Bengaluru: Vidhana Soudha now open to public on government holidays

Bengaluru: The state government, in a first, has decided to open the doors of the Vidhana Soudha to tourists.

Based on a proposal by the tourism department, the government has decided to conduct “guided tours” through the corridors of power on public holidays from 8 am to 6 pm. Earlier, the public could only see Vidhana Soudha from the outside but could not go inside the seat of the state legislature.

The move is among other novel initiatives by Speaker U T Khader, who initiated a first-of-its-kind literature festival at the Vidhana Soudha premises and introduced recliner chairs in the Legislative Assembly lobby for MLAs to rest.

“The Tourism Department has come up with a proposal to enhance the attractiveness of the Vidhana Soudha by informing the visitors about its history, heritage and significance. The 'guided tour' is planned along the lines of a similar tour at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan and Parliament,” a government order stated.

The Tourism Department will come up with an online portal to issue tickets. Though the government is yet to formulate the ticket prices, the GO mandates it to be “people-friendly.”

The GO also directed that the tourists be divided into groups of 30 members each and that a tourist officer from the Tourism Department must be compulsorily appointed to oversee these teams.

‘Khader tax’

The move was criticised by the BJP, which questioned imposing an entry fee to enter the Vidhana Soudha.

Taking to X, BJP leader and Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar sarcastically slammed the Congress. “Earlier, the public could enter the Vidhana Soudha without any fear but now a fee has been introduced. Alongside the ‘Siddu Tax’ and ‘DK Tax,’ the extra ‘Khader Tax’ has to be congratulated.”