Oppn rattles Patel on day one

BANGALORE, March 9: In what could be an indication of the trying times ahead for the J H Patel Government in karnataka, Governor Khurshed Al...

BANGALORE, March 9: In what could be an indication of the trying times ahead for the J H Patel Government in karnataka, Governor Khurshed Alam Khan’s address at the budget session on the first day of the state legislature, was brought to an unprecedented and abrupt conclusion.

The development occurred after severe provocations by Opposition members who disrupted the Governor continuously during his speech. At the end of the 15 minutes speech, when the disrupting members failed to quiten, the Governor who had only just begun his 24-page address, abruptly concluded it by turning to the last paragraph and adding that the “rest of the address may be taken as read”. This he did on the advice of the Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar.

The whole incident was triggered off when the lone MLA of the Vatal Chaluvali Paksha, Vatal Nagaraj, culminated the protest by sounding a gong inside the House at around 12.27 pm, barely 12 minutes after the commencement of the Governor’s address.

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Chief Minister J H Patel latertold media persons that the Speaker was examining the whole incident and was looking into the matter of how Vatal Nagaraj was allowed to bring a gong into the House.

Congress floor leader in the Assembly Mallikarjun Kharge protested against the address on grounds that Patel’s government had lost people’s confidence and had no right to present the address. Other Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators from Bidar district, had also registered their protest against the unresolved issue of farmers suffering from a failed crop and the resultant suicides in the district, in the House. All three protesting Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) members wearing saffron turbans had also staged their traditional walk-out in protest against the fact that the address was silent on the unresolved border dispute with Maharashtra.

But, Vatal Nagaraj voiced his protest continuously, thus bringing it to an unprecedented end.

R V Deshpande, former Janata Dal minister and close aide of Lok Shakti leaderRamakrishna Hegde said, the unprecedented disrespect shown to the Governor should serve as an eye-opener to Patel who should now quit honourably.

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For his part the Chief Minister said, “The people should have a sense of decency. If they had any Parliamentary sense, they would not behave like this. If they are against the government, they should have taken the government to task and not the Governor.”