Bengaluru: To “encourage” legislators to participate in the forthcoming budget session, especially post-lunch, assembly speaker UT Khader said he intends to hire at least 15 recliners to allow MLAs and MLCs to take a “quick nap” after lunch.
Khader said Monday that legislators leave Vidhana Soudha to rest after lunch and many do not return for the session for the rest of the day. Consequently, attendance at post-lunch sessions is thin.
“To prevent this, I have decided to hire at least 15 recliners and instal them in the assembly lobby. This way, legislators can take a refreshing nap and attend House proceedings for the rest of the day,” Khader said.
He said buying recliners would be a waste of money as they will lie unused once the session is over. “So, I decided to rent them. They will be removed from the premises once the session ends,” he said.
He defended the move, pointing out that initiatives like providing free breakfast and lunch for legislators at Vidhana Soudha have helped push up attendance.
“Participation of legislators improved after we began serving breakfast and lunch,” said Khader. “I know the issues legislators face. They arrive late if they if they wait for breakfast, or it takes them time to return for the session if they leave Vidhana Soudha for lunch. Now, there are no such issues.”
To encourage writers and publishers, the assembly secretariat will organise a book fest at Vidhana Soudha from Feb 28 to March 3. Khader said the event will feature book releases and panel discussions. However, entry for the public will be barred on March 3 on account of security concerns since it is the first day of the joint session of the legislature.
“We will set up about 150 stalls and 25 of them will be reserved for departments and academies. The remaining stalls will be given to private publishers,” said Khader. He said he has written to all legislators asking them to participate in the fest and purchase books for libraries using funds allocated to them. “We will release Rs 2 lakh from the fund allocated to legislators, and they have to purchase books for the libraries,” he said.