Ramesh Kumar sets an example
Not long ago, Health Minister K.R. Ramesh Kumar had suggested that elected representatives make use of services in government hospitals as it would improve people’s confidence in these hospitals. Mr. Kumar’s own testing time came after he returned to Bengaluru from the Belagavi legislature session with symptoms of food poisoning and viral fever. The first thing he did on arrival was to check into the State-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. He stayed there for two days in the care of government doctors. During his convalescence, the Minister went a step ahead and insisted that he be given the same medicine supplied to other patients there by the Karnataka Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society. The one allowance he perhaps made was of home-cooked food. According to doctors and other staff, Mr. Kumar was impressed by the service. “Certain protocols may have been followed as he is a Minister, but the general service was quite impressive,” said a source close to the Minister.
The century-old 686-bed Bowring Hospital has been a favourite healthcare facility for several politicians over the years. It is also accessible by all as it is located close to the Shivajinagar bus terminus in the heart of the city. Barely a fortnight back, veteran Congress leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief was admitted to Bowring with lumbar spondylosis. A few other MLAs and MPs have also made use of its services in the recent past. Bowring, here is to your health and good name!
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‘PWD has a
new meaning’
Call it the effect of demonetisation. Soon after the old notes were devalued, S.C. Jayachandra, chief project officer with the Public Works Department, was raided and arrested by income tax officials, who found Rs. 4.7 crore in new Rs. 2,000 notes with him. S. Suresh Kumar, spokesman and former BJP Minister, lost no time in pointing fingers at the government. He sarcastically gave a new meaning to the department’s common acronym. PWD — “Pilferage Without Detection”. When there are over 30 government departments, why is only one department called Public Works Department? Do the others not do public work,” he wondered. Warning that more IAS, IPS and KAS officers were likely to be booked for accumulating assets not tallying with their known sources of income, the BJP leader alleged that the PWD officer got new notes largely because of the intervention of a senior Minister in the Congress government, who he, however, did not name.
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Rift in BJP
wide open
The shadow-boxing between two top BJP leaders is now in the open. State party chief B.S. Yeddyurappa is acting tough with senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa for openly propping up the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade.
The latter floated the platform ostensibly to unite backward classes, religious minorities and Dalit groups about four months ago. Some see in it the same trappings as that of Mr. Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA, which is a movement of similar groups; and which to a large extent helped the Congress return to power in the State under Mr. Siddaramaiah. Now, the brigade has not gone down well with Mr. Yeddyurappa who, observers say, sees a threat in it to his leadership in the party and even his dream of becoming Chief Minister once again. Mr. Yeddyurappa has threatened to issue show-cause notices to all who attended the brigade’s recent programme at Nandgad in Belagavi. Including Mr. Eshwarappa, who not only went to the event but also declared that the brigade would stay come what may. He also denied that it was aimed at destabilising Mr. Yeddyurappa’s leadership, and said he had the consent of BJP national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal.
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Varsity needs more than a name
Will mere renaming of the 10-year-old Karnataka State Women’s University in Vijayapura after 12th Century woman saint Akka Mahadevi make it a respectable institution? Recently, legislators unanimously argued that the university, started as a mark of women’s empowerment, above all, needs to be known for clean administration, quality education and infrastructure. Though Opposition BJP members praised the government for the choice of the name, they criticised it for not ensuring a clean administration there. Its former Vice-Chancellor was allegedly involved in siphoning off funds while recruiting staff, and now lives abroad. With its image sullied, the varsity is also starved of funds and infrastructure, said Govind Karjol and Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri of the BJP. M.P. Nadagouda of the Congress suggested adding the word ‘sharane’ before Akka Mahadevi. However, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi, who piloted the Bill, did not favour the prefix. It remains to be seen whether the government will rid the university of its various irregularities.
Afshan Yasmeen
Vijaykumar Patil
Nagesh Prabhu
