Speaker holds Karnataka govt responsible for e-Vidhan delay

Legislative Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, who completed two years in office on Saturday, slammed the government for the delay in the implementation of e-Vidhan, which he is doggedly pursuing.

First rolled out in Himachal Pradesh in 2014, e-Vidhan enables the automation of the lawmaking process and makes legislature sessions paperless, saving hundreds of trees and public money annually.

“The one thing that I wanted to do in these two years, but couldn’t do was implementing e-Vidhan. The government is responsible for this,” Kageri said.

“The legislature has no financial autonomy and has to depend on the government. Since 2014, despite efforts by all the previous Speakers, the e-Vidhan hasn’t become a reality,” he said.

Once the e-Vidhan is rolled out, all key functions of the legislature -- questions and notices, replies by the government, laying of reports and bills -- will be done virtually on both web and mobile.

Kageri lamented that smaller states, such as Kerala and Himachal Pradesh implemented e-Vidhan. “But Karnataka, where Bengaluru is hailed globally as an IT hub, does not have e-Vidhan, which is painful,” he said, blaming the bureaucracy.

“Officials should aspire for new innovations in the administration that are being adopted globally. They should do away with the British-era routine of sending files back seeking clarification,” he said, urging Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to take this seriously.

Kageri was elected Speaker on July 31, 2019. “In the last two years, we had five legislature sessions for a total of 54 days,” he said, after releasing a report of his achievements. “A total of 98 Bills were tabled and 96 were passed.”

The Speaker is also planning to institute a ‘Best Legislator’ award. “Necessary preparations are on to give the award during the next session. Guidelines are ready for this,” he said.

Also, Kageri said the report of the committee to review the powers of presiding officers under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law), of which he is a member, was in its final stages and would be submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla shortly.