BANGALORE: Chaos reigned the Assembly when the independent legislators whose membership was restored following the Supreme Court’s order on Speaker K G Bopaiah disqualifying the MLAs protested in the Assembly on Thursday.
Four MLAs - Narendra Swamy, Shivaraj Thangadagi Narendra Swamy and Gulihatti Shekhar - rushed to the well of the house demanding that they be allowed to air their views on the Apex court’s verdict. However, Bopaiah did not allow them to raise the issue stating that the MLAs did not serve him a notice. The four legislators also raised slogans against the Speaker and staged a walkout.
This occurred soon after the house adopted a condolence motion on former minister R B Chaudhry, who passed away on Wednesday.
The Speaker, however, made a fervent appeal to the agitating MLAs to return to their seats; he soon lost his patience and threatened action against them.
Opposition members led by Siddaramaiah rose to their support and requested the Chair to permit them to air their views. “These MLAs had undergone mental agony for over seven months and it is only right that the Speaker allows them to vent their ire,” he said; this plea was met with opposition from the Treasury side, demanding that the house proceed with the Question Hour.
Commotion prevailed when Congress and BJP members traded charges against each other, prompting the Chair to not record the comments made into the house proceedings. Things returned to normal once the four legislators staged a walkout. However, 11 other BJP legislators who were disqualified, including Belur Gopalakrishna, S K Bellubbi and Sarvabowma Bagali, remained silent.
illegal mining still persisting in state, charges siddaramaiah
Opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah on Thursday claimed that illegal mining was going on in the state even now and accused the state government of turning a blind eye to it. During his preliminary submission to convince the chair to allow his notice to move the adjournment motion to discuss about the action taken by the government on the Lokayukta report, Siddaramaiah said that Forest Minister C P Yogeshwar himself had said in the media that he witnessed the iron ore being transported illegally during his recent visit to Bellary. He stressed the need for a debate on the Lokayukta report through an adjournment motion. “However, Minister S Sureshkumar opposed the demand and said that there was neither urgency nor was it recent occurence.
Bhadra, Kudremukh excluded from Project Tiger
Owing to the local opposition, the state government has decided to drop the proposal to grant special status of ‘Project Tiger’ to Bhadra wildlife sanctuary and Kuduremukh National Park in Chikmagalur district. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Sureshkumar on Thursday announced in the Assembly that the government was firm on its decision to exclude Bhadra and Kuduremukh wildlife sanctuaries from being announced as the ‘Project Tiger’ areas. “The government has already issued a notification in 2011 dropping Bhadra and Kuduremukh wildlife sanctuaries from being declared as the ‘Project Tiger’ areas and we are bound by that,” Sureshkumar said. With this, the state will have only five ‘Project Tiger’ areas — Dandeli, Someshwara, Cauvery, Mukambika Wildlife Sanctuaries and Banneraghatta National Park. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, opposition leader in the Assembly Siddaramaiah demanded the state government to announce its decision on ‘Project Tiger’ areas as people living in such areas fear evacuation.