The Hindu : Karnataka News : Contest likely for post of Deputy Speaker

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 12, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Contest likely for post of Deputy Speaker

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JUNE 11. The Government is unlikely to concede the Opposition's demand that the post of Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly be given to it.

The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, today hinted in the House that the Government would be unable to oblige the Opposition on the issue. The Opposition wanted the Government to emulate the tradition established in Parliament.

The Opposition parties did not field a candidate against the Speaker, Krishna, when he was elected on Thursday.

Speaking to presspersons after the Janata Dal (Secular) member H.D. Kumaraswamy took his oath as a member of the House, the Chief Minister said it was true that the Leader of the Opposition, B.S. Yediyurappa, had suggested that the post of the Deputy Speaker should go to the Opposition. "But everybody need not follow it," Mr. Dharam Singh said.

The Chief Minister agreed with the suggestion of the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party that the boards and corporations in the State should be reconstituted. But he could not say whether it would happen before the Common Minimum Programme was formulated by the coordination committee, which itself was yet to be set up.

About the criticism of Mr. Yediyurappa that the Governor's address did not lay stress on the development of north Karnataka and the problems of farmers, Mr. Dharam Singh said all those issues would be addressed in the Budget to be presented next month. First, the Council of Ministers would go into the problems faced by farmers and the issue of development of the northern districts. He said the Government would come out with a comprehensive package for north Karnataka.

Admitting that the coalition Government still had teething problems, Mr. Dharam Singh said they would be dealt with one by one. The expansion of the Council of Ministers was important, he said but did not say when it would come about.

On selecting candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, the Chief Minister said the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) had a combined strength of 123 in the Legislative Assembly. The two parties had a surplus of 20 and 13 votes, respectively. With the votes from the other friendly parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Mr. Dharam Singh said the Congress would formulate its strategy.

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