Not ‘special’ but extended Monsoon Session, admits Karnataka govt.

The ruling Congress government on Monday admitted that describing the three-day proceedings of the Karnataka Legislature as a “special session” was a mistake and clarified that they should instead be treated as a “special discussion” as part of the extended Monsoon Session.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda made the clarification in the Legislative Assembly after Opposition BJP members questioned the procedural basis for convening a separate “special session”.

Mr. Gowda said the House had not been convened as a separate session but as an extension of the Monsoon Session. The clarification came amid a heated debate over House rules and a debate related to the Kasturirangan report and its implications for farmers and residents of the Western Ghats.