BANGALORE: Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj has summoned a 11-day Budget session of the Karnataka Legislature from March 20 to 30.
Speaking to newsmen here on Thursday, Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah said the House would pay tributes to higher education minister Dr V S Acharya, who passed away recently, and others, on the opening day of the session.
He said Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda would present the Budget for 2012-13 on March 21 and move the Finance Bill in the House on the same day.
Bopaiah said due to the delay in issuing notification to summon the House, there would be no ‘Question Hour’ till March 25 as the members were not served notices seven days ahead of the session by the Legislature Secretariat inviting questions to be raised. This is the first time in the history of the Karnataka Legislature that a few days of the Budget session are going to have no Question Hour.
Refusing to name anybody for the lapse, the Speaker simply said, “I am helpless”. He, however, said other businesses of the House, including conduct of zero hour, calling attention motions and passage of bills, would proceed as usual. He said the Question Hour would resume on March 26 in which the government would answer both starred and unstarred questions.
The Speaker said the last day of the session would accommodate both government and private agendas for discussion.
Bopaiah said there would be no change of procedures for the entry of media personnel - both print and electronic - into the House to cover the proceedings as a fallout of porngate issue.
He said the ban on the entry of the three ruling party legislators to take part in the House proceedings would continue till the House Committee, headed by Srishaila Bidarur, submitted its report on the issue and the House took a decision on it.
The last session of House was marred as three former ministers were shown on TV channels watching porn clippings when the House was debating drought situation, resulting in a ruckus.