Legislature Snippets from Belgavi

Speaker loses cool over poor use of Kannada

Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar lost his cool Wednesday as he warned the Legislative Assembly secretariat staff to verify the usage of Kannada words before printing question-answer booklets.

Kumar took exception to the use of the Kannada word ‘ruvaari’ in a question raised by Rajarajeshwari Nagar MLA Muniratna on irregularities in waste management in Ward 17.

“This is a word used to signify reverence to a person, but the context in which it is used here is negative. Don’t you scrutinize? This is the first and final. Whoever does this again will pay the price for it,” Kumar thundered.

Home minister told to rein in police

BJP legislators locked horns with the Congress-JD(S) coalition in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday after the party’s Bantwal legislator U Rajesh Naik raised an issue concerning the inauguration of an Indira Canteen where he alleged that he was heckled.

Other BJP MLAs claimed it had become increasingly difficult for them to function in their constituencies. Taking serious note of this, Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar said he may have to take up a privilege motion if the police failed to act. He told Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister G Parameshwara that it was the duty of the House to respect every elected member. “Tell your police department that their loyalty should be toward rules and not to those who transfer them.”

KSE hits out at govt over low spend

The state government has spent only Rs 91.34 crore out of Rs 1,772 crore earmarked under the Smart Cities Mission because of delay in implementing the project, Urban Development Minister U T Khader told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

“It’s a new concept, so the first year was spent in getting clarity and framing rules. Then we had to form special purpose vehicles,” he explained. Seven cities have been chosen under the Smart Cities Mission, for which the Centre and state have released Rs 886 crore each - Belagavi, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Tumakuru and Bengaluru. BJP leader K S Eshwarappa hit out at the government for the low spend.

Loan waiver: BJP mounts pressure on govt

Opposition BJP on Wednesday attacked the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government over the crop loan waiver.

“We’ve been talking about the loan waiver for the past six months, but when exactly will the government waive the loans borrowed by farmers,” Opposition leader B S Yeddyurappa asked. Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar said the loan waiver had become a publicity stunt as only 401 farmers have been issued debt-free certificates so far. Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar intervened and said he would allow a separate discussion on the loan waiver on Thursday.

SC/ST promotion quota bill tabled

A Bill that seeks to extend reservation to SC/STs and OBCs to provide reservation in certain posts in the government that was, so far, exempted from the reservation was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.

Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointment etc) Amendment Bill, 2018, was moved by Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge. According to official sources, the Bill seeks to extend reservation for posts meant for conducting or guiding research, scientific posts among others in government institutions among others.