Basavaraj Horatti | Photo credit: File photo
Legislative Council Speaker Basavaraj Horatti on Wednesday (March 18) ordered the government to provide all pending responses by March 25, warning that if the deadline was not met, the next day would follow.
“All responses must be provided by the 25th. If not, action should be taken on the 26th and the House should be informed,” he said.
Responding to this, Home Minister G. Parameshwara assured the House that the government would follow the direction. He said steps have already been initiated to address the delay, including issuing notices to departmental secretaries and warning against suspension in cases of continued negligence. “It can be done,” he said.
The issue was raised by JD(S) member SL Bhoje Gowda, who flagged a large number of unanswered questions. He said that of the 688 questions raised so far, nearly 400 remained unanswered while only 288 received answers and sought to clarify whether the outstanding matter would be cleared before the end of the session.
Mr. Parameshwara said the matter was reviewed at the highest level, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah holding a meeting with the Chief Secretary and Opposition leaders. “All the secretaries have been issued notices. If the negligence continues, instructions have been issued to suspend the officials concerned,” he said, adding that some improvement was already visible.
But Mr Horatti pressed for tougher enforcement and questioned why action had not yet been taken against erring officials. The minister reiterated that instructions to initiate the suspension had already been issued.
The development follows recent disruptions in both houses over delays in responses. On Tuesday (17 March), Mr Horatti briefly interrupted the Council meeting and after lunch expressed displeasure at the absence of ministers and members of the ruling party.
A day earlier, Assembly Speaker UT Khader adjourned the assembly and walked out, protesting the ministries’ failure to provide written replies to questions raised by the MLAs, prompting the government to issue fresh instructions to ministers and officials.
Published – 18 March 2026 20:40 IST
