Bengaluru: The state Assembly plunged into chaos on Thursday as Speaker K B Koliwad did a U-turn on allowing a debate on the controversial Govindaraju diary with its alleged tell -all entries of kickbacks received and pay offs made by the ruling Congress.

Mr Koliwad was at first not averse to a debate when BJP members moved an adjournment motion to discuss the diary issue soon after the House assembled for the day.

He promised to allow the issue to be debated under Rule 69 after the question hour, but later changed his mind in response to objections raised by Congress leaders.

Interrupting opposition leader, Jagadish Shettar when he began to speak on the issue after question hour, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra recalled that although I-T sleuths had found entries on money allegedly paid to the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in a diary seized during raids in the Sahara and Birla case, the court did not see it as evidence.

He claimed this applied to Govindaraju diary as well. As angry BJP members charged Mr Jayachandra with replying to the debate even before it had started, Health Minister Ramesh Kumar came to his aid saying the Speaker's Secretariat was wrong in allowing the debate.

“Who has seized the diary and have they admitted to having it? Even if I-T officials have seized a diary, the legislature cannot summon them. In these circumstances, a debate on the issue cannot be allowed,” he argued.

Amidst the din that followed, Mr Koliwad withdrew permission for the debate, provoking BJP members to storm into the well of the House in protest. When the House adjourned for lunch, Mr Koliwad convened a meet of floor leaders, but BJP leaders continued protest even after it resumed. Seeing the din, Deputy Speaker Shivashankar Reddy adjourned the House for the day.

Congress stops BJP motion
The ruling Congress managed to stall a debate on the Govindaraju diary, which allegedly speaks of kickbacks received and pay-offs made by it, in the Council as well on Thursday.

Acting in unison, Congress MLC and ministers managed to defeat BJP’s attempts to move an adjournment motion against the government. Opposition leader K.S. Eshwarappa raked up the controversy soon after the House assembled for the day, alleging that the diary’s contents revealed state Congress leaders had given their high command a thousand crore pay-off.

Objecting to the claim, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar and ruling party members produced a report in a tabloid about BJP leaders allegedly receiving kickbacks and a diary that showed they had paid huge amounts to their high command.

Taken aback at the collective attack by the ruling party, BJP MLCs seemed at a loss to counter it, leaving Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy no choice but to reject the adjournment motion raised by them.

Accepting Dr Parameshwar’s argument that the matter had been raised in the previous session, he said it could not be discussed again.