Three ex-Mins seek more time to reply to show-cause notices

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Three former Karnataka Ministers on Monday sought a week's extension to file reply to the show-cause notices issued by Speaker K.G. Bopaiah on the porn-watching episode in the Legislative Assembly.

The three – Lakshman S. Savadi, C.C. Patil and J. Krishna Palemar – sent a letter to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat in this regard.

They were last week directed by the Speaker to file the reply by Monday. Assembly Secretary P. Omprakasha confirmed the receipt of the letters of the three former Ministers.

"The Speaker (now in his home-town of Madikeri) will come back tomorrow. I will bring it to his notice," Omprakasha told agencies.

Bopaiah had already said the once the reply is received, a seven member House panel, comprising four members from the BJP, two from the Congress and one from JDS, would be formed to conduct an inquiry into the issue.

This panel would be asked to submit a report to him by March 12. The report would then be placed in the Assembly.

The Opposition Congress and JDS have argued that there was no need for a house panel as the three former Ministers have already made admissions vis-à-vis the episode, and demanded their immediate disqualification.

The Speaker had said that he did not disqualify them summarily to ensure that the accused get principles of natural justice.