Will not allow govt to table Bills at the last minute, says Speaker Koliwad

Assembly Speaker K.B. Koliwad said that he would not allow the government to table legislations at the last minute. He said he would communicate his stand to the government in the Business Advisory Committee meeting to be held before the commencement of this session.

“Any legislation should be tabled in the beginning of the session. It will facilitate members to discuss their pros and cons effectively. Tabling them at the last minute is not a healthy tradition in the legislature,” Koliwad told reporters.Members cutting across party lines have expressed their discontentment over the tendency of governments to table Bills of importance at the last minute and have appealed to the Speaker to caution the government against the practice.

He also expressed discontentment over legislators not being present in the House and taking active participation in debates on crucial issues. Koliwad said he was satisfied with the way the Assembly had been conducted over the past 20 months, after taking over as Speaker.He said that the government had to take steps to implement the recommendations of various House committees formed to address specific issues.

On not implementing recommendations of the Karnataka Legislature Committee headed by him on encroachment of city lakes, Koliwad said the report that suggested strict action against encroachers and officials responsible was tabled in the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi. “But its implementation rests with the government. I can just ask the government to act on the report,” the Speaker said.