It’s the season for tours. After former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa set out on a state tour on Tuesday, it is the turn of legislators to embark on tours—to foreign shores. The only deterrent—the subtle warning given by Speaker K.G. Bopaiah who told a unrelenting bunch of legislators, who met him on Tuesday that it was left to them whether to tour or not. “You are answerable to the people,” he said in a reference to the severe drought the state is facing.
The legislators, who are members of the various House Committees, were disappointed after their ‘study tour’ to foreign countries was suspended last week in the wake the severe drought. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar finally gave his consent for the tours after expressing a similar view. The latest formula worked out by the legislators, is to exclude 25 MLAs representing drought-hit districts from the tour.
B.S. Yeddyurappa and D.V. Sadananda Gowda had opposed the foreign jaunts while, JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy felt a foreign tour at this juncture was uncalled for. “We cannot expect legislators to cancel their plans, as they are naturally tempted to visit foreign countries. The CM and the Speaker should take a decision,” he said. The Opposition Congress has announced that their legislators would be asked to stay away from any such tours.