The principal Opposition, the Congress, on Tuesday boycotted the Legislative Assembly session opposing the State government’s “adamant” attitude on passing the entire State Budget instead of a vote on account for four months and not adhering to decisions taken at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting held on Monday.
The Congress had extended support to the government to pass the Finance Bill seeking a vote on account for four months and adjourn the House sine die in the wake of COVID-19 cases being reported across the State.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah told presspersons here on Tuesday that all Congress leaders favoured passing of the Finance Bill and were against passing other Bills without a debate. He had presented 13 State Budgets but not once he sought the State legislature’s approval for the entire Budget in March, Mr. Siddaramaiah said. Generally, the legislature gives its approval for only the vote on account in March and for the entire Budget after a detailed discussion on various departments’ demands in July, he said.
The Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed in the Legislative Assembly, was detrimental to the interest of the SCs, STs, and women. The Bill would not allow the growth of leadership among these marginalised groups by reducing the tenure of presidents and vice-presidents of gram, taluk, and zilla panchayats from five years to 30 months. The Bill was aimed at concentration of power and not decentralisation of power, he alleged.
