

BELAGAVI: The Karnataka government’s earlier decision to hold the monsoon legislature session at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi has reportedly been withdrawn.
According to sources in the Belagavi deputy commissioner’s office, the decision taken during the tenure of former chief minister Siddaramaiah to convene the session in Belagavi in the second week of July has been put on hold after DK Shivakumar took charge as CM. The cabinet expansion is the next big challenge before the government and as the Congress top brass is meticulous about it, it may have been decided to retain the session in Bengaluru, the sources said.
The state government has not issued any directions on preparing for the session in Belagavi, which has led officials to believe that the session has been dropped, sources indicated.
Belagavi district authorities had already begun preliminary preparations based on the government’s decision. Meetings were conducted to coordinate accommodation, security arrangements, transportation and other logistical requirements for legislators, officials and visitors expected at the session.
The proposal had further gained momentum after Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti publicly supported the idea of the monsoon session in Belagavi. Commenting on the issue, Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan said no communication has been received from the government on conducting the session in Belagavi. “It appears that the monsoon session in Belagavi has almost been cancelled,” Roshan said. An official announcement from the state government is still awaited.