decisions would be taken, he said.
The chairman also said that he had also reported the matter to the Governor as he had also sought information on the same.
Published – December 24, 2024 07:18 pm IST
