Deputy CM D K Shivakumar meets BJP leaders ahead of Assembly session; new members take oath

BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday met former CM Basavaraj Bommai and other BJP leaders in the Assembly lounge at the Vidhana Soudha on Monday.

Shivakumar met with BJP leaders Basavaraj Bommai, R Ashoka, Araga Jnanendra, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Ramesh Jarkiholi, S R Vishwanath, C C Patil, M Krishnappa, Muniratna and others in the Assembly lounge and posed for photographs.

The three-day Assembly session began on Monday.

Meanwhile, the first Karnataka Legislative Assembly session after the formation of the new Congress government was held on Monday, during which newly elected MLAs were administered oath and a new Speaker will be elected. The session will be held for three days till May 24. Senior Congress leader R V Deshpande is the pro-tem Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for the ongoing session.

Pro-tem Speaker R V Deshpande welcomed the new members of the Assembly and exhorted them to do good work. He also asked the members to take oath in the name of the Constitution or God and not to take any individual’s name.

While the Congress is now occupying the treasury benches, the BJP is in the opposition benches.

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took oath as member in the name of God, his deputy D K Shivakumar took oath in the name of Gangadhara Ajjaiah and G Parameshwara in the name of the Constitution. BJP member Basanagouda Patil took oath in the name of Hindutva and Gau matha.

When some members took oath in the name of some individuals, including, D K Shivakumar, others objected to it and pro-tem Speaker Deshpande yet again directed them to take oath only in the name of God or the Constitution.

While the BJP members are seated in the Opposition benches, the Congress members are now in the treasury benches. Interestingly, G Janardhana Reddy, who had floated his own party, Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Party (KRPP), and won from Gangavathi, was seen seated along with BJP members.

D K Shivakumar called on senior BJP leader S M Krishna, who is also his relative, and sought his blessings on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar also met BJP leader and former Union Minister and his relative, S M Krishna in Bengaluru. Shivakumar’s daughter married SM Krishna’s grandson in 2021.