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MANGALURU: Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader on Monday strongly defended his decision of not allowing any discussion on the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam in the just concluded Assembly session as he did not want to set a bad precedent.
“As per rule 62(7) and 63 of Karnataka Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Karnataka Legislative Assembly, no motion which seeks to raise discussion on a matter pending before any statutory tribunal or statutory authority performing any judicial or quasi-judicial functions or any commission or court or enquiry appointed to enquire into, or investigate, any matter shall ordinarily be permitted to be moved,” Khader told the media in Mangaluru.
Khader said that though the MUDA row is of public importance, it is not a recent occurrence as it happened 10-12 years ago when the now Opposition party was in power.
Stating that the State Government has already ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter, Khader said he was not ready to set a bad precedent by allowing an discussion to take place on the matter in the session.
“If I had allowed it, then in future there could be demands for discussion on matters that are 30-40 years old. Hence, I clearly told the Opposition members to submit before the judicial inquiry if they have any evidence with regard to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority issue,” he said.
Further, the Speaker said he allowed a discussion on the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam, even though there was no clear opportunity for it as it is a recent occurrence and a matter of public importance.
The Speaker said the nine-day session would have discussed more matters of public importance and he has regrets about it.
“The session takes place once in three months during which more and more matters of public importance should be discussed. Protests are part of democracy but priority should be given to people’s issues,” the Speaker added.