Language a bar? Karnataka MLAs frown upon difficulty in understanding Bills

Belagavi: Lawmakers across party lines asked the government to simplify the language used in Bills to help citizens understand legislation.

"We don't understand this Bill," Deputy Leader of the Opposition Arvind Bellad said, referring to the Karnataka Rent (Amendment) Bill.

"I've heard there's only one person in the law department who drafts Bills in Kannada. No one, even the chief minister, understands this man's Kannada. Bills must be drafted in simple Kannada," Bellad said.

Senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar, a former law & parliamentary affairs minister, said Bills are first drafted in English and translated into Kannada later.

"Before Bills are introduced in the Assembly, please put them in public domain. Many MLAs are not experts in legalese," Kumar said. "If a Bill is put in public domain, experts can tell us the pros and cons. I think this is the need of the hour. After a Bill is approved by the Cabinet, make it public," he said.

Senior Congress lawmaker Basavaraj Rayareddi, the chief minister's economic advisor, rued that Bills were being translated into Kannada using Google. "Proper translators must be hired," he said.

Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda concurred with the concerns. "The language of Bills is very difficult for commoners to understand. Legalese is difficult to understand for MLAs, too. We'll see what can be done," he said.

Speaker UT Khader blamed MLAs for lacking interest in understanding Bills. "When I became the Speaker, I arranged for officials to be available for MLAs to understand Bills. But few MLAs came seeking explanations," he said. "First, MLAs must be interested in Bills."