New Delhi: Ahead of the floor test in the Assembly on Saturday, governor Vajubhai Vala appointed KG Bopaiah as pro tem speaker. In an order passed on Friday afternoon, Vala said 62-year-old Bopaiah would be the person before whom all members of the legislative assembly shall make and subscribe an oath for affirmation. He is a three-time BJP MLA from Virajpet.
The senior-most members of the newly-elected Karnataka Assembly are Congress's RV Deshpande and CM BS Yeddyurappa. Since Yeddyurappa holds the CM post, Deshpande was seen as the front-runner for the post of pro tem speaker.
Born into a Kodagu Gowda family, the former member of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, was also closely associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). After becoming the president of the BJP’s Kodagu unit, he was elected an MLA from Madikeri in 2004. In 2008, he was elected again from Virajpet after the de-limitation exercise decreased the number of seats in Kodagu to two.
This is not the first time that Bopaiah has been made pro tem speaker. He served as a deputy speaker after the BJP won in 2008. A year later, then Speaker Jagdish Shettar revolted against then CM Yeddyurappa and asked to be made a minister. Once Shettar was made a minister, Bopaiah was elevated to the position of Speaker. His tenure was marred by controversies, the highlight of which was when in 2010 he disqualified 11 rebel BJP MLAs and 5 Independent MLAs during a no-confidence motion.
The decision was overturned by the Supreme Court. The apex court in its observation that time had termed Bopaiah’s decision 'partisan'.
Comments
0 comment