State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the Karnataka legislature will be in session from 12 to 23 February.
Published Jan 19, 2024 | 12:47 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 19, 2024 | 12:47 PM
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who holds the finance portfolio will present the state Budget on 16 February.
Briefing reporters, state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the Karnataka legislature will be in session from 12 to 23 February.
The session will start with the joint address to both Houses of the Karnataka legislature by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
“The Budget will be tabled on 16 February and the session will go on till 23 February,” Patil added.
According to official sources, Siddaramaiah will be tabling his 15th Budget on 16 February, in a record of sorts. Siddaramaiah was the finance minister from 1994-1999 and has also presented Budgets as chief minister who was in charge of the Finance Ministry from 2013-18.
Last year he presented his 14th Budget, soon after the Congress won the May Assembly elections.
In other Cabinet decisions, it has been decided that a five-member Cabinet sub-committee will be constituted, headed by state Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara in connection with the dispute related to Inam Dattatreya Peeth and Baba Budan Swami Dargah.
The sub-committee will “verify the case and give its recommendation in a comprehensive way so that it helps in expressing the state government’s stand and filing the written objections and statement in the Supreme Court” in connection with an objection petition filed in the apex court by Syed Ghouse Mohiuddin Shah Khadri.
Khadri has challenged the Karnataka High Court order on a petition filed by Guru Dattatreya Peetha Devasthana Samvardhana Samithi.
The members in the panel are Minister HK Patil, Karnataka Hindu Religious Endowment Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Chikkamagaluru District In Charge Minister KJ George.
The Cabinet also gave its nod to double the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation’s (KMDC) share capital from ₹600 crore to ₹1,200 crore.
According to the Cabinet note, the existing share capital was ₹600 crore. Since its inception, the KMDC has got ₹1,099 crore as share capital from the Karnataka government.
The Cabinet agreed to announce the 12th Century AD social reformer and poet Jagadjyoti Lord Basaveshwara as Karnataka’s cultural leader.
Basaveshwara laid the foundation of the Lingayat sect where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shivalinga. His teachings were revolutionary and considered way ahead of time.
The Cabinet also gave its approval to offer a guarantee to the Karnataka Electricity Corporation Limited to take on loan ₹4,430 crore from banks and financial institutions.
The loan amount comprises ₹1,630 crore for the year 2022-23 and ₹2,800 crore for the current year, an official note on cabinet decision said.
The Cabinet also decided that Freedom Park in Shivamogga city will be named after famous Vachanakara Allama Prabhu.
Allama Prabhu was one of the prominent figures during the revolutionary Vachana movement in Karnataka. He was also instrumental in setting up of the world’s first parliament known as Anubhava Mantapa and also presided over its proceedings.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)