Belgaum scripts history; hosts K'taka Legislature session

Belgaum, Sep 25 (UNI) Chiseling its name in the annals of the Karnataka Legislature, Belgaum, the bone of contention between the State and neighbouring Maharashtra, today hosted the five-day special session of both the Houses of the Legislature, amidst vociferous protests from the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti (MES).

As soon as the Assembly met for the day in the Jawaharlal Nehru Auditorium of the KLE Education Society, Speaker Krishna moved the obituary reference for renowned Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan and legal luminary L G Havanur.

The session began on an acrimonious note, with MES Legislators Digambar Patil and Manohar Kanekar raising voice against holding the session in Belgaum when the border row was before the Supreme Court.

Cutting across party lines, the other members of the House countered the MES protest. Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj even waved a black flag.

Mr Patil and Mr Kanekar, dressed in traditional saffron head gear, green shirt and dhothi, staged a walkout, amidst noisy scenes.

The MES, which spearheaded the agitation for merging the Marathi-speaking areas on the border with Maharashtra, is holding a parallel session to counter the special session.

Mr Nagaraj's attempt to display a banner against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre withdrawing an affidavit filed in favour of Karnataka in the Supreme Court, was countered by the main opposition Congress members. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge accused Mr Nagaraj of trying to gain cheap popularity.

The House also condemned the July 11 serial bomb blasts in suburban trains in Mumbai, in which over 200 people lost their lives.

The Council met in the afternoon, with almost all the members making an unanimous demand for announcing Belgaum as the second capital of the State and its overall development. In his opening remarks, Acting Chairman Sachidanand Khot observed that the special session was a historical event in a place, where father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was elected as President of Indian National Congress on December 26, 1924.

Higher Education Minister abd Leader of the House D H Shankaramurthy defended the decision of the government to hold the special session in Belgaum and said the Government was committed to make permanent arrangements in the Northern Karnataka district to hold sessions regularly on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir) and Maharashtra (Nagpur).

He said the Government was committed to the development of North Karnataka region and the implementation of Nanjundappa Committee report on regional imbalance.

Leader of the Opposition in the Council H K Patil termed the special session as an honour to the long pending demand of the people of the region in general, and Belgaum in particular, as the State of unified Karnataka was mooted from this place by rendering a song 'Udayavagali namma cheluva Kannada Naadu' during the only INC session here.

Mr Patil said the only mantra of the session should be 'abhivrudhi namma janma siddha hakku'.

Expressing displeasure over the display of cut outs of several political leaders near the venue of the session, he said he was at a loss to understand the reason behind it and wondered whether it was a party convention.

Irrespective of party affiliations, all members welcomed the decision to hold the session in Belgaum.

Mukhya Mantri Chandru (BJP) said when the Government could arrange the session within a short span of time, why was it delaying implementation of Kannada language as an official language and several reports, including Dr Sarojini Mahishi report on Kannadigas employment and development.

The House was adjourned for lunch at 1500 hrs.

UNI