Bangalore, Jan 18 (DHNS): Many BJP legislators were vying to praise Vimala Gowda, who was unanimously elected as deputy chairperson of the Legislative Council on Monday. Most of them referred to her as elder sister and took liberty to rib her a bit, which she graciously took in her stride.

Ganesh Karnick said he and his colleagues would miss her and her lengthy discussions about jewellery and sarees. Shashil Kumar Namoshi recalled that she would spend at least 20 minutes a day discussing sarees, which interested him as he was also a cloth merchant.

Raising other ‘weighty’ issues, Namoshi, on a lighter vein, said he was worried if the seat she would be occupying to conduct sessions was big enough to accommodate her. Joining him, another member D S Veeraiah raised doubts as to whether the foundation below the chairman’s seat was strong enough to withstand her weight.

Vimala, however, did not react to any of these comments and just laughed in reply.

Vimala was elected unopposed in the absence of members in the Opposition benches. She is the third woman legislator to occupy the position in the 103-member House. Terming the day as “most memorable”, she said she wanted to become a minister in the BJP Cabinet, but was happy to be elected the deputy chairperson of the Council.

Many members, including Yeddyurappa, congratulated Vimala Gowda on being elected for the post.