The first of the sessions of the Karnataka legislature in the new calendar year will commence on February 2, and as is stipulated in the Constitution, Governor Vajubhai R.Vala will address a joint session of the two Houses.
It will be the first time the incumbent Governor will be addressing a joint session given that he took charge only in September, and there has been no occasion, so far, for him to address a joint session.
The 10-day session is a precursor to the budget session when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is also the Finance Minister, will be placing the annual State Budget for approval by the legislature. The Governor, in his address, will primarily outline the aims and policies of the incumbent government, apart from its notable achievements so far, and as is mandated, his address will be prepared by the State government and ratified by the Cabinet before it is sent across to the Raj Bhavan.
A whole lot of issues are expected to figure in the coming session.
Top of the list would be the differences among some Ministers, particularly that of Excise Minister Satish L. Jarkiholi, who has openly expressed his dissent irrespective of the fact that he is a confidant of the Chief Minister.
He is purported to have sent across his resignation letter from the Council of Ministers, although it is another matter that a Minister’s resignation will take effect only if it is forwarded to the Governor by the Chief Minister for acceptance.
The denotification of a large tract of land acquired for the Arkavathi Layout of the Bangalore Development Authority is unlikely to figure in the discussions in both Houses of the legislature, since the Bharatiya Janata Party is keen that the matter should be placed before the Governor for his approval to prosecute the Chief Minister.
Further, there is also the H.S. Kempanna Commission of Inquiry, constituted in September last year, for the very same purpose.
The legislature session will be for a short duration (until February 13), with the Governor delivering his address on February 2, followed by a discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address over the next few days.
In all likelihood, there will be no discussion on any legislative matter, or even the introduction of Bills, given the fact that the government is yet to ponder over such actions.
Interestingly, as has been evident over the past two decades, the Governor’s address is never taken seriously by the Opposition although it generally reflects the direction in which the government proposes to move, including the continuation of welfare schemes.
This is the primary reason that the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address is generally adopted without much debate.
The Governor’s address is more often looked upon as a symbolic occasion as his speech is a narrative of the government and not really the views of the Governor.
