Bengaluru: Turning accusations by BJP and JD(S) on their head, Basavaraj Horatti clarified Monday that he was not forced to resign as legislative council chairman and that chief minister DK Shivakumar did not pressure him to go but wanted him to quit earlier than the date he had decided on.Horatti’s account comes amid a political row over his resignation ahead of the monsoon session of the legislature, with BJP-JD(S) accusing the govt of threatening Horatti “like goondas” to engineer the exit of the eight-time MLC and Shivakumar alleging that the opposition was attempting to manufacture a constitutional crisis.Horatti told TOI that he had decided to resign on Friday (Aug 14), but Shivakumar and his team urged him to do so immediately. “When the CM himself says it, what can one do? Considering that I had to resign someday, I decided to quit immediately,” Horatti said.The former chairman said he subsequently submitted a letter to Shivakumar stating that he had resigned on Aug 7 and that the communication had reached the CM.Horatti also clarified that he does not intend to turn the issue into a personal confrontation with the govt. He said he would not raise the matter on his own in the House but would explain what happened if the issue is brought up by others.“I will narrate the entire sequence of events and what transpired over the past few days,” he said.The resignation has nevertheless given BJP-JD(S) an opportunity to target the govt over the way in which a veteran legislator was made to quit office.Meanwhile, speaking in New Delhi on the issue late Monday night, Shivakumar rejected BJP-JD(S) allegations, insisting Horatti’s resignation had been properly submitted and accepted.“BJP-JD(S) are trying to create a constitutional crisis by lodging this complaint (with the governor),” Shivakumar said. “I feel sorry for the senior legislator who is being used as a scapegoat by BJP. We apprised the governor of the legal points in the matter and pointed out that the resignation was given to the office. It has been accepted as well, so there is no illegality.”The immediate political consequence is likely to be the election of a new council chairman on Friday, Congress functionaries say. Thursday, the first day of the monsoon session, is likely to be dominated by condolences for those who have died since the legislature last met.
