Will not contest again from Chamundeshwari: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Apr 14: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Sunday said he will not contest again from Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in Mysuru, where he had tasted defeat during the May 2018 assembly polls.
"I appeal to you with folded hands...I will not contest from this constituency once again, I'm making it clear. You all should work together for the development of this constituency," he said.
Speaking at the joint election campaign in Jayapura of Chamundeshwari assembly segment in Mysore, he said "this constituency should develop. I have won here five times; this constituency gave me political birth."
Siddaramaiah, the then sitting Chief Minister, had lost the 2018 assembly polls in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) G T Deve Gowda by a margin of over 36,042 votes.
He however won Badami, the other constituency in North Karnataka from where he had contested.
Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket,
He has won five times from this constituency and thrice tasted defeat.
In 2006, he won the Chamundeshwari bypoll on a Congress ticket by a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against JD(S) candidate in one of the bitterest poll battles in the state.
The results then were crucial for Siddaramaiah to score political points over his bete noire JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, after being expelled from the party.
After neighboring Varuna became a constituency in 2008 following delimitation, Siddaramaiah represented it till he vacated the seat for his son Dr Yathindra in the assembly polls last year and went back to his old constituency of Chamundeshwari.
Interestingly Siddaramaiah Sunday shared the stage after a long gap with old time friend turned rival G T Deve Gowda, who defeated him in the assembly polls, to campaign for coalition candidate C H Vijayashankar of Congress for the April 18 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress and JD(S) joined hands to form the government after the December 7 2018 assembly polls after the election threw up a hung verdict and decided to face the Lok Sabha polls together.
According to the seat sharing arrangement, Congress is contesting in 21 seats and JD(S) in seven.
Congress managed to secure Mysore Lok Sabha seat as Siddaramaiah was adamant about not ceding it to JD(S), which was also demanding the constituency, under G T Deve Gowda's leadership.
The former Chief Minister appealed to both Congress and JD(S) workers to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha polls.
Sitting MP Prathap Simha is the BJP candidate from Mysore.
Siddaramaiah had earlier indicated that 2018 would be his last election.
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Upset over insufficient replies by govt, Speaker adjourns the Assembly, walks out
Bengaluru (PTI): Upset over the insufficient number of written replies from government departments to MLAs' questions, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Monday adjourned the House and walked out, stating that he would not run the House until concerned ministers and secretaries provide an explanation.
The Speaker's move, considered "unprecedented" by many legislators, came after Home Minister G Parameshwara tabled 84 written replies against 230 'unstarred' questions submitted by MLAs.
Khader, on Friday, had admonished the government, stating that his "gentleness" should not be mistaken for "weakness," as he took strong exception to the government replying to only a few of the questions from MLAs.
Last week, Khader had repeatedly, though mildly, asked the government to ensure replies to the questions asked by legislators.
As soon as Parameshwara tabled the written replies, opposition BJP members, including Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, pointed out to the Chair that the situation had not improved despite repeated warnings, even as the Home Minister claimed that there was a "bit of improvement."
"Not even 50 per cent questions were replied to. You (Speaker) have warned them (government) four times already, do it for the fifth time. Let it become a record. This government is dead.....Despite warnings, they have not improved. Officials come like Gods, they go home like Gods," Ashoka said, demanding that the Speaker take action.
Khader expressed displeasure, stating that he had issued "clear orders" from his chair four times.
"This House is not for ministers. The session is held for legislators, and it is for them to meet once in three months to discuss issues in their constituencies. Legislators from all parties ask questions. Out of them, only 15 questions become 'starred' (questions to be answered on the floor of the House) daily. If the remaining (unstarred) questions go unanswered, why should they (MLAs) come to this House?" he asked.
Pointing out the lack of proper replies to questions asked, the Speaker said, "How can we continue like this? Despite clear orders from the Chair four times, there are no signs of improvement. How do we run this House?"
"So, until the concerned ministers and secretaries give a proper explanation, I won't run this House," he said, before adjourning the House and walking out.
Later, when the House resumed, the Speaker said there was a meeting involving the Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition, senior minister, chief secretary and other senior officials took place, during which it was decided that answers should be provided to questions put by MLAs and appropriate action had been taken.
The government will give its reply on this issue later in the day, he said, as he adjourned the House for lunch.
