BELAGAVI: Assembly Speaker UT Khader on Friday indicated that the portrait of Veer Savarkar, installed in the Assembly, may not be removed. He was responding to a question by the media on his reaction to the statements by RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge and some other MLAs, who wanted the portrait removed.
Addressing the media along with Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, Khader said, “It is not fair to remove something (portrait of Savarkar) that could make way for a controversy. Instead, things like uniting the people and ensuring a cordial atmosphere in society should be taken up.”
Khader said ministers and MLAs should focus on attending the legislature sessions on time, taking an active part in the business of the House, raising good questions, and making the debate effective. MLAs and ministers should also focus on discharging their duties effectively, instead of trying to create controversies, he added.
Instead of raking up what happened in the past, it is important to indulge in constructive work and build a healthy atmosphere in the state by uniting people, he advised.“I will work under the constitutional framework. We all have to think about the future instead of doing something that leads to uncertainty,’’ he added.
On Thursday, Kharge had said he will remove the portrait of Savarkar if he is allowed to do so. Instead of Savarkar’s, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s portrait should be installed, he added.“I do not agree to those principles and ideologies where equality never existed. I will not agree to the ideologies which led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhiji,’’ Priyank said, adding that he would remove the portrait “today
itself but it should be done as per the rules”.“We have to wait for the Speaker’s decision. I always believe in the Constitution,” he added.
FMCG firms to reserve 70% of jobs for Kannadigas: MB Patil
Minister for Medium and Large Industries MB Patil said one of the conditions in the MoU signed between the State Government and the companies, that had participated in the FMCG Investors’ Meet in Hubballi, is to reserve 70% of jobs for Kannadigas. Replying to Holalkere BJP MLA Chandr-appa M, Patil said the firms have agreed to reserve 100% of ‘Group D’ jobs and nearly 70% of other jobs for Kannadigas. “The Sarojini Mahishi Committee’s report favored reservation of jobs for Kannadigas in the private sector,” he added. Patil said of the MoUs for 16 projects signed during the FMCG meet, three were given single window clearance. Patil said the Congress government spent only Rs 12.23 lakh on the investors’ meet, but the previous BJP government spent Rs 74.99 crore on “Invest Karnataka 2022”.