The centenary celebrations began with a 20-minute documentary on the history of the Legislative Council produced by the Information Department.  Two huge screens had been installed for the screening. But the documentary itself turned out to be a dull affair with hardly any history being depicted. It was more or less a compilation of messages from the CM, DyCM, Presiding Officers, floor leaders and former chairpersons of the House.

Taking flight
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy postponed his scheduled visit to New Delhi by half a day to attend the celebrations.  Mr Kumaraswamy who was scheduled to take the morning flight took the 5 pm flight to New Delhi, but had to leave the proceedings midway at 4:15 pm.

Squeaky clean!
The precincts of the Legislative Council were spruced up for the centenary celebrations. Flowers decked the entrance, the floor and walls had been scrubbed clean. All the papers and files usually found scattered on the secretariat staff table had been cleared.

Rare opportunity
For Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha it was first time that he entered the Legislative Council. Elected five times to the Assembly, Mr Nagaraj was invited to participate in the centenary celebrations on his capacity as a floor leader of the Lower House. He was given a seat in the treasury benches during the proceedings. A visibly excited Nagaraj shook hands with all the members. “I always wanted to be a member of this House”, Mr Nagaraj told reporters.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N Dharam Singh not only attended the function late, but took the wrong entrance.

Tardiness yet again!
As many as 20 MLAs watched the proceedings in the visitors gallery. But there were hardly any members of the public.  Former chairpersons of the Council M V Venkatappa and D Manjunath were seen seated in the officers gallery. The other former Chairpersons of the Council-Mrs Basavarajeshwari, K Rehman Khan, R B Potdar and B L Shankar, who were the special invitees, did not turn up for the event. An inquiry with the Council Secretariat revealed that these former chairpersons had failed to turn up as the invitations reached them very late.

“We intend to invite them to the August 3 programme which will be attended by the Prime Minister”, the sources added.

Traditional delicacies
The day concluded with Governor T N Chaturvedi hosting tea for the MLCs at Glass House in Raj Bhavan. On the menu - Alu Bonda, Masala Dosa and Mysooru Pak.