Bangalore:
The winter session of the Karnataka Assembly, which begins here on Monday, is likely to be stormy with the Opposition all set to grill the ruling BJP, which is facing scams and smarting from a humiliating defeat at the hands of rebel leader B Sreeramulu in the Bellary bypoll.
Though the Opposition parties - the Congress and the JDS are geared up to grill the Sadananda Gowda government on a host of issues, including the alleged cover-up of a multi-crore financial scam in Bruhut, Bangalore Mananagara Palike (city corporation), their situation is no better than the ruling government, as some of their leaders are also tained by the illegal mining scam.
This is the first session for Gowda after assuming office as chief minister on August 4 and he will face a tough task of countering the opposition attack. Incidentally, Gowda is not a member of either the Lower or Upper House. He is expected to get elected from the legislative council in the December 22 bypoll.
Gowda is the second Chief Minister in Karnataka to face the assembly session without being a member of either House, after the late Ramakrishna Hegde who headed the first ever non-Congress government in the state in 1983.
The Karnataka BJP has been in a crisis, as it faces a slew of corruption charges
against its leaders, including former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Home Minister R Ashoka, Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani and Home Minister V Somanna.
Former ministers-- S N Krishnaiah Setty and Katta Subramanya Naidu and his corporator son Jagadish have already been facing charges of being involved in land scams.