Karnataka Speaker Khader adjourns Assembly over Govt’s failure to answer MLAs’ questions: ‘How can House be run?’

In a major loss of face for Karnataka’s Congress Government, Assembly Speaker UT Khader adjourned the House on Monday, displeased that MLAs’ questions were not being answered on time.

He also pulled up the Government for ignoring his multiple directions to answer questions raised during the ongoing budget session.

It was the first time in the state’s history that the Speaker had adjourned the Assembly voicing displeasure at the Government’s failure to answer MLAs’ questions.

On Monday, only 84 of the 230 unstarred questions asked of departments such as revenue, housing, public works, and animal husbandry elicited written answers in the House.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka flagged the lapse on the part of the Government, noting that answers for only fewer than half the unstarred questions were provided over the past five days of House proceedings.

“All MLAs ask questions.

Only 15 are starred (and discussed during Question Hour), and the remaining are unstarred.

For questions asked as per House rule, if answers are not given… how can the House be run?” Khader asked the Government.

Khader recalled asking the Government five times to rectify the issue and submit answers and rued that there was no change.

“The ministers and secretaries concerned should discuss and provide reasons why answers were not given.

Until then, I won’t run the House,” he said, and adjourned the Assembly amid applause from the Opposition benches.

Soon after, Khader held a meeting with Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah, Ashoka, senior ministers, and officials.When the House resumed an hour later, Khader said the Government had decided to provide answers on time.

After lunch, Home Minister G Parameshwara told the Assembly that the chief minister had instructed principal secretaries of all departments to issue notices to officials to provide answers on time, and suspend officials who have kept many answers pending.

“The Government has taken this seriously and will ensure that this is not repeated,” he said.However, Ashoka demanded that ministers also be held responsible for the lapses.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, senior BJP legislator S Suresh Kumar said that this was the first time in the history of the state that a Speaker had adjourned the House over a delay in providing written replies to the Assembly.“Three decades ago, under the Janata Dal Government in 1995, then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar adjourned the House after an Opposition leader made an allegation against the CM.

Ramesh Kumar threatened not to run the Assembly until the allegation was proved,” he said.

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