Bengaluru: Protests by the opposition BJP and JD(S) MLAs against the appointment of Congress workers to the committees overseeing the implementation of the government’s five guarantee schemes, disrupted proceedings of the Karnataka Assembly for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
Accusing the government of “curtailing” the powers of the legislators by forming parallel committees with Congress workers as its presidents, vice-presidents, and members, to oversee the guarantee schemes, the opposition argued that money from the state exchequer cannot be used to pay honorarium to the party workers.
The protest began from the well of the House on Tuesday, demanding that the government dissolve all these committees. The opposition insisted that if oversight was necessary, then panels should be headed by the MLAs and not Congress workers, despite Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s assurance that the cabinet would look into the matter.
During the proceedings, deputy chief minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar acknowledged the concerns over the committees but ruled out any immediate changes. “The matter would be reviewed in a Cabinet meeting,” said but his response failed to pacify opposition members, who staged a protest in the well of the House, alleging that the system enabled Congress workers to financially benefit from government resources.
Providing details on the remuneration offered to committee members, Shivakumar said that district-level committee presidents receive ₹40,000 per month, vice-presidents ₹10,000, and members ₹1,100 per meeting, with two meetings held monthly. Taluk-level committee presidents are paid ₹25,000 monthly, while members receive ₹1,000 per meeting. In Bengaluru, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) committee president receives ₹40,000, with members earning ₹1,200 per meeting. The district-level committees have 21 members each, while taluk-level bodies consist of 11 members.
The opposition strongly opposed this arrangement, with leaders branding it illegal and demanding the immediate dissolution of the committees. BJP leaders, including Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, Arvind Bellad, Sunil Kumar, CC Patil, Harish Poonja and M Chandrappa, claimed that the move sidelined legislators and government officials who are traditionally responsible for implementing welfare schemes.
Ashoka criticised the Congress government for diverting public funds. “If the Congress party wants to support its workers, it should do so using its own resources, not government money. How can taxpayer funds be given to party functionaries? This is outright misuse,” he said, alleging that close to ₹60 crore was being funnelled annually to Congress workers under this system.
He further questioned the government’s stance on elected representatives. “If MLAs are unfit to implement schemes, then disqualify us. We are elected by people, not appointed by the Congress. How can we support the finance bill when public money is being handed to party workers?” he asked.
Opposition leaders also pointed out that legislators have historically headed various government committees, including Ashraya, and argued that replacing them with party-appointed members was an attempt to weaken their role.
