Belagavi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's reluctance to approve the building of a Legislators Home in the grounds of the Suvarna Soudha here has upset leaders of pro-Kannada organisations in Belagavi, who feel it is another example of the government doing injustice to North Karnataka.
Noting that it was spending crores on holding legislature sessions in Belagavi, the Kannada leaders said a Legislators Home here could help it cut this expense.
“The Chief Minister does not want North Karnataka to develop. He is not keen on releasing funds for the Legislators’ Home although Speaker K B Koliwad wants the government to take the issue seriously,” said former mayor Siddanagouda Patil at a meeting of Kannada leaders in Belagavi. Objecting to Mr Siddaramaiah’s contention that funds could not be released for the Legislators Home when there was drought in the state, Mr Patil accused him of neglecting North Karnataka on the pretext of the drought.
“How did the Congress party mobilse funds to hold caste and party conventions in the state? The government should take the issue seriously and hold winter sessions of the legislature for a month every year in Suvarna Vidhan Soudha,” he added.
Suggesting to the CM form a committee of officers and ministers to make the soudha functional round-the-year, Kannada leader Raghavendra Joshi demanded shifting of important offices to Suvarna Soudha from Bengaluru.
