Close on the heels of the unruly episode in the Legislative Council on December 15, Council Chairman K. Prathapchandra Shetty has turned the heat on the Upper House Secretary by issuing a show-cause notice to her, accusing her of irresponsibility and dereliction of duty.
Mr. Shetty, whose resignation is being demanded by the Opposition parties, has issued the notice (dated December 15) to House Secretary Mahalakshmi. Mr. Shetty in the notice has cited allowing the Deputy Chairman to sit in the presiding officer’s chair even before quorum bell stopped, closing of the designated entrance of the Chairman to the House, and “misguiding” the Deputy Chairman to continue the session though he had unauthorisedly occupied the seat as grounds to believe that she had indulged in dereliction of duty.
Maintaining that her conduct was not befitting a Karnataka legislature staff and that she had overstepped her jurisdiction, Mr. Shetty asked her to show cause within 48 hours of receiving the notice as to why action should not be initiated against her under the Karnataka Civil Services rules.
He also directed her to submit a report on the incidents right from the commencement of the session till the end so that he could provide a factual response to public criticism and media editorials on the unruly episode witnessed by the Council. He pointed out that she was witness to the entire episode.
Mr. Shetty’s notice has provided a new dimension to the December 15 incidents as the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress have been accusing each other as being responsible for the episode that coincided with the BJP members’ plans to initiate a no- confidence motion against the Chairman.
Already, the BJP has petitioned Governor Vajubai R. Vala in this regard and sought his intervention. They have appealed to the Governor to direct the Chairman to convene the session immediately to help take up no-confidence motion.
While the ruling BJP members have taken exception to the Congress members allegedly manhandling the Deputy Chairman who was in the chair, the Congress members have expressed anger over blocking the entry of the Chairman into the House.