Oppn Prevents Guv from Addressing Joint Legislature Session

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Jan 6: Even as the joint session of the Karnataka legislature began on a stormy note with the combined Congress and JD(S) members created a ruckus preventing the Governor H R Bhardwaj from making his customary address and have threatened to stall the proceedings in the State Assembly till the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa resigned over the alleged land scams and other corruption charges against him, both the houses of the legislature are likely to be embroiled in a different kind of battle against their presiding officers.

However, there is a slight difference in the sense that the ruling BJP is gunning for the removal of the deputy chairman of the Legislative Council K S Puttanna, who belongs to the JD(S), and could well end up unseating him from the post by virtue of its majority in the upper house. But the Congress and JD(S), who have submitted a notice for the removal of the assembly speaker K G Bopaiah, accusing him of not performing his duties as per the prescribed rules, is unlikely to carry out their plans as the ruling party enjoys numerical superiority until the petitions of the disqualified legislators are finally decided.

Congress Opposition Leader Siddaramaiah said: ``We have already given a notice seeking permission to move the motion for removal of the Speaker.” He pointed out that the Chief Minister was guilty of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and other irregularities and almost a dozen ministers were guilty of corruption charges and demanded a CBI probe to unravel the truth.

The Speaker has acted in a partisan manner and has not been conducting the proceedings of the House as per the rules, he alleged contending that “The Speaker adopted a device to suspend MLAs during the non-confidence motion against the Government. The Speaker has hatched a conspiracy to suspend opposition legislators to keep the Government in majority.’’

“The Speaker is not consulting the Opposition and is taking decisions unilaterally,” he said pointing out that the Speaker failed to oblige Opposition’s demands and there was not point in attending a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee chaired by the latter.

Siddaramaiah defended the Opposition’s protest during the joint session and explained that it was against the corrupt Yeddyurappa regime and not against the Governor, who has been discharging his duties in the most impartial manner and strictly in accordance with the constitutional provisions. ``But we do not want the Governor to read a speech prepared by the Yeddyurappa regime, which was packed with lies. It is nothing but a speech of a Government, which had no moral right to continue in  power,” he said.

Pointing out that the ruling party, including its state president had termed Governor Bhardwaj as an ``agent of Congress,’’ Siddaramaiah said the government has insulted the Governor and shown disrespect to the constitution. “The speech copy prepared by the Government is notihng but bundle of lies and should be thrown to the dust-bin.”

During the recent political crisis, the Speaker had disqualified 11 BJP rebel MLAs and five independents after they submitted a letter to the Governor withdrawing support to the Yeddyurappa Government.

The Karnataka High Court had upheld the Speaker’s order disqualifying 11 rebel MLAs while petitions challenging the action against the independent MLAs are pending before the court.
However, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar termed the Opposition charge against the Speaker ``baseless’’ while the Chief Minister lamented the conduct of the Opposition members during the Governor’s address to the joint session on Thursday as ``most unfortunate.”
Yeddyurappa said the opposition Congress and JD(S) members prevented the Governor from making his address to the joint session of the state legislature out of frustration at losing the taluk and zilla panchayat polls while the ruling BJP had emerged victorious.

The Congress and JD(S) had not allowed the government to conduct House peacefully after the BJP came to power 30 months ago. He urged the Opposition to facilitate smooth functioning of both houses and said his government was ready for a debate on all issues.

Incidentally, the BJP members in the Council D S Veeranna and Doddarange Gowda have given a petition to Chairman D H Shankaramurthy, who belongs to BJP, for moving a motion in the House for removal of Council Deputy Chairman Puttanna.

The two BJP MLCs have accused Puttanna) of being partisan in discharging his duties in the House and making baseless and wild allegations against Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kageri Vishweshwar Hegde.