Karnataka Assembly opens amid Vande Mataram row, BJP sings full version

Bengaluru, Sept 21 (UNI) The Karnataka Legislature's three-day special sitting opened on a contentious note on Monday, with BJP members singing the full version of Vande Mataram in the Assembly and Legislative Council after the official rendition ended with two stanzas, followed by a sharp confrontation over the status and conduct of the sitting. The session, convened primarily to discuss the Kasturirangan Committee recommendations on declaring parts of the Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) and the drought situation in the State, witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP from the opening moments. The Vande Mataram…