Staying with widows
All India Congress Committee has set a rather unusual task for women aspiring to be the party’s candidates in the next year’s Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections. K.C. Venugopal ( in picture ), AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, has told KPCC women’s wing that anyone hoping to get Congress ticket should stay in the houses of widows in villages and address their issues.
The move is aimed at attracting women voters, who constitute nearly 50% of the electorate in all 224 constituencies. Mr. Venugopal offered a lesson to women leaders aspiring for ticket: “In electoral politics, till you connect with poor people, you cannot survive.” He reportedly told KPCC women’s wing president Lakshmi Hebbalkar, who met the AICC general secretary and sought more ticket for women candidates, that the move would not only help console women in distress but also create awareness about the government’s schemes among women.
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Whether this would indeed be followed up as a criteria remains to be seen as serious lobbying for ticket begins closer to polls.
Catch-22 situation
The Hassan district administration was caught in a catch-22 situation last week. The question before the officers was how to follow the protocol in a programme attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (
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The sangha had invited the CM to inaugurate a Kanaka Bhavan, which was built from donations and a government grant of ₹1.25 crore. The sangha and Congress leaders of the district converted the public meeting into a sort of Congress convention. The seating arrangement on the dais was in tune with the protocol, where all MLAs and other people’s representatives were invited.
However, the district-level officers, who normally occupy chairs on the dais whenever CM is the participant, chose to stay away on the day, as MLAs from the Opposition parties also did.
Heartburn and cure
Water Resources and Vijayapura district in charge Minister M.B. Patil ( in picture ) is planning to send a bottle of gelusil, a syrup for heartburn, to BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa. Reason: Mr. Patil says Mr. Yeddyurappa is extremely jealous with the former gaining popularity among the Lingayat community in the State and is suffering from heartburn.
“As a person belonging to the Lingayat community, it is my duty to ensure Karnataka State Women’s University is named after Akka Mahadevi, and mandatory display of the portrait of 12th century social reformer Basavanna in government offices. Since both are revered by Lingayats, Mr. Yeddyurappa feels that I have endeared myself to Lingayats. In frustration, the BJP leader is suffering from heartburn,” he said at a function, offering gelusil as remedy.
Political slugfest
As the Assembly elections are scheduled early next year, a political slugfest is on in the Congress in Dakshina Kannada. While senior Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary continues to criticise Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his close confidant Harikrishna Bantwal, former KPCC spokesperson, has now begun a tirade against B. Ramanath Rai, Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, who is also in charge of Dakshina Kannada.
Mr. Bantwal, who has been expelled from the Congress for contesting as rebel candidate in the 2015 Legislative Council elections from local body constituency, lambasted Mr. Rai for his inability to maintain law and order in the district. Mr. Bantwal alleged that Mr. Rai wanted to keep communal tension alive in his constituency and has been favouring a section of the society to garner their support. Bridging the gap between two major communities would establish peace and communal harmony in the district but Mr. Rai’s efforts in that direction was negative, he claimed.
Nagesh Prabhu
Sathish G.T.
Firoz Rozindar
Raviprasad Kamila