Govt to move 16 Bills to replace ordinances when House meets

BENGALURU: With the Assembly session slated to be held in September, the State Government is planning to bring 16 ordinances, which were approved by the Governor, as replacing Bills in both Houses. On the other hand, the Opposition parties, which have been taking on the government over some of the ordinances, are planning to take the fight notches higher both inside and outside the House.

On Thursday, the cabinet will decide on holding the next Assembly session. The government is obligated to conduct sessions under Article 174 (1), which says the gap between two assembly sessions should not be more than six months. In March, the government had to cut short the legislature session due to the pandemic.

Officials of the Law and Parliamentary Affairs ministry said that since March, the State Government brought 16 ordinances to amend the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, Industrial Disputes Act and Certain Other Laws, APMC Act, Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, Karnataka Epidemic Act among others.

Ordinances are passed when there is no assembly session. Due to Covid, the government was not able to conduct a session in the last five months. As per Article 213 of the Constitution, an ordinance approved by the Governor should be placed before the legislature as replacing Bill while the session is on, and has to be approved by both Houses to become an Act. “If it is not approved, such an ordinance will be valid for only six weeks after the session concludes and will lapse,’’ said an official. On whether the legislature can make changes to an ordinance, the official said the House is supreme and can do so and approve it.

KPCC Working President Saleem Ahmed said, “Starting August 20, the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi and D Devaraja Urs, Congress is staging protest across the state.”

Karjol-led panel to look into Lokayukta reports
A cabinet sub-committee, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, has been constituted to look into Lokayukta and Upalokayukta reports against State Civil Services ‘Group A’ officers. The committee, consisting of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy and Women and Child Welfare Minister Shashikala Jolle will review the recommendations and decide on whether action is needed.