The State government and Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala continue to be at loggerheads, largely over appointments to several key posts. The cold war is silent for now but seems to be only growing. The Head of the State has returned the files pertaining to the prosecution of five ‘tainted’ members of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). He has twice sent back the recommendation to appoint V.R. Sudarshan as KPSC chairperson; and a search committee’s list of names for six new Vice-Chancellors.
Before this, Mr. Vala had already returned the ordinance that sought to trifurcate the city corporation, forcing the government to table a Bill in the Legislature. He gave assent to the Karnataka Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2105, only after the government provided clarifications.
He had sought a report from the government on the multi-crore single-digit lottery scam. Though no Minister has spoken openly against the Governor’s actions, ruling Congress party leaders have expressed their annoyance in private that Mr. Vala, though a seasoned politician with mature thinking, has got on to a collision course with the government and questioned its key proposals. It remains to be seen when the two will focus on governance and welfare of the State.
BBMP Commissioner
cracks the whip
High absenteeism of employees during working hours irked the new Commissioner of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, G. Kumar Naik, when he inspected staff attendance last Tuesday. It’s an old story that many employees leave their office soon after marking biometric attendance. And the public has borne the brunt of their truancy.
Barely a few weeks into his job, Mr. Naik has started cracking the whip. As a result, employees of all hues and ranks must now leave a note on their desk whenever they stir out during working hours. They should state where they have gone, why and when they left and when they would be back. That’s not all: he has warned late-comers of disciplinary action, including suspension.
Will it work? And, for how long? Regardless of the outcome, our best wishes are with you in the well-meaning measure, Mr. Commissioner.
Stopping strikes,
the RTC style
Imagine a State Road Transport Corporation moving a civil court to stop its employees from holding strikes. That is what the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation has done, and that too against a strike which was aimed at saving the RTCs from being reduced to non-entities.
The KSRTC Staff & Workers Federation had proposed to participate in a nationwide strike on April 30 against the proposed Road Transport and Safety Bill on the ground that it undermines the interest of RTCs. A few enthusiastic officials of the NWKRTC got court injunctions against the move. Their common prayer in the suits was, “Seeking permanent injunction against defendants etc., restraining them from holding any strike, dharna, gathering, gate meeting, holding placards and shouting anti-management slogans by using loud speakers…within an area of 500 metres around the suit properties...”
The workers’ federation has cautioned that gagging trade union activities would be counterproductive and urged the RTC to withdraw the injunction suits as well as the charge sheets.
VTU on wedding card
By using the varsity’s name and logo on his daughter’s wedding invitation card, H. Maheshappa, Vice-Chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, has surprised many. Along with the main invitation card for the wedding on June 12, he has inserted a personal note which boldly displays VTU’s logo on the top left. Some people who received the card wondered whether the university was hosting the VC’s daughter’s wedding in Bengaluru. Was it proper for the VC to invoke the varsity for a family event, is the question that’s doing the rounds. The VC, meanwhile, does not appear to be ‘once bitten, twice shy’ at all. For the Chancellor has already ordered a one-man probe into several alleged irregularities by Mr. Maheshappa in staff appointments and financial transactions at VTU.
Nagesh Prabhu,
Anil Kumar Sastry,
and Vijaykumar Patil
