Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 2 (NationPress) Right to Information (RTI) activist Bhimappa Gadad claimed on Tuesday that the Karnataka government has expended approximately Rs 43 lakh on a singular chair for the Legislative Assembly Speaker at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi, along with an extra Rs 67 lakh for the installation of portraits of esteemed national leaders within the premises.

In an interview with IANS in Belagavi, Gadad condemned the Karnataka government for what he referred to as a blatant squandering of public tax funds.

"The government asserts it lacks financial resources and is under fiscal stress, yet it allocates substantial sums to unnecessary luxury items," the RTI activist stated.

Gadad pointed out that Rs 42,93,940 was used solely for the construction of the Assembly Speaker's chair.

"This is astonishing -- nearly a Guinness record. When the President came for the inauguration of the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, the state government spent Rs 33 lakh on his chair. Now they have shelled out about Rs 43 lakh for the Speaker's chair. Even the President does not use such an extravagant chair. This is a shocking misuse of public funds," he emphasized.

He also called into question the moral accountability of Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader.

"I want to inquire if the Assembly Speaker possesses similar chairs at his home and if he typically uses chairs valued at Rs 43 lakh in his residence. There ought to be limits on public expenditure," the RTI activist remarked.

Gadad underscored the state government's assertions of financial difficulty.

"The economic climate is poor. The state government claims it has imposed constraints on extravagant spending. Pensions for the elderly are delayed, and allowances for the disabled, widows, and others have been curtailed. Government employees do not receive their salaries punctually, yet MLAs and MPs receive their payments every month without fail," he added.

The RTI activist also noted that the state government allocated Rs 67,67,964 for portraits of 11 distinguished figures, including Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Basaveshwara, B.R. Ambedkar, and Veer Savarkar, displayed inside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

He mentioned that in 2022, the state government had paid Rs 12.70 lakh to artists from the Chitrakala Parishath for portraits of seven notable leaders.

"Subsequently, following the Speaker's guidance, a team evaluated the portraits and reported that they failed to resemble the personalities. The government then expended an additional Rs 24.80 lakh for the same images. The total expenditure on 11 portraits amounts to approximately Rs 67 lakh," the RTI activist added.

Gadad demanded that the state government make the Speaker's chair and the portraits available for public viewing.

"They should also appoint a guide to elucidate their exorbitant costs," he stated.

He cautioned that if the state government does not mitigate what he terms wasteful spending, he will initiate legal action.

"Pensions for widows and the differently-abled are distributed once every two or three months. The only individuals who receive salaries and reimbursements on time are MLAs and MLCs," he remarked.

The Winter Assembly session is set to commence on December 8 and will run until December 19 at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi.

This development is poised to incite controversy.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member and former Speaker Visveshwar Hegde Kageri recently called for an investigation by a sitting Judge of the Karnataka High Court regarding the alleged corruption by Speaker U.T. Khader.

"Let a sitting Judge investigate the corruption claims against Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader," Kageri asserted, noting that over the past two and a half years, Speaker Khader has allegedly engaged in corruption under the guise of administrative reforms, including installing smart locks in legislators' rooms, AI-monitored televisions, organizing book fairs, lighting, and massage chairs for legislators, amongst others.