BANGALORE: Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council were tabled in the House on Tuesday. Chairman V.R. Sudarshan said last week that the amendments are intended to restore certain privileges of the House and to help members function more effectively.

The most significant amendment relates to the appointment of the Leader of the House. The rules have been changed to ensure that only a member of the Legislative Council can hold that post. The previous incumbent, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, is a member of the Legislative Assembly, and was the Leader of the House since 2004. The new amendments will be adopted in the ongoing session.

Other amendments relate to the decision to create an Ethics Committee and a Joint House Committee to oversee the working of the Panchayat Raj Department.

Welcoming the amendments, Leader of the Opposition H.K. Patil said it is good to see that Zero Hour, which enables matters of urgent public importance that are not part of the agenda to be raised, is being continued. The committee that discussed the amendments had toyed with the idea of scrapping Zero Hour.

M.P. Nadagouda (Janata Dal-U) said the decision on the minimum number of members required to ensure quorum is a progressive one. He also welcomed the decision to make it a rule to choose the Leader of the House from within the Council.

B.K. Chandrashekar (Congress) hoped that the changes would ring in a better time for the House.

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