Winter session: Govt should make it count, not annual jamboree

The entire state machinery will be in the border city of Belagavi for a nine-day winter session of the state legislature starting Monday.

- RAMU PATIL Assistant Resident Editor [e-mail]

As the ruling and opposition parties gear up for a face-off, expectations are high among people in the region. At the same time, apprehension looms large as politics often takes precedence over development.

The session being held within weeks after the fiercely fought bypolls that witnessed vitriolic campaigning from all sides, is likely to witness heated debates over several issues. Issues that are likely to come up for discussions include the Waqf Board's notices to farmers and religious institutions; crop loss due to heavy rains; deaths of women at Ballari Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS); FIR against a Vokkaliga community seer over his remarks on voting rights to Muslims; alleged corruption in Excise Department, pending irrigation projects and the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) letter to the Lokayukta indicating wrongdoings in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites allotment.

The MUDA case, in which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family members are among the accused, is expected to generate considerable heat. The CM and his ministers have questioned the central agency's intent in writing to Lokayukta and accused it of trying to influence the ongoing probe.