No hiccups as Congressmen secure presiding officer posts in legislature

Bengaluru: Congress’ GS Patil was elected speaker of the legislative assembly Friday without opposition after BJP and JD(S) boycotted the election over Congress high command announcing his candidature on the party letterhead.

In the legislative council, Congress’ Saleem Ahmed defeated NDA nominee PH Pujar 38-30 in a contest marked by heated exchanges over events that led up to Basavaraj Horatti resigning as chairman.

Chief minister DK Shivakumar proposed Patil’s name and his deputy G Parameshwara seconded it. Pro tem speaker TB Jayachandra declared him elected after a voice vote. The post fell vacant after UT Khader resigned ahead of his induction into Shivakumar’s council of ministers on June 3.

Opposition leader R Ashoka of BJP said the boycott was against what he called the Congress’ “unconstitutional” decision to name Patil on its official letterhead, which he said undermined the sovereignty of the House and rights of elected representatives.

“Congress should learn to respect the sanctity of the chair. The whole assembly must be taken into confidence,” Ashoka said.

But Shivakumar defended the decision, saying the govt had not dishonoured the sanctity of constitutional posts and accused BJP of politicising the issue.

Meanwhile, immediately after the election in the council, pro tem chairman Puttanna handed charge to Ahmed. The motion proposing Ahmed was moved by BK Hariprasad, Congress state president, and seconded by Yathindra Siddaramaiah, minister and leader of the House.

During the proceedings, BJP member Keshavaprasad objected to the absence of women members near the chair while escorting Ahmed, saying the cabinet was entirely male-dominated.

Leader of the opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy also objected to Ahmed’s candidature being announced on the party letterhead. He said the opposition would not have objected had the AICC communicated the list to the Congress state president instead.

NDA members also questioned Horatti’s resignation, with Narayanaswamy seeking an explanation from Puttanna on why Horatti was allegedly forced to step down. Senior BJP member N Ravikumar called Horatti’s exit “constitutional”, but Puttanna said an election was already scheduled and there was no scope to discuss other matters.

Gurupadagouda Sanganagouda Patil, popularly known as GS Patil, is a four-time MLA from Ron in Gadag district and the 18th speaker of the legislative assembly. He was first elected to the assembly in 1989. Patil served as chairman of the Karnataka Mineral Development Corporation and Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. A former opening batsman and wicketkeeper for Karnataka, he is the brother of former chief secretary BS Patil and former MP RS Patil.

Source: The Times of India