Houses adjourned, to meet on March 4

NT Correspondent

Both Houses of the state Legislature were adjourned on Tuesday till March 4 for the budget session with Congress members continuing their dharna demanding removal of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Minister K.S.Eshwarappa for allegedly insulting the national Tricolour.

According to the itinerary, the joint session which began on February 14 with the governor’s address, was supposed to end on February 25. Since Congress members were not ready to relent on their demand that Eshwarappa should resign, no business was held since Tuesday last. Congress members in both Houses staged an overnight dharna inside the House since Thursday last which continued till Tuesday.

Appeals made by the Chief Minister and presiding officers of both Houses failed to yield any result. Since the deadlock continued, both Houses were adjourned till March 4. The dharna continued Tuesday morning when the Houses resumed business. The JD(S) members urged Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri to remove the agitating Congress members from the House. But Opposition Congress members continued their dharna and shouted slogans against the government and the minister. No Congress member spoke on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address in both Houses.

The CM spoke on the governor’s address and requested Congress members to participate in the proceedings but none of them responded. After the CM’s reply, the Speaker adjourned the House till March 4.Similar scenes continued in the Legislative Council where Chairman Basavaraj Horatti adjourned the House till March 4. Later, Bommai said he would present the state budget on March 4.