Being Speaker will not come in the way of connecting with people of Mangaluru constituency: U. T. Khader
Mangaluru: Newly-elected Speaker U. T. Khader said, “The post will not come in the way of connecting with the people of Mangaluru constituency, and carrying out development works.
Talking to reporters in Mangaluru, Khader said he is glad to be unanimously elected as the Speaker. The post had been held by luminaries, including Bantwal Vaikunta Baliga of Dakshina Kannada district, who was Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly between March 1962 and June 1968, and K. S. Hegde, who was Speaker of Lok Sabha between July 1977 and January 1980.
“I will act as the custodian of 224 MLAs, and uphold the region’s rich legacy. I submitted my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress party when I filed the nomination for the post of Speaker. I do not have anything to do with the affairs of the party,” he said.
Khader plans to organise an orientation programme on working of the Assembly for the newly-elected MLAs. The senior MLAs would be involved in refresher programmes. “There was not much response from MLAs to these programmes, which were held earlier in the Assembly. I will try to ensure that more MLAs participate in the programme in this Assembly,” he said.
Khader came to Mangaluru from Bengaluru on May 24 night. A large number of people greeted him at the Circuit House in the city on May 25 morning.
