Karnataka gets its new poster girl, IAS topper
After seething with anger over the death of IAS officer of Karnataka cadre Anurag Tiwari in Uttar Pradesh, the state suddenly has a reason to cheer. Nandini K.R. from Kolar topped the Civil Services Exams 2016, and Karnataka is brimming with pride. The last time, the state saw a topper in the UPSC exams was when Vijayalakshmi Bidari (daughter of retired IPS officer Shankar Bidari ) got first rank in 2001. Nandini, 26, who hails from Kembodi village in the parched district of Kolar (known for gold mining), is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) probationer, currently undergoing training at Faridabad in Haryana. Her desire to work at the grassroots encouraged her to appear for the exams again, after she failed to crack it in 2015. “Hardwork, confidence and consistency in preparation helps one get closer to one's dream,” says Nandini, who was inspired to become an IAS officer quite early in life after watching senior government officers during events at her hometown. Her father, K. Ramesh, a government school teacher in Muduvadi, Kolar, and her mother, Vimala, a homemaker, encouraged her to crack the exam. After studying in Chinmaya High School in Kolar, pre-university at Alva's College, Moodbidri, Nandini graduated in civil engineering from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru. Having joined as a junior engineer in the Public Works Department, she had taken time off to prepare for the UPSC exams the first time. She had got 849th rank in 2014 and was allotted IRS (customs and central excise).
CM peeved with minister for 'invoking' raingod
Drought-prone Karnataka is trying hard to invoke the raingod, even as farmers are agitating for completion of major irrigation projects, like Yettinahole—a river diversion project, to bail out parched districts. But what has puzzled the people and the opposition alike is Karnataka Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil's move to propitiate raingods through rituals. This decision has put Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a tight spot, as the CM is known to have no belief in any rituals. Patil has announced his plans to perform Parjanya Homa (ritual to propitiate the rain gods by making offerings to sacred fire) at Mahabaleshwar and Bhagamandala, where the two prominent rivers—Krishna and Cauvery, originate. Despite Siddaramaiah vocally opposing it, Patil has announced the dates for the rituals stating he believes in Indian culture and rituals. Meanwhile, citizens are seeing red as the ritual is estimated to cost Rs 20 lakh. Critics are opposing the rituals saying the monsoon has already set in several parts of the state including Kodagu. The state government has accused the centre of not parting with “sufficient funds” for drought relief, and the state BJP, which launched a drought study tour, is sparing no opportunity to mock Siddaramaiah's government, even as the state stared at drought across 167 taluks.
MLCs likely to face action for TA/DA bills
At least eight legislators face the risk of losing their membership to the Karnataka Legislative Council, following a complaint against them for allegedly claiming travel and dearness allowance, despite the members being residents of Bengaluru. In his complaint to the council chairman, leader of the opposition in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Padmanabha Reddy, who provided documents related to the “wrongful” TA/DA claims, alleged that the members had furnished a local address to qualify as voters in the BBMP mayoral elections held last September. “The Congress and the JD(S) MLCs, who hail from outside Bengaluru, voted in the last BBMP elections by giving local addresses. This was only to keep BJP from wresting power in BBMP (which is run by a Congress-JD(S) coalition). But they continue to claim TA and DA for attending standing committee meetings in Bengaluru, which runs into lakhs of rupees,” alleged Reddy. Meanwhile, Council Chairman D.H. Shankarmurthy issued show cause notices to Congress MLC Allam Veerabhadrappa of Ballari (Rs 3.20 lakh), R.B. Thimmapura of Bagalkot (Rs 5.51 lakh), G. Raghu Achar of Chitradurga (4.08 lakh), G.S. Bosaraju of Raichur (Rs. 7.38 lakh), S. Ravi of Ramanagara (Rs 2.09 lakh), M.D. Lakshminarayana of Turuvekere (Rs 4.37 lakh) and JD(S) MLCs C.R. Manohar of Kolar (Rs 1.46 lakh) and Appaji Gouda of Mandya (Rs 9.58 lakh). However, the Congress leaders claim that they have not violated any norm. Reddy has also alleged that Allum Veerabhadrappa had voted in the Ballari corporation elections this year, after declaring himself a resident of Ballari.
Congress to oust council chairman
With the ruling Congress emerging as the single largest party in the 75-member upper house of Karnataka Legislature, change is on the cards. The Congress party submitted a notice to the Secretariat seeking to move a no-confidence motion against veteran BJP leader and council chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy, hoping to take it up during the upcoming extended budget session that begins on June 5. Interestingly, the Congress, which holds 35 seats, will need three more votes to oust Shankaramurthy. For that, the ruling party will have to rely on the support from JD(S), which has 14 seats, but is not in good terms owing to the migration of JD(S) dissidents to the Congress party recently. Meanwhile, the Congress Party is hoping to replace Shankaramurthy with former IT-BT Minister S.R. Patil. The Lingayat leader favoured by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the post of KPCC president, was recently appointed as KPCC working president and incharge of north Karnataka by AICC. Shankaramurthy's term in the Upper House is scheduled to end in June 2018, after the Assembly polls. The ruling Congress seems to have decided to bring in its own party person as replacement in an election year, as it cannot afford to get any crucial bill stalled in the upper house.
