Bengaluru, July 25 : Speaker U.T. Khader on Thursday said that he will not allow a bad precedent to be set in the Assembly and will only follow the rules.

He said this while reacting to the overnight protest by BJP and JD(S) MLAs and MLCs in the state legislature in support of their demand for a discussion on the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

Speaking to the media at the Vidhana Soudha, he said, "I will run the House as per the rules. I will not allow a bad precedent to be set here."

He said, "I have given the opportunity to discuss issues to both the ruling and the opposition parties. Even when the investigation was ongoing, the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Board scam was discussed. That discussion was allowed for 4-5 days. Now, they are asking for a discussion on the MUDA scam. But, there are still Bills to be introduced in the House. If we continue like this, it will be difficult."

Meanwhile, former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan said, "We will continue the dharna until the government allows discussion."

"The government should allow discussion on the MUDA scandal. The CM is running away from the discussion. If discussion is not allowed, we will continue the dharna. Whoever is involved in the scandal, action should be taken," demanded BJP MLA Munirathna.

BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka stated on Wednesday after launching the overnight protest that they will continue the agitation until their demands of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's resignation and handing over of the case to the CBI are accepted.

/IANS