BENGALURU: A legislative session is likely to be held in January, with the Karnataka cabinet discussing the issue on Monday. The session is likely to be convened around mid-January, though the length of the session and the dates have not been officially decided or approved.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhu Swamy told TNIE, “We are considering convening the joint session on January 18 for a few days.’’ While the first day’s session will be the governor’s address, the government is likely to take up pending bills.
If due process is followed, the cabinet approves the dates for convening of legislature, before it goes before the Governor for his assent. There is also a rule that members of the legislature have to be informed about the session being convened, 15 days in advance.
Madhu Swamy said that the property tax Bill was not passed as an ordinance on Monday as there is a proposal to call for a legislative session. “We will take it up in the next session of the legislature,” he said.
Among the important issues that the BJP intends to take up are passage of the anti-cow slaughter Bill which is to be promulgated as an ordinance after being defeated in the Upper House, where the JDS declared that it will not support the Bill. If the Bill is returned, Madhu Swamy said they are likely to get pass it in the assembly again and send it to the governor for his assent.
The other issue the party is likely to take up is staking claim to chairmanship of the Legislative Council where it falls short of numbers, with the JDS agreeing to support them in this. It may be recalled that the last Council session had ended acrimoniously, with the BJP and Congress almost coming to blows over the chairmanship issue.