In another stand-off between the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) in this Budget session, the Legislative Council on Thursday referred the Karnataka Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the select committee.
This is the second Bill after Karnataka Souharda Cooperative (Amendment) Bill, 2024, that is being referred to the select committee during this session. The combined Opposition that commands majority in the Upper House had on Friday defeated the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, that sought to provide social security to about 40,000 archakas working in over 34,000 ‘C’ category Muzrai temples in the State.
On Wednesday, while the Bill was introduced in the House by Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna, the BJP members, who were in the Well seeking answers from the government on the slogan shouting incident at the Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday night, came back to their seats, seeking discussion on the Bill. Mr. Rajanna, who sensed the mood, offered to send it to the select committee without any discussion.
Among others, the BJP members are opposing provision of reservation in the “assisted societies” to provide social justice in secondary, federal, and apex cooperative societies; doing away with the Cooperative Election Authority to reduce expenditure; ensuring voting to all members, and increasing the government nomination.
“We know that you want to send it to select committee. Because you have the majority, you are doing this,” the Minister told Leader of the Opposition Kota Srinivas Poojary. When Mr. Poojary and other members tried to speak on the Bill, both the Minister and Chairman Basavaraj Horatti cut them short and said that discussions can happen during the committee meetings.
Currently, in the 75-member House, the BJP and the JD(S) have 34 members and eight members, respectively, while the Congress has 30 members. Besides a vacancy, there is an Independent and one seat held by the Chairman. Congress sources said that the party hoped to secure majority in June when 13 seats, including the seven elected from the Assembly, will complete their term.
