BENGALURU, Sept. 22 -- Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday defended Karnataka's decision to convene a three day special legislature session to discuss the Kasturirangan report and drought, while BJP state president B Y Vijayendra demanded that the sitting be extended to at least a week to allow a fuller debate on the issues.

The exchange set the terms for the special session, with the government saying it wanted farmers, legislators and other stakeholders to shape Karnataka's response to the Kasturirangan report, and the BJP arguing that three days would not be enough to address the concerns before the state.

Shivakumar said the government could have simply sent its earlier decision on the Kasturirangan report to the Centre, but cho...