“Suspension of MLAs during the Budget session is a closed chapter. For me, the Constitution is more important than any person or party. I was only upholding the dignity of the Constitution and parliamentary norms by suspending the ten MLAs,” said Karnataka Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader, during a press interaction in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Khader was defending his decision to suspend 10 BJP MLAs for "unruly" behaviour and “disrespect” to the chair during the Budget session of the state legislature held last month. His decision was criticised by both the opposition parties - BJP and JDS.
Commenting on the speculations that Khader had yielded to the pressure from the chief minister (Siddaramaiah) and the government and suspended the MLAs, Khader said, "Ultimately, the question is whether I followed the Constitutional norms. I treat every legislator equally, irrespective of his party affiliation. I have taken action against those legislators who violated discipline and decorum. Now, it is a closed chapter. Like the fight between two brothers, (which) invariably ends at the end of the day, legislators' fight ended when the session ended."
Asked if the 'disciplinary' action had helped improve the situation in the House, he said, "The outcome will be known in the next session. One has to start batting after the ball is thrown at you."
Khader (53), a former minister and a five-time MLA from Mangalore, was unanimously elected as the 23rd Speaker of the state after the Congress party won a thumping majority (135 seats out of the 224) in the Assembly elections held in May.
"As per the constitutional norms, after I took over as the speaker, I have given up the primary membership of the Congress party. So, as a speaker, I do not belong to any party, caste or religion. Constitution is my religion, Constitution is my party," said Khader on his new role.
Elaborating on the challenges of the new post, Khader said, "As I understand, a Speaker is the friend of the opposition parties. But as much as I am friendly to the opposition, they are apprehensive of me. While I give more time for the opposition parties to speak in the House, it is also my responsibility to ensure the ruling party does its work so that the government functions smoothly.”
Sharing his dilemmas on conducting the House amid protests by the opposition parties, Khader said that the passage of the Bills was crucial as it is necessary for implementing people's programmes. "The government runs on (the concept of) majority and the opposition does not have the numbers to stall the bills. I have ensured that no bill is passed without a debate. At least the ruling party legislators have participated in the discussions in the absence of the opposition party members," added the Speaker.
The speaker stated that he was not concerned with the BJP delaying the election of the Leader of the Opposition (LOP). "I am not concerned with the issue. It is their (BJP) decision and responsibility. It makes no difference to me whether they have a LOP or not as long as the House runs smoothly. The House should discuss issues that benefit the people," said the Speaker.
On the controversy over inviting Sri Sri Ravishankar and Dr Veerendra Heggade to address the first-time legislators during the orientation workshop, Khader clarified that none of the MLAs had an issue with it. "There was some resistance only on social media. Anyway, the training went on well. I consider that episode to be a closed chapter," said Khader, referring to the outrage in social media by some Leftists that led to the invitees skipping the event.
"I am neither Left nor Right-leaning. I stand with people who are facing hardship and try to help them," added Khader.
'Kannada is not a spoken language in Dakshina Kannada'
Responding to the constant attack on his poor Kannada speaking skills (pronunciation) by the BJP members and trolls on social media, Khader explained how Kannada was not a spoken language in his home district, which has diverse language and culture.
"In Dakshina Kannada, we study Kannada in school. But we speak a different language at home. Mostly, Hindus speak Tulu, we (Muslims) speak Beary and Christians speak Konkani at home. All communities converse with each other in Tulu. It is not just in Mangalore. In Bengaluru too, the people from my district start speaking to each other in Tulu. Kannada was always confined to the books. So, I never gave it a thought or importance to speak Kannada with conviction. But now, after occupying the Speaker's post, I am focussing on my Kannada skills to be understood by people across the state. There could be some pronunciation errors. I am thankful to people who trolled my Kannada as it is helping me hone my Kannada speaking skills."
