Need to revisit role of Speaker: Venkaiah Naidu

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today sought to revisit the role of the Speaker while testing the majority of a government and implementing provisions of anti-defection law, as the Congress won the high-stakes trial of strength in the Uttarakhand Assembly.
"In the backdrop of what has happened in Uttarakhand, we have to revisit the Speaker's role vis-a-vis the issue of testing of majority and also in the implementation of anti- defection law," Naidu, also the Union Parliamentary Affairs minister said.
"I want the debate to take place in this country," he said, adding there has to be a time limit set for deciding on cases of anti-defection law.

The senior BJP leader also suggested that all public representatives once deciding to quit their party and join another should resign forthwith and may seek a fresh mandate.
The Minister said, "Any people's representative, be it an MLA or MP, if he changes his party and switches over his loyalty, he should forthwith resign as per the spirit of the Constitution and recontest."
He said if a public representative switches his loyalty to join another party "he should be disqualified immediately."

Incidentally, a number of Telugu Desam MLAs have joined TRS
in Telangana and those of YSR (Cong) joining Telugu Desam party in Andhra Pradesh, not evoking any action under the anti-defection law.

Asked about the role of the Uttarakhand Speaker in disqualifying the nine rebel Congress MLAs, Naidu asked what remedy was there if the Speaker of an assembly acts "wrongly" and not in conformity with laid Constitutional provisions.
"What alternative do you have. We have to revisit that and then take a call," he said.
To a question on the implications of the Harish Rawat government winning the floor test in voting today, the Minister said the Central government had done nothing wrong in imposing President's Rule in Uttarakhand after the breakdown of Constitution in the state.
The Congress today won the high-stakes trial of strength in the Uttarakhand Assembly, in a clear setback to the Modi government which had dismissed the state government and imposed President's Rule on March 28.

The floor test which was the culmination of a number of twists and turns in the political drama marked by court battles.
(Reopens DEL 34)
The event organised by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan and PES University Chancellor M R Doreswamy and was also attended by BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa, former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka among others.
"Modiji has given Rs 6,000 crore to the textiles sector it will create one crore employment in the coming days, that's why he has put a dynamic minister Smriti Irani as in charge Minister of the textiles ministry, in the coming days you will see the changes," he said.

Irani was shifted from the key HRD ministry to textiles.
Expressing his commitment to the development of Karnataka and welfare of its people, Naidu also sought to clarify that he is not limited to any particular region or language.
Recollecting various instances when he had worked for getting things done for the state, he said, "I had never claimed credit for it".
Naidu, who had won three Rajya Sabha terms from Karnataka, was reelected from Rajasthan for the fourth term recently.