BJP MLAs protest against Karnataka Minister's remark that only Congress can make a Muslim assembly Speaker

Belagavi (Karnataka) [India], December 11 : BJP MLAs staged a protest against Karnataka Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan on Monday for his reported statement that only the Congress can make a Muslim the speaker of an assembly.
Minister Khan, who is also the chief whip of the Congress in the assembly, had allegedly made this statement while campaigning for the Telangana Assembly elections last month.
BJP MLAs raised slogans against Minister Khan during the assembly session, which resumed here on Monday.
R Ashok, Leader of the Opposition in the state, alleged that the Minister made these remarks with the blessings of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
"When Siddaramaiah can announce Rs 10,000 crore for the uplift of Mullas, how can his follower respect the speaker's chair?" Ashok asked.
In a video that has gone viral in the run-up to the Telangana assembly, Khan can be seen allegedly telling a gathering that the Congress had fielded 17 Muslim candidates in Karnataka's assembly polls this May, with five out of the nine winners holding influential positions.
UT Khader, a Congress MLA from Mangaluru, is the first Muslim Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly.