Shettar’s assembly feat: Most expunged remarks were his

Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah and former CM Jagadish Shettar of BJP had the highest number of words expunged from the assembly record over the past five terms, official records show. Data from 2008 to 2023 shows Shettar, now an MP, had 23 instances where words were struck off while Siddaramaiah, who served as CM and opposition leader previously, had 12. They are followed by former speaker KG Bopaiah (7) and Congress' KM Shivalingegowda. During the joint session in Jan, BJP's Sunil Kumar referred to a document listing deletions from the proceedings. Shivalingegowda again drew attention in Feb for remarks that disrupted the session. A senior assembly secretariat official said there is "no strict definition" of what should be struck off the record. "Whether a remark is expunged depends on the words used and the context," the official said. "For instance, if a legislator's name is mentioned in a positive context, no one asks for it to be expunged. But if it is used negatively, members raise objections. Sometimes, the unedited proceedings are not uploaded till the remarks are removed." Deletions were in focus last week, when deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Munirathna of BJP exchanged expletives. They were later expunged from the record by speaker UT Khader, who called it "a black day" in the history of the assembly. The highest number of deletions occurred between 2013 and 2018, largely during the Siddaramaiah-led Congress govt, when 118 instances were recorded. This marked a 257% increase from 33 cases between 2008 and 2012, followed by a 79% decline to 25 instances in 2018–23. During the 2013–18 term, Shettar, then opposition leader, had remarks expunged 22 times, while Siddaramaiah featured nine times. There was a spike in 2015, with references to national figures Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, along with allegations against them, removed. In 2016, references to "tampering of evidence" were expunged, while 2018 saw repeated use of the term "rowdy" struck off. Between 2008-12, HC Balakrishna then with BJP and Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge led with three and two instances. In 2019–23, Congress' UT Khader and Shivalingegowda featured most often.