Karnataka Congress suspends MLA for 'assault' on colleague

Pictures of Singh doing the rounds on social showed him with his right eye black, swollen and completely shut.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao confirmed the suspension of Ganesh.

"As the nature of the allegations made by Sri Anand Singh is serious, G.N.Ganesh, Kampli MLA, has been suspended from the Congress party with immediate effect," he said on Twitter and added that and inquiry committee had been constituted to probe into the incident.

Singh on Monday filed an FIR, said media reports adding that he mentions Ganesh beat him up with a stick, pushed him against the wall and threatened to kill him after accusing him of not helping Ganesh financially during the elections.

"He threatened to kill my sister, son and other family members. When I objected, he got furious. He pushed me and I fell down. Then he kicked and punched me in the face that left my eyes and nose swallen. After that I lost consciousness. Tukaram, Raghumurty, Ramappa and Tanveer Sait, all legislators, rescued me. If not for them, I wouldn't have been alive today. When I gained conscious I found myself at the Apollo hospital," NDTV quoted his FIR.

Reports said Ganesh had apologised to Singh's family but claimed he had not hit him.

The Congress on Sunday tried to establish all was well in the party here even as Singh was admitted to the hospital.

"They were at it in the meeting and it appeared to have carried on into the night. I could hear raised voices near my room, but I cannot say for certain that there was physical violence," backward classes welfare minster C. Puttarangashetty told Hindustan Times.

Irrigation minister D.K. Shivakumar denied any violence had taken place.

“The Ballari MLAs (Singh, Ganesh, minister E Tukaram, and LBP Bheema Naik) and I had gone for a reception and held a meeting about the district before returning here. Singh has gone to attend a wedding. But you (media) are speculating that there was a fight. Wait for another hour or two he will return and tell you what happened,” Shivakumar said. “There is no fight and there has been no physical violence, nothing has happened."

The BJP, however, was quick to point out that all was not well in the Congress camp.