The Opposition parties are set take on the ruling Congress over the issue of Minister Tanveer Sait watching ‘objectionable content’ recently, during the 10-day session of the state legislature.
The session is scheduled to commence on Monday in Belagavi. The primary and secondary education minister was reportedly caught on camera watching ‘sleazy’ pictures on his mobile phone during the controversial Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Raichur on November 10.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been defending Sait, saying prima facie he has done nothing wrong. The chief minister has referred the issue to the CID.
However, the Opposition parties - BJP and JD(S) - had been demanding Sait’s removal from the ministry. For the BJP, which was vehemently opposing the government for organising Tipu Jayanti, the Sait issue has only come in handy to take on the Siddaramaiah government during the session.
This apart, severe drought in many parts of the state and Kalasa-Banduri project are likely to dominate the Winter Session. The Opposition parties are also planning to take the government to task on police excesses against the protesting farmers in July this year and demand immediate withdrawal of all police cases against the farmers.
The Opposition had been blaming the government for not doing enough to bail out the drought-affected people. They have charged the government with not releasing adequate funds to tackle drought, shortage of drinking water and fodder, and delay in providing compensation to farmers whose crops have been damaged.
Opposition parties’ members from Bengaluru are likely to demand a debate on the controversial steel flyover project.
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