Congress party's picks for vacant legislative council seats could kick off another row with governor
Bengaluru: Congress, after much thought and deliberation, is believed to have chosen KPCC media cell chairman Ramesh Babu, its NRI cell chief Arthi Krishna, party functionary DG Sagar and former media adviser to chief minister Siddaramaiah, Dinesh Amin Mattu, to fill four seats in the legislative council that have been lying vacant for more than six months.
Authorities said the govt was supposed to send the list on Friday, but it delayed the process since governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot was not in station. With two general holidays intervening, the list is expected to be sent to Raj Bhavan soon.
The question though is whether Gehlot would ratify the names because of Article 171 of the Constitution. This canon clearly bars nomination of career politicians, and it had left Congress in a bind.
These nominated seats are reserved for eminent personalities from fields such as literature, art, culture, sports and science.
The names were eventually finalised after extensive consultations between Siddaramaiah and the party high command. Besides the four, Congress had also considered party vice-president BL Shankar and Agha Sultan Khan, another functionary, but the party is said to have decided against them.
Since the "selected candidates" have largely political backgrounds, it has already raised eyebrows and may invite legal challenges.
Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti had written to Siddaramaiah, urging him to "follow the Constitution", especially Section 171(3), and pointedly told the govt to avoid political appointees.
"The legislative council is regarded as the House of Elders where proposed legislation and policies are debated from academic perspectives," said Horatti.
"Nominated members, especially, must be from non-political backgrounds. I had requested the CM in my letter to comply with the spirit of the Constitution."
Past precedent supports his stand. In 2003, governor TN Chaturvedi rejected Congress govt's proposal to nominate career politician Bandeppa Kashempur. Instead, writer Chandrashekhar Kambara was appointed. In 2010, governor HR Bhardwaj blocked the nomination of V Somanna.
More recently, in 2020, governor Vajubhai Vala refused to nominate AH Vishwanath, though he was later accommodated citing his authorship of a few books.
Even Shankar, whose name is said to have been eventually dropped, acknowledged the dilemma. "Social workers qualify for nominated seats, but it is a thin line between social service and active politics," said Shankar. "It is better to disqualify those active in electoral politics for nominated seats."
However, his supporters argue he has cultural credentials, having led Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat and authored books.
With ties between the govt and governor Gehlot frosty at best — especially after he permitted Siddaramaiah to be investigated for alleged wrongdoing in the Muda case —Raj Bhavan's response will be watched with bated breath. Gehlot is said to be consulting constitutional experts after Horatti's letter.
The larger concern, voiced by stakeholders and intelligentsia, is that the council should not be reduced to a rehabilitation centre for party loyalists.
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