Karnataka - Bangalore

Shettar to keep House on track

BANGALORE: Speaker Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday said he would “take it as a challenge” and show how the Speaker can contribute to the overall development of society.

“The common perception is that the Speaker’s job is only to ensure order in the House and control unruly members. But this is a constitutional post through which one can effectively work for the overall development of society,” Mr. Shettar said after he was felicitated by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat at the Vidhana Soudha.

The Speaker said his job was “sensitive”, as he had to preside over the Assembly, which has 116 members on the treasury benches and 108 in the Opposition. “If the Government and the Opposition go off track, I will tweak their ears and bring them back.”

In his introductory address, T.N. Druva Kumar, Joint Secretary, Legislative Assembly, urged Mr. Shettar to restore the supremacy and dignity of the Assembly and its Secretariat. “In recent years, not only the officials of the Assembly Secretariat, but even the Speaker is not being respected by the Government,” he observed.

‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru, Chairman, Kannada Development Authority, urged Mr. Shettar to ensure that the Government drafted all rules and laws in Kannada instead of in English and later translating them into Kannada.

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