Tainted trio to file replies by Thursday

BANGALORE: Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah has set February 16 as the deadline for the three ministers involved in the porngate scandal to file their replies to notices served on them.   The legislators who were facing charges of watching sleaze clippings inside the Assembly have sought one week time to submit their replies.    Acting on the tainted MLAs’ plea, Assembly Secretary P Omprakash, however, granted them three days time to file their replies which would be sent to a seven-member House committee. The committee will be constituted on Februrary 17.     Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah informed the Media that the seven-member House committee consisting of four from the ruling BJP, two from Congress and one member from the JD(S) would be constituted on February 17 to hold an inquiry into the murky behaviour of the three legislators.   He said that his secretariat has already sent letters to all the floor leaders of all political parties, including the BJP, Congress and the JD(S), to suggest their nominees to the committee.   Refusing to reply to a query on the statements made by state Congress and JD(S) leaders that  they would not recommend any names to the House committee as suggested by the Speaker, while  demanding the MLAs’ immediate disqualification, Bopaiah said that he would wait till February 17 and take a decision thereafter.    The three tainted MLAs are Krishna Palemar, C C Patil and Lakshman Savadi.