As many as 146 members took oath at the maiden session of the 14th State Legislative Assembly which commenced here on Wednesday.
The first two days of the eight-day session have been earmarked for the oath-taking ceremony. Prominent leaders who took oath include Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Jagadish Shettar (BJP) and B S Yeddyurappa (KJP). Malikayya Guttedar, who took oath as the pro-tem Speaker in Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, chaired the session. The House will elect a new Speaker on Friday. Senior Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa is set to become the Speaker of Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Festive Mood
The Vidhana Soudha wore a festive look with the newly-elected members arriving with their supporters to take the oath. Hundreds of people were standing in a queue at the gallery to witness the oath-taking exercise. Families of several members were present to witness the ceremony.
MES members Arvind Chandrakanth Patil of Khanapur and Sambhaji Laxman Patil of Belgaum South took oath in Marathi. Sporting traditional saffron-coloured ‘Pagadi’ (headgear), these two members were the centre of attraction. P Rajeev of the BSR Congress who has been elected from Kudachi, took oath in Kannada with a green shawl tied around his head. Ashok Kheny, the managing director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises, who has been elected from Bidar, took oath in English.
Absent
Ramanagaram MLA and Opposition leader H D Kumaraswamy, D K Shivakumar and Rameshkumar were absent. According to JD(S) sources, Kumaraswamy was in Chennai to attend the marriage of a close friend and he will be taking oath on Thursday.
After taking oath, many members, cutting across party lines shook hands with the CM and other Cabinet ministers.
Objection
Basavaraj Rayareddy of the Congress took objection when Arvind Bellad of the BJP took oath in his father’s name. He contended that there is a prescribed format for oath taking in the Constitution which has to be followed strictly.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra vouched Rayareddy’s contention and appealed to the pro-tem Speaker to direct the members to take oath as per the Constitution.
Panel of Presiding Officers
Pro-tem Speaker announced a panel of five presiding officers to conduct the proceedings of the House. They are Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, D Nagarajaiah, Dr A B Maalaka Reddy, Manohar Tahsildhar and B R Yavagal.
The seats in the first row in the Opposition benches are allotted to H D Kumaraswamy, H K Kumaraswamy, D Nagarajaiah, H D Revanna, Jagadish Shettar, R Ashok, Umesh Katti, K G Bopaiah, B S Yeddyurappa, B R Patil and C P Yogeshwar.
Governor H R Bhardwaj is slated to deliver his address in the joint session on June 3. The Legislative Council will sit from June 4 to 7.
