Oppn slams Cong govt as ministers skip Legislative Council for protest
Belagavi (PTI): Labelling the Congress government in Karnataka "irresponsible", the opposition BJP and JD(S) on Wednesday accused the ruling party members of skipping the Legislative Council proceedings to participate in a protest here and wasting valuable House time.
As the House commenced for the day, the treasury benches were vacant, with Minister Satish Jarkiholi being the sole representative of the government present.
This irked the opposition members, who accused the Congress government of "insulting" the House and also the people of the state, especially those from north Karnataka, as the issues concerning the region are under discussion during the Winter session in Belagavi.
The ruling Congress on Wednesday morning staged a protest against the central government's move to replace the existing rural employment law MGNREGA, and alleged "hate politics" against the party leadership in the National Herald case, in front of Gandhi state at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha premises here.
Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy questioned the government's ethics.
"Look at the irresponsibility of the government, the ruling party members including Ministers and the leader of the House are not present. If this is their conduct, will they do justice to the north Karnataka region?"
JD(S) MLC Saravana said the opposition has requested for the session to be continued for one more week to discuss key issues concerning north Karnataka.
"The session had to convene at 10 am. No minister is present in the House, who will answer? Who do we have to question? Why is the session called?" he asked.
Narayanaswamy too said the opposition has requested to continue the session for one more week, as no issues including those relating to north Karnataka have been discussed properly in the House.
"But the government is wasting the time. It is showing irresponsibility. Neither the leader of the House, nor Ministers or ruling party members are present in the House. What kind of conduct is this? Such conduct puts politicians in a bad light. Do we need this? The situation is such that we have to face the ire of the people having come for the winter session in Belagavi," he said.
Noting that about Rs 30 crore is spent for the session, the opposition leader said, "this is public money. Should it be wasted like this? Doesn't this government have responsibility? For trivial issues this (protest) is being done. Will the government protest? If the government behaves this way, what will others do? We condemn this conduct of this government."
Opposition chief whip and MLC N Ravi Kumar termed the conduct of the government a "betrayal" of north Karnataka. "The government lacks seriousness when issues concerning north Karnataka are being raised and discussed. This is an irresponsible government."
BJP MLC Bharathi Shetty said the House was convened 30 minutes late, still no one is present from the government side. "Down Down for this government. They are wasting public money and time."
JD(S) MLC Bhojegowda said, everyone has the right to protest, but the ruling party and the government is well aware that the House has to convene at 10 am, but still they are protesting outside.
"You could have protested at 8 am... But, wasting the time of the House in the name of protest is not right. The session has been called in Belagavi to discuss development and issues concerning north Karnataka. Forgetting all this, they are sitting there. Only one Minister (Satish Jarkiholi)is present in the House, another Minister (Ramaling Reddy) is coming now. What is important for you-- session or protest?" he questioned.
Bhojegowda and Ravi Kumar called the government's conduct "irresponsible and insulting" the House and the Chair.
Intervening, Narayanaswamy said, "this government is lost. We have to give advertisements in the papers saying the government is lost, please search or find it."
"We will also boycott the House in protest against the conduct of this government. We will walk out. This is an insult to the House, the chair and the people of north Karnataka. This government has betrayed the people, it (the government) is dead," he said.
Defending the government, Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, "we had a protest... Prime Minister himself doesn't go to parliament, but goes abroad when Parliament is in session."
As this led to strong objection from BJP members, leading to chaos, Deputy Chairman M K Pranesh adjourned the House for some time.
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
