Oppn parties should be seen as 'shadow govt': K'taka Speaker

As 'Vidhana Soudha' -- the state legislature -- completes 60 years, Karnataka Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad today said the concerns raised by the opposition on the floor of the house should not be ignored since rival parties should be seen as a "shadow government."
The Karnataka legislature has been functioning smoothly without disruption for the last four years as all opportunities had been given to the Opposition to voice their concerns, he said.
Assembly polls in Karnataka are due next year.
Koliwad, however, said that there is still scope for improving the quality of debate, for which training programmes are being conducted from time to time.

There are also plans to come out with a separate TV channel to broadcast the proceedings, he added.
In an interview to PTI here, the Speaker said: "The Opposition will have its own say. You must give an opportunity to them. The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) is the shadow of the chief minister. The Opposition must be very strong in a democratic set up."

The government will run on the right path if the Opposition is strong. "I give them enough opportunity to criticise the government," he said.
Stating that the House functions without any hindrance now, Koliwad said, "This is also because we have amended the rules. The adjournment notice is considered only in the afternoon session after question hour, zero hour and other important subjects."

Among other reforms, he said members earlier were allowed to raise questions 15 days before the start of a session, but now they can raise round the year.
To ensure good attendance of legislators, the Speaker said, "They have to sign the attendance register both in morning and afternoon sessions. Earlier, they were to sign only in the morning session."
Asked about trouble-making members, he said, "I have made them sober. I do not find anyone difficult to handle."
Observing that the quality of debate still needs to be improved, the senior Congress leader said, "It will improve only by taking interest in the proceedings of the House and by reading. There is still scope for improvement."

Training programmes are being conducted to educate them on the house proceedings and how to raise questions in the interest of people, he said.
A five-time MLA, Koliwad said there has not been any hurdles in conducting the sessions at two places -- Bengaluru an Belgaum. However, accommodation issues need to be addressed in Belgaum, which the government is looking into. The winter session is scheduled from November 7-17 in Belgaum.