BENGALURU: The state government is in a dilemma to fix dates for the Winter Legislative Session, which will be held at the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi. The issue is that the session would clash with the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana which will be held for three days in Mandya, starting December 20, and the centenary celebrations of the Belgaum Congress Session that will be held in the last week of December.
The Sahitya Sammelana, which was scheduled to be held in February 2024, and was postponed a couple of times due to drought and other reasons, has now got a new schedule on December 20-23, this year.
Meanwhile, the state government is also planning to organise a big convention in Belagavi on December 26 and 27 to mark the centenary of the Belgaum Congress Session that was attended by Mahatma Gandhi in 1924.
Government sources said they are confused about finalising the dates. While there is pressure from pro-Kannada organisations to hold the Sahitya Sammelana on the scheduled dates, the centenary celebrations of the Belgaum Congress Session also comes in the middle of the week, making it difficult to hold the winter session in the third and fourth week of December.
“There is discussion on the session dates to be held in the first two weeks of December,” sources said.
The monsoon session was held in July, and many bills are to be passed. The Council and Assembly staff have already started their work. “We will decide about holding the session at the earliest. We are awaiting approval from the CM and DCM. Once it is done, it will be placed before the cabinet for approval,” a senior official said. With the bypolls to Sandur, Channapatna and Shiggaon Assembly constituencies planned for November, and the results out by November 23, the new members will take oath and attend the session.