BELAGAVI: The winter session of the state legislature is likely to be held from December 9 to 20 at Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi, said Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader and Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti.
At a press conference on Friday, Khader said the session should start on December 9, but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will announce the dates officially after taking a decision on the session in the state cabinet shortly.
Khader said a meeting of officials has already been conducted, and many suggestions have been put forth for the effective organisation of the session. Claiming that last year’s session in Belagavi went off smoothly, Khader said the upcoming session will also be held in a similar fashion.
“Measures are being taken to ensure good attendance of legislators in the session. Ample time will be set aside for a serious discussion on various issues pertaining to the North Karnataka region. Many issues related to the region were discussed in both Houses during the last session and the participation of legislators was also good during the debate,” he said.
The government will hold special events exclusively for students visiting the Soudha during the session to create awareness among them about various topics, he added.
He said the government will take a call on the centenary celebrations of the Congress Plenary that was presided over by Mahatma Gandhi in 1924. Khader said a photo exhibition on the centenary celebrations of the Congress Plenary and completion of 200 years of the war waged by Kittur Rani Chennamma against the British will be held during the Winter Session.
He also promised to initiate measures to reduce the cost of the session. To help various organisations and people stage protests, if any, near the soudha, Khader said the authorities will make elaborate arrangements. “Allowing people to stage protests is the beauty of democracy. We can’t stop anybody from staging agitations during the session and arrangements will be made,” he said.