Stormy winter session of Karnataka Legislative Assembly on cards

News Network
December 6, 2020

Bengaluru, Dec 6: The 10 day Winter Session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly beginning Monday, in the backdrop of Covid-19 threat, is likely to be stormy as opposition parties are gearing up to attack the ruling BJP government headed by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on its alleged lapses in handling Corona, flood-affected along with various other issues.

Among other issues, the ruling BJP State Executive which met yesterday at Belagavi has passed resolutions to move Bills against religious conversion, which they refer as 'Love Jihad' and cow slaughter in the session.

The Winter Session, which was usually held in Suvarna Vikas Soudha (SVS) at Belagavi, was scheduled to be held in State Capital at Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat skipping Belagavi bordering Maharashtra and Goa. It was present Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa who was responsible for constructing SVS who had determined to hold the Winter Session every year in Belagavi to prove to neighbouring Maharashtra State that Karnataka has not neglected the interests of Marathi speaking people.

Taking strong exception to the skipping of SVS this year, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) State President D K Shivakumar and Opposition Leader in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah are gearing up to attack the ruling party. The opposition parties were of the opinion that if the State government is not holding the Session and utilising then what far about Rs 430 Crore was spent for construction of SVS.

Adding to Opposition's weapon was Chief Minister Yediyurappa announcing the formation of Maratha Development Authority allegedly ignoring the interests of Kannadigas. However, the Chief Minister defended setting up the Authority stating that there are Marathi speaking people in Karnataka and it is the duty of the State government to protect their interests and development.

The setting up of Maratha Development Authority attracted widespread criticism from various corners and pro-Kannada organisations had given a call for 'Karnataka Bandh' on December 5 demanding the Chief Minister to withdraw its decision. The Bandh, however, attracted a lukewarm response and passed off peacefully. It was alleged that the Authority was formed to woo the votes of Marathi speaking people in the forthcoming Panchayat election.

The ruling BJP has also decided to move a bill banning cow slaughter in the State.

Other issues including alleged failure of the State and Centre in coming to the rescue of farmers and people affected by floods, corruption in the purchase of Covid equipment etc.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.