Siddaramaiah demands extension of Karnataka assembly session till October 15
Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah on Wednesday demanded that the monsoon session of the state legislature beginning from September 21 be extended till October 15.
In a letter addressed to Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the former chief minister accused the BJP government of continuously "destroying" the parliamentary system.
Siddaramaiah said the time fixed for the session will not be enough to discuss several crucial issues in the state, and pointed out that as per rules, it was necessary for the House to meet for minimum of 60 days in a year.
"In 8 days (of monsoon session) it is impossible to discuss important issues, so I urge that this session should be extended for a minimum of three weeks, that is till October 15," Siddaramaiah said.
In his letter, he said, according to his information more than 35 bills including more than 20 ordinances will be tabled during the session.
Also, there are several issues, as the people of the states are facing difficulties like never before, with repeated floods and COVID pandemic taking more than 6,500 lives.
Adding to it, law and order issues are repeatedly cropping up in the state and drug menace was rampant, he claimed.
Monsoon session of the legislature will be held from September 21 to 30 at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature here.
Siddaramaiah said, while the session is being held amid such a situation, the time fixed was not enough for anything.
"It looks like the session is being held just for the sake of it without any care for the people," he said, alleging that an attempt is being made to pass several anti-people ordinances without any discussion, and termed the move as "treachery of the people, irresponsible and height of wickedness."
The government was conducting itself in an "unconstitutional way" in this matter, he further said.
The Congress and also JD(S) have vehemently opposed some recent amendments brought in by the government to the APMC act, land reforms act and certain labour laws through ordinance, for which replacement bills are likely to be tabled during the coming session.
Siddaramaiah pointed out that as per the Karnataka Conduct of Government Business in the State Legislature Act, 2005, it is mandatory to conduct the assembly proceedings for a minimum 60 days in four sessions in a year.
"But, the BJP government was continuously destroying our parliamentary system. Its behavior shows that it is calling for the session, just for namesake," he added.
The Speaker on Tuesday had said in the wake of the pandemic, undergoing RT-PCR test for COVID-19 infection, 72 hours prior to the start of monsoon session from September 21, was mandatory for all those attending it.
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Defamation case: Application filed in court for voice sample of Rahul Gandhi
Sultanpur (UP) (PTI): An application for obtaining a voice sample of Rahul Gandhi was filed in an MP-MLA court here on Saturday during a hearing in a defamation case against the Congress leader over his alleged objectionable remarks against then BJP president Amit Shah in 2018.
The plaintiff Vijay Mishra's advocate, Santosh Kumar Pandey, said he filed the application requesting that a voice sample of Gandhi be collected and sent to a forensic science laboratory for comparison with a CD that has already been submitted to the court.
Rahul Gandhi's lawyers registered their objections to this demand. The next hearing in the matter is fixed for April 6, Pandey said.
On February 20, Gandhi, the Lok Sabha MP from Raebareli, had appeared before the court and recorded his statement, claiming the case was filed against him due to political vendetta.
He had also told the court that the audio and video evidence submitted by the complainant was incorrect and said he would present his own evidence.
In December 2023, the court issued a warrant against Gandhi after he failed to appear before it. He later surrendered before the court in February 2024 and was granted bail on two surety bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
The hearing was deferred on Friday due to a holiday on Ram Navami.
Pandey said that during the previous hearing, the complainant's side had filed an application seeking verification of audio and video evidence of the alleged statements made by Gandhi by matching them with his original voice.
The case stems from Gandhi's alleged objectionable remarks against Shah during the 2018 Karnataka election campaign. Following the remarks, Vijay Mishra, a resident of Hanumanganj under Kotwali Dehat police station area in Sultanpur, filed the defamation complaint.
