Withdrawal date not over, don't know if there will be Cong prez poll on Oct 17: Jairam Ramesh
Gundlupet, Sep 30: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said he does not know if there would be a party presidential election on October 17, as the last date for withdrawal of nomination is not over yet.
The party General Secretary in-charge of Communications said both M Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, who filed their nomination papers, are multi-dimensional personalities.
"All I can say is the election will be free, fair and transparent," Ramesh said.
"Congress is a more internally democratic party than the BJP and is the only political party that has the system to elect its President and has elected presidents," Ramesh added.
In response to a question on Kharge's Dalit identity and electoral prospects for the Congress with him as a president, Ramesh said, Kharge has had a long public life having occupied various positions, and he cannot be looked at with only one lens.
"He (Kharge) is a multi-dimensional personality and so is Shashi Tharoor (other candidate). As of now, it is a contest between two multi-dimensional personalities. The last date for withdrawal is still not over, we don't know whether there will be an election on October 17 or not," he added.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8.
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Punishment for those disrupting assembly proceedings, warns Speaker UT Khader
Belagavi: Speaker U.T. Khader on Friday warned that members who disrupt Assembly proceedings by talking in their seats during debates will be made to sit in the House for an entire day as a disciplinary measure.
The warning came after the Question Hour, when Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad was permitted to initiate a discussion on the development of North Karnataka.
At this point, expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal objected, stating that he had been seeking a debate for the past three days but had not been given an opportunity.
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Responding to the objection, Speaker Khader said Bellad had already been granted permission and assured Yatnal that he would be allowed to speak at the next opportunity. He noted that even as a serious discussion was underway, several MLAs were speaking among themselves with their microphones on, disrupting the proceedings.
Expressing displeasure over the conduct of members, Khader likened the situation to football, where players receive red, yellow, or white cards for violations. Similarly, he said, the Assembly issues warning cards to members who disturb the House. If they fail to correct themselves despite repeated warnings, they would be required to remain seated in the Assembly hall for a full day as punishment, he stated.
