Introspection time for the State Assembly

June 17, 2012

State_Assembly

Bangalore, June 17: It is celebration time for the State Assembly that turns 60 on Monday. The Assembly Hall will be the venue for a special function organised to mark the historic event.

There are not many surviving members of the Assembly, who can give a peek into the initial days of the Assembly - only five of them are alive and they will go down memory lane at the function, where they will be felicitated.

The archives of the State legislature too do not throw much light on the proceedings of the first day of the Assembly. But photographs bring alive the moments of the day.

The Assembly - which had seen the dignified conduct of Kadidal Manjappa, Kengal Hanumanthaiah, D Devaraj Urs - who served as chief ministers - and others, was witness to unruly behaviour of members on October 12, 2010 over disqualification of five Independent members.

Independent MLA Goolihatti Shekar went to the extent of climbing on a chair with his shirt torn and hollering at the Speaker for disqualifying him. Even Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah had climbed on his desk to register his protest against the government.

The 60 watch and ward staff in the Assembly hall and the police outside the hall could not restore order as members indulged in unruly behaviour, leading to the adjournment of the House. Ironically, on Monday, all those MLAs who had created ruckus in the Assembly will be present at the diamond jubilee celebrations.

Historic events

The Assembly hall has been the venue of many historic events such as the Saarc meet in 1986, the all-India presiding officers’ meet in 2002 and the centenary of the Legislative Council. The Secretariat is renovating the hall at a cost of Rs 15 crore.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar, who is overseeing the arrangements for the mega event, told reporters that Justice Venkatachalaiah had been requested to deliver the keynote address as he is a “keen observer of the political developments.”

In his capacity as a former Chief Justice of India, his comments would be apt for the occasion, said Kumar.

The five surviving members of the first Assembly will be presented a memento (Vidhana Soudha statuette), a cardamom garland, Kodagu peta, shawl and fruit basket.

Kumar said the Assembly can accommodate 260 people and that additional seating arrangements had been made. The chief minister, former chief ministers and members who are being felicitated will be seated in the front row.

The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members will be seated in the officials’ gallery, while the other invitees will be in the Speaker’s gallery.

Radhakrishnan’s address

The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallabh Bhai Patel, B?R?Ambedkar and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan adorn the walls of the Assembly.

On October 11, 1963, the then President Sarvepalli?Radhakrishnan had addressed the Assembly after unveiling the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. He had told the legislators to follow the religion of Mahatma Gandhi - quest for truth. Radhakrishnan had told the legislators that whenever they get angry, they must look at the portrait, which would “calm them.”

He said he was confident that the portrait would inspire them to follow the teachings of Gandhi. The portrait continues to be in the same spot, above the Speaker’s podium. The President had said that Gandhi was a perfect democrat in the sense that he was aware of the unlimited powers and had warned against such dangers.

But going by the manner in which a majority of the present MLAs conduct themselves, the portraits have made no impact.

No salary

In 1952, as a first time MLA, U M Madappa was not drawing any salary. He was only getting sitting fees of Rs 15 per day, along with to and fro bus charge of Re one per mile. Sixty years later Madappa, a two-time MLA is drawing a pension of Rs 20,000 per month. A couple of days ago, he received a letter from the government saying that he will here onwards receive a pension of Rs 30,000.

Five surviving members of the first Assembly - Ambadas Rao, Sikandarabad, A P; Madappa U M, Chamarajanagar district; Mulka Govinda Reddy, Bangalore; Thimme Gowda T G, Tiptur; Vasantha Rao L Patil, Belgaum - will be felicitated.

Special gift

To make the event memorable, the Speaker’s office is presenting all the invitees a fragrant gift box. ‘Gold’ and ‘Classic’ soaps, agarbathi, sandal dhoop, powder and handwash have been packed in the box, which has a picture of the Vidhana Soudha on it. As many as 400 such gift packs have been dispatched by the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited for the occasion.

Assembly trivia

* The first sitting of the first Assembly (then Mysore Legislature) was held at Old Public Offices (present building of the High Court of Karnataka) from June 18 to 30, 1952

* The first session also witnessed the election of the Speaker. H Siddaiya defeated Shantaveri Gopala Gowda in the election by 74 votes

* The first sitting in the present Assembly hall in Vidhana Soudha was held on December 19, 1956

*?The strength of the Assembly increased from 100 to 208 in 1957, 216 in 1967 and 224 in 1978

* The maximum number of sittings (98 days) was in 1963. The least number of sittings (17 days) was in 2008

* ?Elections to the Assembly have been held 13 times in the last 60 years: The fifth Assembly had the longest tenure (five years, nine months) - March 24, 1972 to December 31, 1977

* The seventh Assembly had the shortest tenure (one year, six months) - July 24, 1983 to January 2, 1985

*?Two Assembly sessions have been held outside Bangalore - both in Belgaum (September 2006 and January 2009)

* Over the last six decades, the total strength of the Assembly has reached 225, including a nominated Anglo-Indian member

Function agenda

* Arrival of Governor H R Bhardwaj and Justice M N Venkatachalaiah to Vidhana Soudha at 11 am. Programme begins with National Anthem and Naadageethe

* Introductory speech by Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah

Former speaker and MP D B Chandre Gowda to share his memories

* Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah to felicitate five surviving members of the first Assembly (1952-57)

* Release of souvenir

Justice Venkatachalaiah, retired CJI, delivers keynote address

* Address by the governor,

all five former speakers, former chief ministers & MPs

invited Valedictory

* Lunch and cultural programmes at Banquet Hall, Vidhana Soudha, music by Sangeetha Kulkarni and Prakash Sontakki

* Exhibition of photos of first Assembly by Information Department, exhibition of books by Kannada Book Authority near Banquet Hall

What they say...

“The present political scenario is not very encouraging. During our days, things were very different. The present day political parties don’t enjoy the trust of the people, because they are not respecting the Constitution. They need to do a lot of introspection. I am delighted to be at the Assembly as I will be meeting Mulka Govinda Reddy.”

U M Madappa (91 yrs)

“When I contested for MLA seat, I had spent Rs 30,000 for transport and campaign. I used to take public transport from Tiptur to Bangalore to attend legislature session. People used to elect only sincere and honest persons. But now, spending huge sums on electioneering is leading to corruption. I have not purchased even one site. I am happy to live on my pension money.”

T G Thimme Gowda (100 yrs)

“The present day elected representatives are eager to make money. As long as they do not change their mindset, the State will not progress. In the olden days, we did not know the meaning of corruption. People not only pressured us to contest elections, but also spent money for campaigning. But now, people expect money to vote.”

Mulka Govinda Reddy (96 yrs)

“There is a saying: ‘Yatha Raja Tatha Praja’. But now, it is reverse. Elected representatives are like the people. The system is so rotten that it is difficult to improve. But the fact is that in the olden days, the people’s expectations from the government were not much as compared to the present days. I was sworn in as minister four times and I resigned as many times, before completing the term.”

Vasantha Rao L Patil (90 yrs)

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
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: The number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 28,380 and the death toll due to it rose to 886 in the country on Monday, registering a record increase of 60 deaths in 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry.

There has been a spike of 1,463 cases since Sunday evening.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 21,132, while 6,361 people have recovered, and one patient has migrated, the ministry said.

Thus, around 22.41 per cent of patients have recovered in the country so far.

The total number of cases includes 111 foreign nationals.

A total of 60 deaths were reported since Sunday evening, of which 19 fatalities were reported from Maharashtra, 18 from Gujarat, eight from Rajasthan, seven from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Karnataka, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

Of the 886 deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 342 fatalities, followed by Gujarat at 151, Madhya Pradesh at 106, Delhi at 54, Rajasthan at 41, and Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at 31 each.

The death toll reached 26 in Telangana, 24 in Tamil Nadu while West Bengal and Karnataka have reported 20 deaths each.

Punjab has registered 18 fatalities so far. The disease has claimed six lives in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Kerala while Jharkhand and Haryana have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each.

Bihar has reported two deaths, while Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data.

According to the Health Ministry data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 8,068, followed by Gujarat at 3,301, Delhi at 2,918, Rajasthan at 2,185, Madhya Pradesh at 2,168, Uttar Pradesh at 1,955 and Tamil Nadu at 1,885.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,177 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,002 in Telangana.

The number of cases has risen to 649 in West Bengal, 523 in Jammu and Kashmir, 511 in Karnataka, 469 in Kerala, 313 in Punjab and 289 in Haryana.

Bihar has reported 277 novel coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 108 cases. Eighty-two people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 51 in Uttarakhand.

Himachal Pradesh has 40 cases, Chhattisgarh has 37 and Assam has registered 36 infections each so far.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 33 COVID-19 cases while Chandigarh has 30 cases and Ladakh has reported 20 infections so far.

Meghalaya has reported 12 cases, Puducherry has eight cases while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases.

Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

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.
Agencies
May 27,2020

Lucknow, May 27: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has taken a U-turn, two days after he declared that permission would be needed if other states employ workers from UP.

The issue sparked a major controversy and an official spokesman has now said that the government would not include this clause of 'prior permission' in the bye-laws of the Migration Commission.

The government spokesman also said it was working on modalities to set up the commission to provide jobs and social security to migrant workers returning to the state. It has named the migration commission as the "Shramik Kalyan Aayog (Workers welfare commission).

About 26 lakh migrants have already returned to the state and an exercise to map their skills is being carried out to help them get jobs.

Yogi Adityanath has discussed the modalities for setting up the commission and told his officers to complete the skill mapping exercise in 15 days.

A senior official of Team 11, said, "The chief minister discussed the modalities for setting up the commission, as well. There will be no provision requiring other states to seek UP government's prior permission for employing our manpower. The commission is being set up to provide jobs and social security to the workers. We will also link the migrants to the government schemes to provide them houses and loans etc."

Yogi Adityanath said a letter should be sent to all state governments to find out about migrant workers wanting to come back to Uttar Pradesh.

Earlier, the chief minister, while speaking at a webinar on Sunday, had said, "The migration commission will work in the interest of migrant workers. If any other state wants UP's manpower, they cannot take them just like that, but will have to seek permission of the UP government. The way our migrant workers were ill-treated in other states, the UP government will take their insurance, social security in its hands now. The state government will stand by them wherever they work, whether in Uttar Pradesh, other states or other countries."

The statement had sparked a row with some political leaders and parties questioning the move.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi sharply criticized Adityanath's stand, saying the workers were not the chief minister's personal property.

"It is very unfortunate that the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh views India in such a way. These people are not his personal property. They are not the personal property of Uttar Pradesh. These people are Indian citizens and they have the right to decide what they want to do and they have the right to live the life they want to live," he had said.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray had also taken on Adityanath and said that if UP insists on "permission" before other states can employ workers from there, "then any migrant entering Maharashtra would need to take permissions from us, from the Maharashtra state, our police force too."

Meanwhile, the government spokesman said, "The chief minister is deeply moved by the condition of migrants. They have been treated badly by other states. So, when the chief minister spoke about the need for seeking UP government's permission, he did so as a guardian for workers. It's only his concern for the migrants that came out as a political statement."

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.
Agencies
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday after he surrendered before it in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

Teltumbde surrendered at the NIA office at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai following the Supreme Court's directives.

He was subsequently arrested by the NIA and shall be produced before a court here shortly, an official said.

Earlier, the scholar reached the NIA office in the afternoon along with his wife Rama Teltumbde and brother-in- law and Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.

Anand Teltumbde is the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, whose 129th birth anniversary is being observed on Tuesday.

Civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, a co-accused in the case, also surrendered before the NIA in Delhi. His anticipatory bail plea was also rejected by the apex court.

According to the official, Navlakha will be produced before the court in Mumbai through video conference.

The Supreme Court on March 17 this year rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, and directed them to surrender before the investigating agency.

Teltumbde, Navlakha and nine other civil liberties activists have been booked under the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having alleged Maoist links and conspiring the overthrow the government.

The apex court while rejecting Teltumbde and Navlakha's bail pleas on March 17, directed them to surrender before the prosecuting agency withing a period of three weeks.

The duo later sought extension of the time.

On April 9, the Supreme Court extended the time by one week by way of last chance.

The activists were booked initially by Pune Police following violence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima there.

According to police, the activists made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence the next day.

The police also said these activists were active members of banned Maoist groups.

The case was later transferred to NIA. Teltumbde and Navlakha were given interim protection by the Bombay High Court while their pre-arrest bail pleas were being heard.

After the high court rejected their applications, the duo approached the Supreme Court.

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.