BENGALURU: Karnataka Assembly Speaker UT Khader on Friday took ministers to task over fewer replies from them compared to the number of questions submitted by the legislators.
“Just because I speak softly, don’t mistake it for my weakness. Every day, BJP members and I mention about the lack of replies to unstarred questions. Hardly 30% of such questions get answers,” Khader said.
On Friday, of the 133 unstarred questions, a mere 50 were answered. Irked by this, BJP members slammed the State Government. Khader said not all questions are starred, but ministers and departments have to prepare and submit the required answers in 10 days.
“If there is no answer, ministers have to explain the reasons and when a reply can be expected. Many questions get answers after a year. We had set up a committee under the Deputy Speaker only for this, but nothing has worked so far,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka said senior officials showed more interest in playing golf than answering questions. Interestingly, ruling party MLAs too raised their voice on this issue. Congress MLA Tanveer Sait from Narasimharaja in Mysuru demanded a list of departments which fail to give answers to MLAs. “One can take action against them,’’ he said.
MLAs pull up Mallikarjun for ‘unsatisfactory’ replies
MLAs cutting across party lines expressed displeasure over Horticulture and Mines and Geology Minister SS Mallikarjun for failing to provide proper answers to their questions in the Assembly. Several members also opined that the minister rarely attends the House proceedings. During Question Hour, Sirsi MLA Bhimanna T Naik raised a query regarding leaf spot disease affecting areca crops. However, members alleged that the minister provided incorrect data in his reply. Unhappy with the response, BJP members posed supplementary questions. When the minister failed to provide satisfactory answers, the Opposition members urged Speaker UT Khader to keep the question on hold. Aland Congress MLA BR Patil asked another question to the minister about cold storage facilities in Kalaburagi. The minister again faced criticism from members after he failed to give a clear response to the question.