<p>The recent proceedings of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly offered a rare spectacle: legislators cutting across party lines, united not over the pressing problems facing the state, but over access to Indian Premier League (IPL) tickets.</p><p>That this demand was triggered by the Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, makes it even more disquieting for what it signals about priorities. The Opposition leader sets the tone for debates, frames the issues that deserve legislative attention, and holds the government to account. To expend that political capital on something as trivial as ticket quotas is a serious abdication of responsibility. </p><p>Members were quick to rally behind the demand, with Vijayanand Kashappanavar (Congress) asserting that legislators are “VIPs” who cannot be expected to queue like ordinary citizens. The sentiment cut across party lines, even as Abhay Patil (BJP) raised a valid concern about black marketing and the disproportionately low fees paid by the Karnataka State Cricket Association – just Rs 1,600 a month for 16.32 acres of prime public land it occupies – despite the enormous revenues generated during matches. </p><p>However, Ashoka’s demand to tighten the screws by targeting liquor licences and excise clearances of the KSCA and the affiliated club is nothing short of arm-twisting. Governance cannot be reduced to coercive leverage for private gain; such remarks verge on institutional blackmail.</p>.<p>Speaker U T Khader’s directive to provide four tickets each to legislators only compounds the problem. With 224 MLAs and 75 MLCs, the total requirement balloons to nearly 1,200 tickets. </p><p>Accommodating such numbers within the limited premium seating at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium would inevitably mean displacing paying spectators and corporate sponsors, undermining both fairness and revenue. This is part of a pattern. Recent demands for VIP lanes at toll plazas and privileged access to elite clubs point to a growing culture of entitlement, under the guise of preserving “dignity”.</p>.<p>Most disturbingly, this debate unfolds in the shadow of a tragedy. Eleven lives were lost during last year’s RCB victory celebrations, and despite multiple inquiries, there has been no closure, no accountability, no punishment. None of this is to deny that the government must crack down on black marketing or revisit concessional land terms. </p><p>Those are legitimate issues. But they cannot be pursued as a means to secure VIP access for legislators. The directive on ticket allocation sends the wrong signal and must be withdrawn. In a democracy, legislators are servants of the people and cannot be treated as more equal than those who elect them.</p>
<p>The recent proceedings of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly offered a rare spectacle: legislators cutting across party lines, united not over the pressing problems facing the state, but over access to Indian Premier League (IPL) tickets.</p><p>That this demand was triggered by the Leader of the Opposition, R Ashoka, makes it even more disquieting for what it signals about priorities. The Opposition leader sets the tone for debates, frames the issues that deserve legislative attention, and holds the government to account. To expend that political capital on something as trivial as ticket quotas is a serious abdication of responsibility. </p><p>Members were quick to rally behind the demand, with Vijayanand Kashappanavar (Congress) asserting that legislators are “VIPs” who cannot be expected to queue like ordinary citizens. The sentiment cut across party lines, even as Abhay Patil (BJP) raised a valid concern about black marketing and the disproportionately low fees paid by the Karnataka State Cricket Association – just Rs 1,600 a month for 16.32 acres of prime public land it occupies – despite the enormous revenues generated during matches. </p><p>However, Ashoka’s demand to tighten the screws by targeting liquor licences and excise clearances of the KSCA and the affiliated club is nothing short of arm-twisting. Governance cannot be reduced to coercive leverage for private gain; such remarks verge on institutional blackmail.</p>.<p>Speaker U T Khader’s directive to provide four tickets each to legislators only compounds the problem. With 224 MLAs and 75 MLCs, the total requirement balloons to nearly 1,200 tickets. </p><p>Accommodating such numbers within the limited premium seating at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium would inevitably mean displacing paying spectators and corporate sponsors, undermining both fairness and revenue. This is part of a pattern. Recent demands for VIP lanes at toll plazas and privileged access to elite clubs point to a growing culture of entitlement, under the guise of preserving “dignity”.</p>.<p>Most disturbingly, this debate unfolds in the shadow of a tragedy. Eleven lives were lost during last year’s RCB victory celebrations, and despite multiple inquiries, there has been no closure, no accountability, no punishment. None of this is to deny that the government must crack down on black marketing or revisit concessional land terms. </p><p>Those are legitimate issues. But they cannot be pursued as a means to secure VIP access for legislators. The directive on ticket allocation sends the wrong signal and must be withdrawn. In a democracy, legislators are servants of the people and cannot be treated as more equal than those who elect them.</p>
