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Time of India
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Karnataka assembly sat for only 29 days in 2024, way short of mandated 60
Bengaluru: Legislative assemblies across the country convened only for an average 20 days in 2024, totalling an average 100 hours, and while Karnataka's assembly convened for a cumulative 29 days, it was way short of a self-imposed rule mandating a minimum 60 days a year. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A report by PRS India, a legislative research firm, states no state legislature has met the mandatory number of session days, but they have together passed a staggering 500 bills and budgets worth over Rs 58 lakh crore. Karnataka speaker UT Khader, while lamenting the huge drop in number of session days, said efforts are on to achieve the minimum target of 60 days. "However, I am happy that we made good use of the time when the House was in session," said Khader. "There were instances last year when the session went past midnight. I also made it a point to give opportunities to all legislators, including newcomers, to participate in debates. " As per self-drawn Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Assembly, the state legislature must have four sessions in a year. These include a joint sitting at the beginning of the year when the governor addresses both assembly and council, besides a budget, monsoon and winter session (in Belagavi). The gap between each session should not be more than six months. Altogether, they must convene for a total 60 days. But Karnataka has never met this target in the past decade. The average session days between 2017 and 2024 is 34, the PRS report states. With 29 days, Karnataka was fourth on the list of most days by a state assembly. Odisha had the highest number of session days at 42, followed by Kerala (38 days) and West Bengal (36). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Jammu & Kashmir (five days) and Nagaland (six days) had the lowest. However, Karnataka fares poorly in terms of debating the state budget. The state legislature debated the budget for only three days in 2024, compared to an average seven days of other states. At 18 each, Kerala and Goa dedicated the highest number of days for debates on the budget, followed by Odisha and Rajasthan (16 days each). Experts say until 2017, the average number of session days was 30. "Session days began decreasing in the late 1990s, but it is alarming that it has declined to 20," said JC Madhuswamy, former minister for law and parliamentary affairs. "This suggests govts are not keen on debating issues related to people and administration." Pointing to the suspension of 19 opposition MLAs from the assembly during the budget session in March as evidence, Arvind Bellad, BJP legislator and deputy LoP in the assembly, blamed Congress for the "lack of meaningful debate in the assembly". "On one hand Congress has reduced the number of session days, while on the other it does not allow the opposition to debate issues," Bellad alleged. "The assembly passed controversial bills, including one seeking to provide 4% reservation for Muslims in govt contracts, without any debate. There is no point in boasting of passing the highest number of bills."
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
K'taka sets record, passes 49 bills in 2024
Bengaluru: The Karnataka legislature has earned the distinction of passing the highest number of bills – 49 -- in 2024, while other states could clear just 17 bills on average. Legislative research firm PRS India has released its latest report on the performance of legislatures, with Karnataka topping the table in terms of bringing in new legislation. Tamil Nadu with 45 bills and Maharashtra with 32 bills stood second and third, respectively, while Delhi hit the rock bottom passing a solitary bill in the entire calendar year. "I'm happy we were able to live up to the positive image of Karnataka in upholding the legislative discipline and being productive. There is much scope for improvement with better coordination and cooperation between the government opposition parties," said UT Khader , speaker of legislative assembly. All state legislatures put together passed more than 500 bills. Karnataka's performance in passage of bills and their enactment into law reflects comparatively better coordination between the government and governor, unlike Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where the government's confrontation with Raj Bhavan seemed a regular feature. The friction in those states even led to a legal battle and Supreme Court invoking Article 142 of Constitution to set a deadline for governors to give their assent to bills passed by the respective legislature. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tukarkan Bitcoin dan Ethereum - Tanpa Dompet Diperlukan! IC Markets MULAI SEKARANG Undo "The process of legislation can be smooth only when the main stakeholders, including the ruling party, the opposition and the governor, work together. They should understand their responsibility as stakeholders in the legislative process and behave accordingly, setting aside politics," said K Dwarakanath Babu, former director of Karnataka Institute of Law and Parliamentary Reform. However, strains are visible since August 2024 after Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot gave sanction to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged Muda scam. This was followed by Raj Bhavan sending back as many as 12 bills, seeking clarifications and, finally, governor giving assent to a few of them. The government recently resent six bills to Raj Bhavan as they were pending with the governor for more than a year. The PRS report has noted that 22 bills were referred to the scrutiny committees across seven states. In Karnataka, only one bill -- Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill , 2024 -- was referred to the scrutiny of the joint house committee comparing the members of legislative assembly and council. The bill vetted by the panel was passed in the legislature in March and the governor gave assent to it on April 24, following which the government enacted it. Ends GFX Bills Passed in 2024 No of bills passed by all states: 500 Bills per state, on average: 17 Bills Passed by Karnataka legislature: 49 Source: PRS India
