2 months ago
1
A Bill seeking to reintroduce ballot papers successful elections to section bodies successful the State was passed successful the Legislative Council connected Wednesday, amid a walkout by the Opposition.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge moved the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which had earlier been passed by the Assembly, and urged the House to follow it.
The Bill proposes the usage of ballot papers successful spot of physics voting machines (EVMs) for elections to gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats. It aims to guarantee free, just and transparent elections, safeguard the secrecy of voting, and code concerns raised implicit the reliability of EVMs.
Mr. Kharge said the determination was intended to fortify nationalist assurance successful the electoral process. “We are not against technology, but determination should beryllium nary country for uncertainty successful elections,” helium said, stating that spot successful the strategy was cardinal to democracy.
The Bill besides provides for stricter measures to curb electoral malpractices, including provisions for imprisonment ranging from six months to 2 years for offences specified arsenic booth capturing and elector intimidation. It further seeks to fortify section governance by bringing unauthorised properties successful agrarian areas nether the taxation nett to amended the fiscal presumption of panchayats.
Opposition members, including Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and C. T. Ravi vehemently opposed the move, arguing that alternatively of reverting to ballot papers, efforts should beryllium made to amended the existing EVM strategy successful enactment with technological advancements.
Terming the connection “regressive”, the Opposition staged a walkout. The Bill was, however, passed by the House.
Transfer amendment Bill
The Council besides passed the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed astatine simplifying and humanising the transportation process for teachers.
School Education and Literacy Minister S. Madhu Bangarappa moved the Bill, which had earlier been passed by the Assembly, and said it sought to code long-pending demands of teachers crossed the State.
The amendment introduces greater flexibility successful communal transfers by reducing the minimum work requirement, enabling teachers to determination to preferred locations much easily. It besides provides precedence successful transfers for teachers facing superior wellness issues, persons with disabilities and widows connected humanitarian grounds. The Bill relaxes rigid zonal transportation norms, allowing the section to redistribute teachers to schools facing shortages, peculiarly successful agrarian areas. Special provisions person besides been made for “couple cases” to alteration spouses successful authorities work to beryllium posted successful the aforesaid territory oregon adjacent taluks.
Two different Bills — The Karnataka Government and Educational Institutions Lands (Protection and Regularisation) Bill, 2026 and Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitisation Bill — were besides passed aft an extended statement successful the House.
