Hate speech bill, farmers’ protests, and leadership rift to mark Belagavi session

Debates are expected to go beyond legal interpretation in Assembly

- NB Hombal | NT

The upcoming 10-day Winter Session of the Karnataka Legislature in the city, beginning Monday and concluding on December 19, is poised to be a politically charged affair, where legislative agendas clash with partisan rivalries, regional grievances, and internal tensions within the ruling party.

Hosted at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha—the symbolic seat of North Karnataka’s longstanding demand for visibility—the session is expected to unfold less as a routine legislative exercise and more as a high-stakes political drama.

At the forefront is the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, a standalone law aimed at regulating and punishing hate speech with unprecedented scope.