Speaker for foreign study tours by legislators

State Legislative Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa is in favour of undertaking study tours, particularly trips abroad, by legislators.

“Teams of legislators will be constituted subject-wise to go abroad and study issues pertaining to industry, infrastructure, agriculture, horticulture and road,” Mr. Thimmappa said. “All tours should be purposeful and in the interest of development of the State.”

Instead of tours by legislature committees, each team of 30 to 40 legislators would be formed subject-wise for undertaking foreign tours, the Speaker told presspersons here on Tuesday. He said a committee, comprising officials of the Legislature Secretariat, has framed guidelines on organising tours for legislators.

A special board, comprising Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, Mr. Thimmappa and Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy, would soon approve the guidelines.

The new guidelines have been framed in the backdrop of the outcry over legislature committees undertaking tours. Already two committees of the legislators had gone abroad. The Speaker said tours by the legislators will continue, although the government did cancel one of them a few months ago following public outcry and the reported direction from the Congress high command.

Two foreign tours and two domestic tours are permitted during the five-year term of the Assembly. “Three to four teams of legislators will be constituted subject-wise to go to one or two countries. Tours will be organised from this year itself,” Mr. Thimmappa said.

On the quality of study reports submitted by legislators, the Speaker said “reports should be specific on the issue and should not be too general.”

Tours would help legislators acquire knowledge and enable them to serve the people better, he said.