Stringent Covid-19 protocols as Assembly session begins today

Bengaluru: Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri has made it mandatory for all, including members, officers, staff and journalists, to undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-10, seventy two hours prior to the start ofthe session.

Covid negative certificate has been made compulsory for entry into both the Houses at the Vidhana Soudha here. The session had to be convened before September 23 in view of the Constitutional provision that the legislature has to meet at least once in six months.

The budget session was cut short andadjourned sine die on March 24 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak with the state reporting 41 positive cases and one death at the time.

As part of preventive measures in the legislature, seats of members are separated by transparent shields. Attendees will have to wear face shields and follow the preventive measures for coronavirus. While public will not be allowed entry, the press gallery has been shifted to the second floor.

Pointing to this, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah said the time fixed for the session will not be enough and it needs to be extended.

The senior Congress leader and former chief minister is likely to raise it during the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting slated for Monday morning ahead of the commencement of the session.

The party has alleged corruption in procurement of medical equipment, and is likely to raise the issue on which both the opposition and the ruling BJP have locked horns in the past.

Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah urged Assembly Speaker Visveshwar Kageri Hegde to extend the session by 15 days, as a number of issues, including corona crisis, floods, Bengaluru riots, and the drugs scandal in the Kannada film industry have to be discussed to "expose the failure of the BJP government in tackling them".

Meanwhile, Congress president D K Shivakumar, said, "We have prepared questions for raising in the Assembly and the Council on the irregularities in purchase of medical equipment for treating corona patients, amending the APMC Act, Land Reforms Act and Labour laws through ordinances, failure to prevent riots in Bengaluru suburb, and delays in providing relief to the flood-hit people in the state's northwest districts.

The Congress and the JD-S had protested against the state government's decision to auction about 21,000 acres of wasteland (B-Kharab) around Bengaluru at four times the guidance value for ostensibly benefiting the real estate mafia.

"We are also against the state government's move to borrow Rs 18,289 crore from the Reserve Bank of India to meet the revenue shortfall of GST compensation the central government owes to Karnataka, as it will overburden the state with higher interest payment and mounting debt," said JD-S leader and former chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.