Bengaluru: The govt Tuesday filled both vacant deputy presiding posts in the legislature, with former minister Mankal Vaidya being elected deputy speaker of the assembly and Umashree unanimously being chosen deputy chairperson of the council.Vaidya, MLA from Bhatkal, was elected unopposed through a voice vote after his name was proposed by chief minister DK Shivakumar and seconded by minister Laxman Savadi. Speaker GS Patil declared him elected. The post had fallen vacant after Rudrappa Lamani resigned following his recent induction into the Shivakumar cabinet.Vaidya’s election comes after a series of changes in Congress’s plans for him. AICC had initially named AS Ponnanna as its nominee for the deputy speaker post, but Ponnanna was later appointed political secretary to the CM with cabinet minister status.Vaidya, who served as ports and fisheries minister in the previous Siddaramaiah govt, was also among those initially named for induction into Shivakumar’s cabinet but was subsequently replaced by former minister SS Mallikarjun before the Aug 3 expansion. Congress has not cited an official reason for the change.In the legislative council, Umashree’s elevation marks another chapter in a career that has spanned theatre, cinema and electoral politics. Born in 1957 in Navanakar village in Tiptur taluk of Tumakuru district, she grew up in extreme poverty and studied up to SSLC before later earning an MSc in Political Science. She was first nominated to the legislative council in 2001 and served until 2007. After unsuccessfully contesting the 2008 assembly election from Terdal, she won the seat in 2013 and joined the Siddaramaiah cabinet.As minister, she handled women and child development, empowerment of persons with disabilities, senior citizens’ welfare, and Kannada and culture. She was honoured in 2016 for her department’s performance.Congratulating Umashree on her win, leader of the house Yathindra Siddaramaiah described her as “a role model for women who overcame poverty and several challenges to establish herself as an actor and politician”. Yathindra said Umashree had turned to theatre to earn a livelihood before emerging as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema. He noted that she had received the Karnataka State Film Award six times, Karnataka Nataka Akademi Award and the National Award for her performance in Gulabi Talkies.Yathindra described her as an affectionate individual who speaks to everyone with warmth and a smile. He also highlighted her pursuit of education later in life.“At the age of 54 she obtained an MSc degree in Political Science from Karnataka State Open University. She has demonstrated that there is no age limit for acquiring education and knowledge,” Yathindra said.
