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Bengaluru: The sudden transfer of chief secretary of the Labour Department P Manivannan, who had stood up for workers during the Corona lockdown, has given rise to objection by the working class.

While IAS officer Maheshwar Rao has been given the charge in the Department, the member of the Corona Warriors team have expressed shock on hearing of Manivannan's transfer. They have even declared that they were withdrawing from any kind of Corona-related work.

The ire is being expressed even on social media, with the #BringBackManivannan trending. The labour unions are demanding a withdrawal of the transfer, warning of staging a protest otherwise.

Manivannan had recently warned of taking action against factory owners who failed to pay the April salary to their workers. The government is being accused of transferring the officer due to pressure from industrialists.

Manivannan had also objected to the government decision to pass an ordinance on the amendment to the labour law to increase the working hours from eight to 12 without consulting leaders of labour unions.

The government has said that the transfer was due to complaints received against Manivannan on irregularities in supply of grocery kits, but the protesters have pointed out that the officer had refused legislators supply of ration kits, calling this a reason for transfer.

AITUC general secretary M D Harigovind said that the industrialists had objected to opening of an online portal for workers' complaints regarding pay and demanded Manivannan's transfer. “The government has agreed to the demand,” he concurred.

The Aam Aadmi Party and the CPM too have criticised Manivannan's transfer after he had worked effectively in the state government's struggle against spread of Corona.

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Bengaluru (PTI): In an effort to end the logjam over the Governor's address that has stalled proceedings for the past week, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday ruled that legislators should not discuss Thaawarchand Gehlot or his conduct in the house, saying such debates send the wrong message to the public.

The House has witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments since the session began on January 22 over the issue of the governor's conduct.

During his address to the joint sitting of the Karnataka legislature on January 22, Gehlot read out only three sentences from the 122-paragraph speech prepared by the state government.

The speech included criticism of the Centre for replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G), portions of which the governor declined to read.

Concluding his address in about two minutes, the governor left the house, triggering a commotion as Congress legislators attempted to gherao him and raised slogans.

While the opposition BJP accused the ruling Congress and its ministers of "insulting" the governor and demanded action, the treasury benches countered by claiming the governor had "insulted the National Anthem by leaving before it was played."

The house again witnessed heated arguments on the issue earlier in the day, leading to adjournment.

During the interruption, Khader held a meeting with ministers and opposition members to resolve the impasse.

When proceedings resumed, the speaker delivered his ruling.

Referring to the events of January 22 and the subsequent debate, Khader said the conduct and discussions had conveyed the wrong message to the public.

"Our conduct as members of this House and the opinions expressed must be in good taste and in accordance with constitutional provisions. They must uphold the dignity of the House and its members. We must introspect in this direction," he said.

He stressed the need for caution to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.

"Let us end this matter here, continue the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor, and refrain from discussing the governor or his conduct in this house," the speaker said.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said the house should express regret over what he termed an "insult" to the governor.

Responding, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the situation would not have arisen had the governor read out the entire address.

"Asking the house to express regret is not appropriate. Why did the governor leave even before the National Anthem was played," Siddaramaiah asked.

BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar reminded Siddaramaiah that as Leader of the Opposition in 2011, he had asked then Governor Hansraj Bhardwaj to curtail his address.

Bhardwaj had subsequently placed the address on the table of the house, requesting members to treat it as read.

Siddaramaiah said the situation in January 2011 was different from the present one.

The debate grew intense, leading to another adjournment of the house.

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