Gehlot goof-up: CM reads out excerpts of previous budget, uproar in House
Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday read excerpts of the previous budget instead of Budget 2023-24, the major goof-up leading to an uproar in the house and an apology from the chief minister who said it was human error.
There were two adjournments with the Opposition BJP alleging that the budget had been leaked and the presentation be postponed to another date.
The House was first adjourned for half-an-hour within a few minutes of the budget presentation beginning and then again for 15 minutes. When the House reassembled after the first adjournment, Speaker CP Joshi expunged the proceedings from 11 am to 11.42 am.
He said whatever happened was unfortunate. Human errors, he said, happen and are rectified.
When the house reassembled after the second adjournment, the chief minister said, "I am feeling sorry. An extra page was added by mistake. It was human error."
Incorrect figures were presented when Vasundhara Raje was chief minister and that were also rectified, he said.
Raje, who was present in the House, hit back, saying what Gehlot had done was sheer carelessness. "Koi bhi CM is tarah se kaagaz nahin laate. Aisa hoga toh Rajasthan kya hoga (No chief minister comes with papers like this. What will happen to the state if the chief minister does something like this)," she said.
The uproar ended after the chief minister's apologies and the budget speech began after that.
The speaker directed Opposition members to maintain the dignity of the house and the sanctity of the budget but the Opposition members continued their protest.
Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the copy of the budget remains locked and it remains with the finance minister.
For the dignity of the house, the budget should be postponed and a new date fixed, he said.
The chief minister requested Opposition members to return to their benches but the uproar continued.
When the protest continued, the speaker adjourned the house for the second time for 15 minutes at 12.13 pm.
This is the last budget for the Congress-led Gehlot government before assembly polls in the state.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
