Karnataka Speaker U T Khader.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Thursday said there was no proposal before him to remove Hindu nationalist Veer Savarkar's portrait from the Assembly Hall of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, amid demands by Congress leaders to remove the same.
Speaking to reporters here, Khader said at present, there was no such proposal before him. "I have to act according to Constitutional procedure," he said. He added that as the speaker, both the ruling and the opposition party members were equal to him.
Senior Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddi told reporters that he was planning to submit a petition to the Speaker on Monday, suggesting ideas on portraits that should be installed in the Assembly Hall.
Meanwhile, RDPR and IT, BT Minister Priyank Kharge said given a chance, he would remove Savarkar's portrait immediately.