The presence of officials from Raj Bhavan in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly triggered a heated debate in the House where the Dharam Singh government is slated to seek a vote of confidence Friday.

As soon as the House met Friday morning, members who spoke took a serious note of their presence and wanted to know whether Speaker Krishna had permitted them to sit in the seats meant for state government officials.

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Vatal Nagaraj (Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha), Srirama Reddy (Communist Party of India-Marxist), Jayaprakash Hegde (Independent) and others questioned the presence of the officials and urged the chair to clarify as to whether they had come on their own or he had given his permission.

In the midst of the debate, the Raj Bhavan officials left the House.

"How can the governor send his observers?" asked Reddy. Water Resources and Transport Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge said the presence of the officials raised "suspicion" and urged the speaker to take the issue seriously.

The speaker said he is considering the matter and has taken note of the "serious issues" raised by the members and reserved his ruling.