The Supreme Court ruling setting aside the Legislative Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah`s order disqualifying five Independent MLAs has come in handy for Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah to renew the demand for his resignation, putting both the Bharatiya Janata Party Government and Mr. Bopaiah in a politically embarrassing position, particularly, when the joint legislature session is to start in three days.
Addressing presspersons, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the apex court had arraigned the Speaker saying that he had disqualified the MLAs to save the then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was asked to prove his majority in the House in May last, without serving them a seven-day notice under the rules. The Speaker`s decision was unconstitutional, an affront to parliamentary democracy and had no moral authority to remain in his seat for a second, he added.
‘Ban Sri Rama Sene'
Mr. Siddaramaiah demanded Home Minister R. Ashok to ban Sri Rama Sene, whose complicity in the hoisting of the Pakistan Flag at Sindagi had been confirmed by the Minister He suspected that even the Bharatiya Janata Party members could have been behind the crime aimed at disturbing communal harmony in the State. The sene's president Pramod Muthalik had denied involvement of his organisation and instead pointed his finger at the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he added. All this called for a through probe, he said.
The Congress leader alleged that Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was following his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi even in the appointment of Lokayukta. Mr. Modi had not cared to appoint Lokayukta for more than eight years.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that he and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Motamma had suggested some names, but not S.R. Bannurmath to the Chief Minister. Probably, the Government wanted to dodge the issue, so that the post remained vacant. But, he did not agree with a suggestion that Governor H.R. Bhardwaj should take a leaf from Gujarat and go ahead with appointing the Lokayukta.
Fund mobilisation
Coming down on spending just 40 per cent of the Rs. 85,000 crore budgetary allocation for the year, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Government had failed to mobilise resources and it might not reach Rs. 65,000 crore by the end of March. Last fiscal, he said that it spent Rs. 58,000 crore as against the budgetary allocation of Rs. 72,000 crore. In the name of farmers budget, the government hoodwinked the community, he charged and demanded details of increase in production of food grains, groundnut, cereals, oil seeds and contribution of agriculture to the State GDP.
Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged that only the BJP workers/farmers benefitted from the programmes of Karnataka Organic Farming Mission and cash incentive of Rs. 5,000 and not real farmers.
Keywords: Speaker's resignation
