Karnataka Legislative Council Passes 2 Bills Amid BJP Din

Bengaluru: Two Bills were cleared in the Karnataka Legislative Council amid a din created by the Opposition BJP and JD(S), which were protesting the induction of B Nagendra into the state Cabinet and demanding his removal over his alleged involvement in the Valmiki Corporation scam.

The Council passed the Karnataka Municipalities Amendment Bill, 2026, and the Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Bill, 2026, amid the Opposition's protests.

Urban Development Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah moved the Karnataka Municipalities Amendment Bill, 2026, for passage.

Chairman Saleem Ahmed put the motion to vote and, amid the din, declared: "I think the 'Yeses' have it. The 'Yeses' have it. The motion is carried and the Bill is passed."

Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda then moved the Karnataka Apartment Ownership and Management Bill, 2026, saying the legislation was aimed at providing a legal framework for the management and maintenance of apartments and resolving disputes between residents, builders and resident welfare associations.

"Today, more and more people are living in apartments. There are many issues relating to apartment living," Gowda said, citing disputes over maintenance, common areas, residents' associations and redevelopment of old buildings.

He said apartment resident welfare associations would have to be registered under the new law and annual audits would be mandatory. Existing associations would also have to register afresh under the new legislation.

"Therefore, registration under this law will be compulsory. That will provide a fresh and a clean start," Gowda said.

The minister said the Bill was based on extensive consultations with stakeholders and provided for a dispute-resolution mechanism, including an appellate authority.

He also said developers who had collected maintenance or development charges would have to hand over accounts of the collections, expenditure and balance to the recognised Resident Welfare Association.

Gowda said the legislation followed the rights-based approach of the RERA law. "Before purchase, buyers receive protection under RERA. After purchasing and beginning to live in the apartment, this law gives them rights," he said.

The Bill was passed after the Chairman put it to vote amid the Opposition's protests.

The Opposition's protest is centred on the re-induction of Nagendra, who was a minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government but resigned in June 2024 following allegations of financial irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested him in July 2024 in connection with the case, and he was later granted bail. He has since been named in chargesheets filed by the ED and the CBI. He was inducted into Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's Cabinet on August 3 and was allotted the Planning and Statistics portfolio.

The Opposition has been demanding his removal, arguing that he should not hold ministerial office while facing allegations and criminal proceedings in the case. The CBI has also recently sought the Karnataka Governor's sanction to prosecute Nagendra in the alleged Valmiki corporation scam.