New Delhi/Bengaluru, March 18 – Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi criticised the Karnataka Congress government on Tuesday, stating that it had repeatedly displayed administrative failures, and that the latest incident, where the Assembly Speaker walked out of the House in anger, had once again exposed the government's incompetence.
It may be recalled that on Monday, Speaker U.T. Khader had expressed strong dissatisfaction, stating that the government had been warned several times to ensure replies were prepared in time.
He had questioned how MLAs could be expected to attend the Assembly if their questions were not answered, noting that he had issued strict orders four times and that this was the fifth.
Stating that there had been no improvement, the Speaker had asked how the House could function smoothly if such lapses continued. He had declared that proceedings would not continue until ministers and officials explained the reasons for the delay, and subsequently adjourned the House.
Referring to the development, Joshi said that the Speaker walking out of the House in front of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after noticing that ministers failed to provide proper answers to MLAs’ questions, and that some ministers were absent, reflected the decline of the government.
He said that if several ministers were unable to answer questions raised by MLAs in the House, it showed the functioning of the state government was “truly deplorable”. According to him, it also suggested that the Chief Minister had no control over his ministers or the administration.
Joshi said state ministers had reached a stage where they were unable to answer questions even during the budget session.
He added that if they could not attend the Assembly session on time, it raised doubts about whether they had any interest in governance. He remarked that it appeared they were uninterested in running the government.
He further alleged that some ministers and MLAs seemed more active in discussions about a “change of Chief Minister”.
For them, he said, factionalism, trips to Delhi, and foreign tours appeared more important than the welfare of the people and the development of the state.
He questioned how ministers who had time to travel “wherever they want” did not have time to attend the Assembly.
Quoting the Speaker, Joshi said that despite four prior warnings about ministers not attending the House, there had been no improvement, even on the fifth occasion.
According to him, the Speaker had effectively given “failing marks” to the ministers’ performance and to the Congress government’s administration over the past two‑and‑a‑half years.
Joshi also alleged that the government had developed a habit of punishing senior officials for ministers' mistakes. He said that after the Speaker expressed anger, suspending senior IAS officers and issuing show‑cause notices to officials reflected poorly on the administration.
He added that the Speaker’s walkout also showed that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had lost control over governance due to the ongoing power struggle over the “Chief Minister’s chair”.