Belagavi: Getting MLAs to attend the 10-day session of the state legislature being held in Belagavi at a cost of Rs 35 crore is proving hard for all political parties.
Every morning chief whips of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) need to scout for their respective members and bring them to the House to help it to convene for the day. In fact, the Legislative Assembly was adjourned for 10 to 15 minutes on the first day of the winter session for want of a quorum.
But the situation is very different in the Legislative Council with 60 to 70 per cent of members attending the House regularly. On an average, 45 to 55 members of the 75 are always present And some members have even attended the session despite being ill.
Council Chairman, D.H. Shankarmurthy, said on an average 45 to 50 members were present at any given time. "I am very happy with my members," he added. But a Congress leader said it had become difficult to get party MLAs to attend the Assembly despite pressure from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Chief Whip, Ashok Pattan and PCC president, Dr G Parameshwar, with the Assembly polls fast approaching necessitating their presence in their constituencies.
He pointed out that the government had booked a number of posh hotels for the legislators in Dharwad and Hubballi and in Belagavi city. And legislators travelling from Dharwad and Hubballi were being paid Rs 5,000 a day as travel expenses and Rs 2,500 in Belagavi. A separate counter had been opened for legislators where they were served hot food as well. "People are watching everything and will give a fitting reply in the coming elections," he added
