Bengaluru: The Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Vidhana Soudha has turned out to be a bone of contention between the State Cabinet and State Legislature. While the Legislature has made elaborate plans to celebrate the event by inviting President Ram Nath Kovind to address the Joint House on Oct. 25, the State Government has reportedly sent back the proposal citing “huge budget” for the two-day mega event.
The Legislature Secretariat had sought Rs. 28 crore for the two-day Special Session and other cultural programmes marking the Diamond Jubilee of Vidhana Soudha. However, the Government, upset that the Legislature had bypassed the Cabinet in deciding over the celebration, stopped the Grants for the programme citing “huge budget”.
A senior leader said, “Neither was the Cabinet told about the plan nor did they consult anybody about holding the Special Session. They have just sent us a budget plan.”
Ministers upset
A section of ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet is learnt to have taken exception to the “unilateral decisions” taken by Legislative Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy and Speaker K.B. Koliwad on organising Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the iconic Vidhana Soudha.
The Presiding Officers of the two Houses are said to have gone ahead with preparations for the gala celebrations and renovation of Vidhana Soudha without informing the Government about it.
This post was published on October 12, 2017 6:56 pm