Latest news with #KarnatakaLegislativeAssembly
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Former Anglo-Indian MLA Derrick Fullinfaw passes away
Former Anglo-Indian MLA and prominent leader of the Anglo-Indian community, Derrick M. B. Fullinfaw, passed away in Bengaluru on Wednesday. He was 67. He is survived by wife Asha, son Gavin, and daughter Simona. Mr. Fullinfaw, who was suffering from liver-related ailment, breathed his last at a private hospital. He was buried at the cemetery near Hosur Road here on Thursday. Mr. Fullinfaw had been nominated as MLA from the Anglo-Indian quota in the 9th and 13th Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He served as chairman of the All-India Progressive Anglo-Indian Association and president of the State BJP Minority Morcha in Karnataka. He is remembered for his in-depth understanding of the problems of the Anglo-Indian community in Karnataka and for his struggle to get them educational and employment opportunities. Though he had begun his political career with the Congress, he later shifted to the BJP that nominated him to the 13th Assembly. However, he had distanced himself from politics in the last few years. Mr. Fullinfaw, who began his career as a teacher at Baldwin Boys' School in Bengaluru, had gone back to teaching after completing his first term as MLA. He had then been appointed principal of Baldwin Polytechnic.
India Today
26-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Karnataka Assembly Speaker revokes suspension of 18 BJP MLAs after two months
More than two months after their suspension, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader revoked the six-month suspension of 18 BJP decision was announced on Sunday following discussions between Khader, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK said the suspension was revoked without any conditions, emphasising that the MLAs are colleagues and friends. 'The incident happened in a fit of the moment. I had to take strict action to protect the respect of the House. Now, with faith that such behaviour will not be repeated, I have revoked the suspension,' he The Speaker added that the suspended MLAs had expressed regret for the incident and assured that they did not intend any disrespect. The decision will be ratified by the Assembly in the next BJP legislators were suspended on March 21 for alleged indiscipline and disrespect towards the Speaker during a protest in the Assembly. The incident involved BJP MLAs surrounding the Speaker's chair, climbing onto the podium, and hurling papers, which led to their forceful eviction by of Opposition R Ashoka welcomed the move, thanking the Speaker for revoking the suspension and praising the patience and discipline shown by the MLAs during the two-month suspended BJP MLAs include prominent leaders such as former Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and BJP chief whip Doddanagouda Patil. The suspension had followed protests against a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts and demands for a judicial probe into an alleged honey-trap attempt on Cooperation Minister KN Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had earlier urged the government to reconsider the suspension, and senior leaders from both the state and Centre had communicated with the Speaker regarding the asked if the suspension was revoked fearing legal setbacks, Khader declined to comment, affirming the Speaker's authority to decide on such matters.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to be open for guided tours from June 1
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday. The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1. Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational. 'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.' 90-minute tour The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC. Entry fee Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory. 'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U.T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Online booking Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site. The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
NDTV
25-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Karnataka Assembly Speaker Revokes Suspension Of 18 BJP Legislators
Bengaluru: More than two months after 18 BJP MLAs were suspended from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for six months, Speaker U T Khader on Sunday said their suspension has been revoked. The decision was announced by Mr Khader after a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil. In an unprecedented move, 18 BJP MLAs were suspended for six months from the assembly on March 21 for showing "indiscipline" and "disrespecting" the Speaker, and were forcefully evicted from the House by the marshals as they refused to leave. Mr Khader said, "Though I proposed the suspension, the House gave its approval through a resolution. So, today the leader of the House and Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Law Minister and Leader of the Opposition discussed with me. It has been decided to revoke the suspension and the conditions that were specified, and to allow them to function as legislators." Speaking to reporters, he said, "The suspension has been revoked happily. There are no conditions. Those legislators are our friends and not enemies, the incident had happened in a fit of the moment. To ensure that such incidents don't repeat, I too had to take strict action." He further said the legislators realised their mistake and they also had the understanding that they may not be able to attend legislative committee meetings and official tours. He said in his capacity as the Speaker, it is his duty to protect the respect of MLAs. "I'm confident that they will not repeat such a behaviour. With that faith in them, I have revoked the suspension," he said, adding the decision will be ratified by the House during the next session. The incident leading to suspension had occurred on the last day of the assembly's budget session; following the massive protest by BJP MLAs against 4 per cent reservation to Muslims in public contracts and demanding a judicial probe into alleged "honey-trap" attempt against Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna. During the protest inside the assembly that day, some BJP legislators climbed onto the podium and surrounded the Speaker's chair; few MLAs hurled papers at the Speaker and marshals had to forcefully evict the BJP MLAs who had surrounded the Speaker's chair. Noting that it has been two months since the suspension, the Speaker said all legislators expressed regret about the incident and they said they did not intend to show any disrespect to the chair. He said Ashoka too had contacted him several times on this issue and submitted a letter expressing regret and assured that such incidents would not get repeated. "He (Ashoka) had requested to reconsider the decision aimed at allowing the legislators to perform their duties. He had also spoken to the Chief Minister and the Law Minister in this regard. Also the Governor and Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje and other senior leaders had contacted or communicated to me in this regard," Khader said. Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had last month written to the chief minister and the Speaker to consider the request to revoke the suspension of 18 BJP MLAs positively, and to take necessary steps in this regard. The suspended MLAs were BJP chief whip Doddanagouda Patil, former Deputy CM C N Ashwath Narayan, S R Vishwanath, B A Basavaraju, M R Patil, Channabasappa, B Suresh Gowda, Umanath Kotyan, Sharanu Salagar, Dr Shailendra Beldale, C K Ramamurthy, Yashpal Suvarna, B P Harish, Bharath Shetty, Dheeraj Muniraju, Chandru Lamani, Muniratna and Basavaraj Mattimud. When asked whether the suspension was revoked fearing a setback if they go to court, Khader said there is no need to discuss such things, and that the Speaker has certain powers. "When the situation comes, let's discuss it. Two months of time was there, no one (MLAs) has gone anywhere," he said. Responding to a question whether governor's intervention and BJP's plans to utilise the suspension during the upcoming session led to the decision to revoke it, the Speaker said, "I don't want to discuss it. No one can directly interfere in the Speaker's decision. Suggestions and requests can be made. I have positively taken the suggestions made." Later, Ashoka in a post on 'X' thanked Speaker Khader for revoking the suspension of 18 MLAs. "On this occasion, I congratulate all the 18 MLAs and party leaders who have cooperated with patience, restraint and discipline in this struggle for the last two months to restore the rights of the MLAs," he posted on 'X'.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Decoding Vidhana Soudha through a guided tour, one interesting fact at a time
In 1951, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Chief Minister of Karnataka K.C. Reddy laid the foundation stone to build 'House of Legislature Mysore' in Bengaluru as a functional building for house proceedings. This is the first stop of the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha, which covers eight important locations inside the power centre of the State. Curated over two months, the tour takes its inspiration from the tour of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The tour aims to inform people about the principles, values, and ideals of the people who built the iconic structure and bring the public closer to governance. Later, when Kengal Hanumanthaiah became the Chief Minister, he took a delegation of Russians, who were visiting, on a tour of the city. One of the delegates then asked Mr. Hanumanthaiah why there were only colonial buildings in the city. This led him to cancel the plan for a functional building and envisioned to build 'a palace for the people' in Indian style. He then contacted B.R. Manickam, the chief architect of Vidhan Soudha, and asked him to build a parliamentary hall, a banquet hall, and a library initially. The same banquet hall is one of the stops on the tour. Adorned with photos of all the Diwans of the Mysore kingdom, the ceiling of the hall showcases floral designs (Tanjore style) made of cement and natural colours. There are 625 such floral designs in the east wing of Vidhana Soudha according to J. Gnanashakher, the parliamentary guide, Speaker's office, Karnataka Legislative Assembly. 'In 1948, the House Committee recommended that they needed a permanent structure for the House legislature. The Speaker then told K.C. Reddy about it. He then invited Sir M. Visvesvaraya and G.H. Krumbiegel to identify a location for the building. They identified this place as it was at a slightly higher level and looked out to the market area on one side and cantonment on the other,' Mr. Gnanashakher explained. The tour then moves towards one of the major attractions – the Legislative Assembly Hall, where the Assembly sessions take place. From the rosewood Speaker's chair, which is still maintained by the Gudikars from Shivamogga, to the teak wood incorporated in the interiors and the pillar-less structure that is supported by the iron chains in the ceiling, the tour offers many insights into the Hall. 'The Assembly Hall is 125 feet in length, 135 feet in breadth, and 40 feet in height. A total of 600 people can sit here and watch the proceedings at once,' Mr. Gnanashakher said. The Sandalwood Model of Vidhan Soudha, the Legislative Council, the statues of Vidhana Soudha, and the Grand Steps are some of the other important locations included in the tour. The script for the tour has been prepared after research by heritage and tourism specialists, highlighting the Neo-Dravidian style of architecture. Apart from public resources, the curators of the tour have also used 'Rare and Magnificent Monument to Democracy and Popular Supremacy - Vidhana Soudha', a book written by veteran journalist and former Chief of Bureau of The Hindu, Bengaluru, C.M. Ramachandra. Among many members of the public who took the free tour on Sunday were pourakarmikas, persons with disabilities, construction workers, and students. 'I work in the ward right next to Vidhana Soudha. I had never imagined that one day I would go inside it and see it in all its glory. I am very happy today,' said Leelavathi, a pourakarmika who took the tour.
