K’taka MLAs go on foreign tour with their wives

DHNS

Bangalore, 31 August 2012: If there was any doubt that the South American ‘study tour’ by Karnataka legislators would be a junket, it was erased on Wednesday when they boarded a Jetlite flight to Mumbai. Nine of them were accompanied by their wives; one even took his daughter along. It also emerged that the trip will cost you more: 13 legislators are making the trip, and not 12 as reported earlier.

 
The cost per legislator is Rs 6 lakh and not Rs 3 lakh. And after their ‘studies’ in South America, the legislators will have a two-day stay in West Asia before they return home. This despite being asked by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar not to undertake the trip in view of the prevailing drought.

 
However, the legislators were not apologetic. Hirekerur MLA B C Patil argued, “Have the people stopped eating and drinking because of the drought? When the country can spend Rs 25 crore on the security of Ajmal Kasab, then we, as legislators working for the state, should be allowed this trip. There has been sufficient rain in the last few weeks.”

 
Sindhanur MLA Venkanagouda said, “There has been enough rain in my constituency and farmers are busy cultivating crops. Due to the recent rainfall, our canals are full and plantations are lush. So, I am rid of all guilt.” From Mumbai the legislators were to leave for Dubai and then to Argentina on Friday.

 
MLAs snub CM, proceed on foreign tour

 
Ignoring the advice of Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, 12 legislators are flying to South America on Thursday on a 15-day “study tour”. The legislators — members of the Public Undertakings, Child and Women Welfare and Estimates committees — will be accompanied by three Assembly Secretariat officials. They will visit Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

 
Though it is supposed to be a study tour, the legislators don’t seem to have done any homework — none of the governments of the countries have been contacted to set up meetings or other engagements, a source in the Speaker’s office said. With an estimated expenditure of Rs 3 lakh per person, the tour will cost the exchequer Rs 45 lakh.

 
The legislators include Venkatarao Nadagowda, Prabhu Chavan, Basavaraj Naik, Ramesh B Bhusanoor, Mohan M Limbikai, H K Kumaraswamy, Dr M C Sudhakar Reddy, Chandrakanth Bellad, B C Patil from the Public Undertakings Committee, Sureshgouda Patil from the Estimates Committee and Pratapgouda Patil from the Women and Child Welfare Committee. The name of the 12th member was not available. Travelling with them are Assembly Secretariat Deputy Secretary Halepet and two other officials, one of whom is supposed to be the financial adviser to the Secretariat.

 
Reacting to the foreign trip, Speaker K G Bopaiah said: “We have appealed to the members not to undertake the tour in view of the prevailing drought. If they still want to go ahead, people are there to teach them a lesson.” Two other teams of legislators are also planning overseas “study tours”.