Legislators plan foreign ‘study tour’

Once again the legislators seem to be showing little regard to the voice of public, with some Legislative Council members planning a foreign “study tour” from December 19 to January 5.

According to sources, 14 members of the Petitions and Housing Committees of the Council are set to visit New Zealand, Australia, China (Hong Kong and Macau).There were strong opposition from various sections, including Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, when 13 legislators went on similar “study tour” to South American countries in August, even as the state was reeling under severe drought.

“These MLCs too were supposed to go on a tour then, but they postponed it. But as the government’s term is set to end soon, they are keen on their plan,” the sources said.

The MLCs going on the tour are Vimala Gowda, Puttanna, Pratap C Shetty, Shashil Namoshi, Veera Kumar Apposo Patil, K B Shanappa, Ashwath Narayan, Y A Narayana Swamy, Marithibbe Gowda, T John, Narayan sa Bhandge, M S Koujalgi, Bharathy Shetty and Arun Shahapur.