Karnataka Speaker invites right-wing figures to legislators’ training programme, sparks row

The Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has organised a three-day ‘Orientation Programme’ for the newly elected MLAs, which will be held from June 26-28 in Bengaluru. But the initiative has ended up sparking a fresh controversy. It arose after the Speaker, UT Khader, extended invitations to ‘motivational speakers’, who happen to be predominantly religious leaders, to provide training to the legislators.

There is a murmur of opposition being expressed by several progressive thinkers on social media. Civil society activists, too, are criticising Khader’s decision. These individuals have expressed their deep concern over the event and have even lodged complaints with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Khader, a four-time Congress MLA, made history by becoming the first Muslim leader to be the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. It was reportedly Congress’ way of showing gratitude to the community that supported the party in large numbers in the recent Assembly election.

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The strategic move by the Congress aimed to appoint a Muslim leader as Speaker, a highly respected position that serves as the Constitutional head in the state Assembly, ensuring all legislators, including the Chief Minister and the Opposition leader, abide by the rulings. However, his recent actions have attracted controversy as he has given importance to religious heads, some of whom are supporters of right-wing groups.

The programme

The ‘motivational’ speakers who will participate in the training programme include Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and hereditary administrator (dharmadhikari) of Dharmasthala Temple; Sri Ravi Shankar of Art of Living; Asha Didi, Rajyogini of Brahma Kumari; and right-wing speaker Gururaj Karajagi. The programme will be held at Kshemavana Naturopathy Clinic in Nelamangala, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, which is owned by Veerendra Heggade.

The programme is anchored by progressive thinkers, senior leaders from various political parties, and senior Congress leaders. They have raised questions about the presence of religious leaders in the state legislature and what their role will be in training and motivating the new MLAs in matters related to the legislature.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Khader said that the camp has been organised to provide training to MLAs on various aspects of legislative proceedings. This includes familiarising them with the rights and responsibilities of MLAs, legislative drafting, question and answer sessions, and zero-hour discussions. Khader also mentioned that along with senior political leaders, religious and spiritual gurus will be involved in educating the new MLAs during the camp.

“This time, 70 MLAs have been elected for the first time. To prepare them for the legislative session, a three-day training camp will be organised. The training will cover various aspects, including legislative proceedings and fitness sessions. Prominent figures such as CM Siddaramaiah, former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and HD Kumaraswamy, and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will participate in discussions. The training aims to provide knowledge on topics such as budget presentation, the significance of legislative formation, sessions, and councils, as well as the rights of legislators,” he said.

The demand for cancellation 

However, in this context, the social, cultural and literary circles have unanimously demanded that the discourse of religious representatives and controversial figures should be excluded from the legislative training.

Civil society activists, noted writers and progressive thinkers have written a letter to Khader, urging him to cancel the speeches of religious heads. Those who have signed the letter include activists and writers like G. Marulasiddappa, G. Ramakrishna, Vijaya, SG Siddaramaiah, Rajendra Chenni, Banjagere Jayaprakash, K.S. Vimala, B. Sripada Bhatt, T. Surendra Rao, VP Niranjanaradhya, Meenakshi Bali, N. Gayatri and Vasundhara Bhupathi. “You have invited advocates of communal policies and controversial persons. We are concerned about the kind of role models such speakers can provide to new legislators,” they have mentioned in the letter. They have demanded that the lectures of these religious representatives should be cancelled.

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“Please keep in mind that secularism means keeping religion away from politics. It is a personal choice of any MLA to personally participate in any religious ritual. However, it is against the rules of the Constitution that all of them are expected to get religious motivation before entering the Legislative Assembly,” they said.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson Ramesh Babu has written a letter to Khader demanding that ‘there are many differences of opinion regarding the resource persons selected for the camp and this matter should be re-examined because of the protection of the values of the parliamentary system’.

CPI(M) State Committee Secretary U Basavaraj has also written a letter to Khader stating that ‘selecting controversial persons for the camp should be avoided. “Inviting controversial figures to participate in the training of new MLAs is a threat to the secular character,” he argued.

Social media reactions

Khader’s move has triggered a debate on social media, with more opposition than support for his decision to invite religious heads and right-wing speakers to deliver lectures.  Some social media users pointed out that former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh never invited religious heads or gurus for training programs for MPs during their tenures.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not held such religious discourses for parliamentarians or legislators.  But now Khader has started a new tradition. Speculating about the future, netizens questioned whether leaders from organisations like the RSS, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Baba Ramdev, and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev might be invited to deliver ‘motivational speeches’ in Parliament.

“They also asked AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to agree to participate in such events. This may be the result of hasty decisions and Khader’s  stubbornness,” they alleged.

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However, some people also expressed support for Khader’s decision. Professor M. Narasimhappa, for instance, said: Khader may not be an intellectual or a legal expert. But to what extent is it correct to ridicule and childishly criticize his secular attitude?” Narasimhappa underlined that Khader’s inclusive approach is evident in his visits to mosques, churches, and temples. He suggested that if there are objections to some of the proposed names for training the MLAs, alternative suggestions should be put forth instead of outright opposition.

Khader responds

Reacting to the strong opposition to the resource persons for the training camp, Speaker UT Khader on Friday said that ‘prejudiced discussion is not right’. Speaking to reporters in Mangalore, he added, “It is not right to have a preconceived discussion about any issue now. Those who object to the camp should give their opinion after the camp. We are organising this training camp keeping various topics in mind,” he said.

The training camp will feature parliamentarians such as HK Patil, Krishna Byre Gowda, TB Jayachandra, and Suresh Kumar, who will provide training to the participating MLAs. Additionally, former Speakers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and former chief ministers Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy will engage with the new MLAs. The camp will also include the presence of spiritual figures who will share insights on stress-free work management.

Commenting on the letter by Congress spokesperson and former MLC Ramesh Babu, Khader said: “It reflects on his personal trait that he is writing without clarity on social media sites. Some of the guests at the camp are yet to confirm their attendance. Ravi Shankar is not in town; he is in America,” he said.