The stalling of the business of the two Houses of the Karnataka legislature by the Congress is unlikely to continue indefinitely, as there is a line of thinking within the party that favours the early return of its legislators to the sessions, Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara said on Tuesday.
An indefinite disruption was not in the best interest of the party and the people, he said
Dr. Parameshwara told The Hindu here that the Congress high command was kept posted of the developments in the legislature, where the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have a floor understanding. The two have stalled the proceedings, including the address by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj, in the past four days. They have demanded Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's resignation on grounds of corruption, and a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into land scams, illegal mining, and cases of corruption, favouritism and nepotism.
The PCC president said the Congress leadership broadly concurred with the view that the legislators, having made their point and drawn attention to the central issue of corruption the Yeddyurappa government is mired in, must now find other ways of taking the issue forward while participating in the sessions. “After all, the extensive documentation that we have on corruption and that we have released to the press must be recorded in the proceedings of the House so that it becomes part of the recorded history.” For this purpose, there will be discussions within the Congress, and with the Janata Dal (Secular). “Our understanding with the JD(S) is issue-based,” Dr. Parameshwara said.
The two parties are likely to come together in those districts where the recent zilla panchayat polls threw up a hung verdict — Mysore, Koppal, Raichur, Dharwad, Haveri, Bijapur and Bagalkot. “Here, we will have an understanding for the posts of president and vice-president,” Dr. Parameshwara said.
At the organisational level, the party would continue its campaign against corruption outside the legislature, while gearing itself for the Assembly elections. The induction two months ago of Dr. Parameshwara, an agricultural scientist, as PCC president is expected to bring a new dynamism to a party that has lost much of its political base in the past few elections. The party is looking at building a “collective leadership” that will represent sectional interests.
