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15 Bills passed in assembly amid goof ups by Karnataka govt

ByNaheed Ataulla, Bengaluru
Mar 01, 2024 06:26 AM IST

During the session, the opposition pointed out the contradictory orders regarding singing of the state anthem by poet laureate Kuvempu ,issued by the state government

In the 14-day budget session of the Karnataka legislature, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular-JDS), seized the opportunity despite setbacks in the Rajya Sabha polls. Despite the state government’s multiple “goof ups”, at least 15 Bills were passed, including significant legislation like the Karnataka Motor Transport and Other Allied Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Bill, 2024 and the Hindu Religious and Temple Endowments (Amendment) Bill,2024.

Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs stage a protest against the state government, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru (ANI)
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs stage a protest against the state government, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru (ANI)

During the session, the ruling Congress faced criticism on multiple fronts. Controversies arose over issues such as the modification of poet laureate Kuvempu’s writings in government residential schools; a printing error, as admitted by the government, exempting private schools from singing the state anthem and the government back tracking on its statement which mandated multi national companies (MNC) to display the number of Kannadigas they have employed.One of the session’s highlights was the 3.71 lakh crore budget presented by chief minister Siddaramaiah, marking his first independent budget since the Congress assumed power.

Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio created a record by presenting the 15th budget, which is the highest presented by any finance minister in Karnataka.

In his three-hour speech, Siddaramaiah announced 52,000 crore for the five guarantees. He said a sum of 50,000 to 55,000 was transferred to each family every year under the five guarantees.

The contentious issue of fund allocation from the Centre to the states led to heated debates, with the Karnataka Congress condemning what they termed “financial injustice.” The assembly passed a resolution condemning the Centre’s stand against reduced share of taxes and other allocations. A second one was passed in support of farmers protesting to fix the minimum support price (MSP) of all crops.

During the session, Siddaramaiah targeted the BJP- JD(S) combine asking if they were “not ashamed to defend the injustice done to 7 crore (70 million) Kannadigas.” “If we pay 100 as tax, we get only 12 in return from the Centre,’’ the CM added.

This led to a din in the House with the BJP protesting that “both the resolutions were tabled without including them in the business agenda list”. The BJP also moved a resolution from the well of the House where it was staging a dharna. The counter resolution asserted that the “central government brought reforms, such as increasing grants to states from 32% to 42%.”

During the session, the opposition pointed out the contradictory orders regarding singing of the state anthem by poet laureate Kuvempu ,issued by the state government. According to an order issued on February 1, 2024, singing the state anthem penned by the poet is compulsory in all government and private schools but another notification on February 16 amended it, changing from all schools to only government institutions. When the opposition raised the issue, Kannada and culture minister Shivaraj Tangadagi and law minister H K Patil admitted it “was a printing error.”

The session also saw disagreements over mandates for multinational companies and debates on the necessity of providing free meals to lawmakers.

Later, the government had backtracked its statement that multinational companies should display the number of Kannadigas employed on the notice boards of their respective companies.

There was opposition from industry leaders such as former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai who called the state government’s move “retrograde’’. IT minister Priyank Kharge clarified there was no such move by the government as it wanted more investments to come to Karnataka.

Thin attendance during the assembly session prompted speaker U T Khader to provide free breakfast to legislators of both Houses, so that they would be “present in the first half of the session.” The move, however, failed to evoke any positive response.

Political analyst N K Mohan Ram pointed out as to “why the tax payers money should be used to provide free meals to the law makers, when they fail to attend the House.” “The discussions in the legislature have now become pedestrian and the Houses are treated like election platforms to deliver speeches,’’ he said.

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