Karnataka Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad denies sending proposal for gifting gold to legislators

The Karnataka Assembly Speaker’s supposed proposal to gift gold biscuits to all legislators for celebrating 60 years of the state assembly has stirred up a controversy, with various political parties questioning the decision. [caption id=“attachment_697359” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of the Karnataka Assembly. AFP[/caption] Out of the Rs 27 crore allotted for the celebration, Rs 3 crore has been set aside for buying 13-gram gold biscuits, NDTV reported. Silver plates, worth Rs 6,000 each, will also be presented as mementos to all its 5,000 employees, according to the proposal. State assembly speaker KB Koliwad denied reports about any such proposal, according to ANI. “I assure you there is no proposal for distribution of gold coins and silver plates to MLAs. I do not know how it has appeared in the news,” he said. He added that there was a different proposal of Rs 26 crore which has been sent to the finance ministry for approval. However, sources in chief minister Siddaramaiah’s office confirmed to NDTV that such a proposal was indeed sent. The report said that the finance department had rejected the proposal and the chief minister is likely to reject it as well. The Congress criticised the proposal and called it a wastage of money. “This kind of proposal is just not acceptable to us and there is no need to spend such money for such things. We can use the money for other things, and we should not waste the taxpayers’ money like this. I will definitely convey my objection to the chief minister,” Dinesh Gundu Rao, working president of the Karnataka Congress Committee, told  India Today. The BJP too called the move highly deplorable and added that when the monsoon has hit Bengaluru badly, such a proposal must be shot down immediately, according to the India Today report.