The Budget session of the State legislature, which had been extended by a day till Monday, is likely to be extended till Wednesday.
According to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the passing away of Surpur legislator Raja Venkatappa Naik on Sunday will result in postponing the session till Wednesday. According to the earlier schedule, the 10-day Budget session should have ended on Friday. However, since the Chief Minister has to reply to the discussion on the Budget and the legislature has to pass the Budget, a decision was taken to extend the session by a day and was to have ended on Monday.
“With the passing away of the legislator, the session will be postponed by one day as a mark of respect to the member. Since the Rajya Sabha elections will be held on Tuesday, the session will have to be extended till Wednesday,” the Chief Minister said on Sunday.
Government sources said the decision to further extend the legislature session would be taken at the Business Advisory Committee meeting to be held on Monday morning, and the decision would be announced by Legislative Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader.
Rajya Sabha election
Meanwhile, the death of the legislator would not have any impact on the Rajya Sabha election to be held on Tuesday. Five candidates are contesting the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka.
According to sources, though Mr. Naik was a voter in the election, his death would not have an impact on it. “The number of votes required to secure victory for the candidates will also not be affected. As per the formula, while in the 224-member House, each of the four candidates required 45.8 votes, it would come down to 45.6 now with 223 members. Since the fraction is ignored, the required number of votes will remain the same,” the sources said.
