Belgaum won’t be the second capital

The long awaited desire of the people of northern Karnataka to have an Assembly building — the second Vidhana Soudha — at Belgaum will soon become a reality. The government has  identified the land for its construction. During the special legislature session at Belgaum, starting on January 16, the government will decide on the date for starting the construction work. Minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, S Suresh Kumar spoke to DNA on the session.

How important is this short session?
It is not the duration  of the session that counts but the result and outcome. What’s the use of holding a long session without doing anything constructive? It is the quality of the discussion, importance of the issues tackled and the decisions taken that make a session important. I feel the Belgaum session, despite being a short one, will be effective and result oriented.

The Opposition is claiming that the session will be of no use as it is too short to discuss issues facing the state presently.
The governor will address the session where several important issues will be discussed. The Opposition can make suggestions and discuss the issues on hand, when replying to the governor’s speech. Debate on any issue is open during the session, based on its acceptance by the presiding officer.

Why has the session been cut short to 10 days?
In fact, the government wanted to have a long session. But the session had to be postponed due to the by-elections. The election process went on till almost the end of last year. Even now, we are hard-pressed for time as we have the January 26 celebrations followed by the Kannada Sammelan which is starting on January 28. Both of them are very important events.

What is the status of the Vidhana Soudha building at Belgaum?
This is one of the most ambitious projects which will be finalised during the session. The land for the building has been identified. We will decide on when to begin construction work during this session.
 
What has happened to the proposal to make Belgaum the second capital of Karnataka?
Even a state like Maharashtra has two legislatures, one at Mumbai and the other at Nagpur. Nagpur sessions are being held regularly for the last several decades, despite the fact that the government there has not yet declared it as the second capital of Maharashtra. Likewise, even Belgaum will continue to be the second legislative destination. The government is very keen and committed to develop the border district. Infrastructure facilities will be improved there.

However, declaring Belgaum as the second capital of the state is not on the agenda now.