BJP, JDS demand referring bill on BBMP to select committee

Both opposition BJP and JD(S) today demanded that the bill aimed at trifurcating Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city civic body, be referred to the select committee.
Amidst stiff opposition from BJP and JDS, Karnataka Legislative Assembly on April 20 had passed the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill 2015 that aims at trifurcating BBMP.
The bill is now being discussed in the Upper House (Karnataka Legislative Council), where opposition parties have majority.
After failing to get the Governor's assent for an ordinance on trifurcation of the city civic body, state government had called for the special session of Karnataka Legislature to get legislative approval for the bill.

Cautioned against referring the bill to select committee, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought to negotiate with the opposition parties at the floor leaders meeting called by Council Chairman D H Shankaramurthy, which failed.
"In the 67 years of legislative history of Karnataka legislature any bill that originated and passed by the Assembly has not been referred to the select committee by the Council. There are incidents of referring it to the joint select committee," Siddaramaiah said after the meeting.

He said "there is ambiguity, that is why I have said in a meeting with the Chairman and Opposition that let us not set a new precedent. This will be wrong precedent. You have majority, if you don't agree with the bill defeat it, but don't move for referring the bill to the select committee."

Opposition leader K S Eshwarappa said BJP and JDS together had decided that the bill should be referred to the select committee.
"As per our decision we have already submitted a letter in this regard to the Chairman," he said.
"After the discussions on the bill ends, we will press for select committee. We are confident of success in the voting," he said.
Meanwhile, Council was adjourned till April 27.
The Karnataka High Court had yesterday questioned the timing and the motive of the state government's move to trifurcate the BBBMP.
The Bench, comprising Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court D H Waghela and Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, which is hearing an appeal filed by the government against a single judge bench's order to hold BBMP polls by May 30, had posted the matter for next hearing on April 24.