Even as high tension and drama prevails, the Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed KG Bopaiah, the BJP legislator from Virajpet as the pro tem speaker of the state’s legislative assembly.
The move came after the Supreme Court bench on Friday ordered that a floor test should take place in the Karnataka assembly at 4 pm tomorrow, where Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa will need to prove majority support. Earlier, Yeddyurappa had been given 15 days to prove majority.
A pro tem speaker is a temporary speaker who administers the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-elected MLAs. According to the norms, the senior-most member of the House is chosen as a pro tem speaker. He/she decides if the trust vote should be held through a voice vote or ballot.
According to convention, 71-year-old Congress MLA Raghunath Vishvanath Deshpande was supposed to be appointed. But in a twist, the Governor invited Bopaiah to take oath as pro tem speaker this afternoon.
WHO IS KG BOPAIAH?
Full name: Kombarana Ganapathy Bopaiah
Born on October 17, 1955
KG Bopaiah was a former speaker in the Karnataka assembly in 2009.
Bopaiah was elected as MLA 4 times, thrice from Virajpet.
Bopaiah was also the former Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
He has served as pro tem Speaker for four days after the BJP won the mandate in 2009.
He has been closely associated with the Sangh Parivar since his school days.
He was as an active BJP’s youth wing ABVP member during his college days.
He participated in the movement against the Kambadakada dam project in Kodagu proposed by the government in 1970.
After completing B.Sc., Bopaiah joined the BMS College in Bangalore for LLB course. He was arrested during the Emergency in Bangalore and jailed for some time.
After completing the LLB course as a gold medallist, Bopaiah returned to Madikeri in 1980 and started practising law.
He was appointed as general secretary of the Kodagu unit of the BJP and elevated as its president in the 90s.
He was chosen to contest from the Madikeri Assembly segment in 2004, which he won comfortably.
source: http://www.indiatoday.in / India Today / Home> News> Elections / May 18th, 2018
