Heated debate over omission of minister's name

bangalore: an omission of an mla's name for the inauguration of a court building, sparked off a heated debate in the legislative assembly on monday over the powers of the legislators and the judiciary. when araga jnanendra (bjp) alleged that his name was intentionally omitted at a function, the entire opposition was on its feet demanding that speaker m.v.venkatappa find a permanent solution to end this "insult" to legislators. "we cannot tolerate it anymore. this is not the first time that we have been insulted. it is an insult to the house," opposition leader jagadish shettar said. members wanted law minister d.b. chandre gowda and social welfare minister kagodu thimmappa to boycott the function because the concerned mla had not been invited. "it is we who fought with the government for getting the court building for the judiciary. is it fair that they decide not to invite us for the inauguration?" b. somasekhar (jdu) asked. s. suresh kumar (bjp) said it was unfortunate that members had to fight for their own rights in the house when they should be fighting for people's rights. gowda said the government does not decide who should be included or omitted in the invitation card. "i fully agree that legislators should not be insulted or ignored. but i am going because they have invited me and not because it will add value to the function. i will convey the feelings of the house to the chief justice." when the opposition insisted that both the ministers agree not to attend the function or cancel the inauguration, venkatappa said it was a serious issue. he agreed to call a meeting of all floor leaders along with the two ministers to take a decision.