Everything Chief Minister Siddaramaiah touches comes into the spotlight these days. No, we are not talking about the much talked about expensive watch, but about an expensive sari purchased by him at a Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) showroom in Davangere. Though Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy has had nothing to say on the latter so far, this particular make of “waterproof” sari bought for his wife has caught many people’s fancy.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, apparently, refused to take it as a “gift” when invited to inaugurate the outlet. He bought the Rs. 1.09 lakh worth sari at Rs. 82,930 after discount.
Ever since, there is a great demand for the sari, says KSIC chairperson D. Basavaraj. Customers visiting the showroom ask for the “Siddaramaiah sari”. Not that every curious woman has the money to buy it, but this variety sure has been getting a lot of dekko.
MLA takes the wheel
Small Scale Industries Minister Satish L. Jarkiholi, by virtue of being the district in-charge Minister of Belagavi, often finds himself in the driving seat and legislators end up taking the backseat. However, at times, Congress MLA Feroz N. Sait prevails as far as issues concerning his Assembly constituency.
Mr. Sait, representing Belagavi North, recently distributed autorickshaws to employment seekers in the city. In the event organised by the Belagavi City Corporation, Mr. Sait literally took the driving seat. Mr. Jarkiholi and Mayor Kiran Sayanak tamely occupied the passenger’s seat. After a short ride, all three stepped out of the autorickshaw to a cheering crowd of beneficiaries.
Golden suggestion
At a time when the Union government is struggling to increase the revenue for funding welfare schemes, Kurubur Shantakumar, president of Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association, has a unique suggestion.
He said all major temples of the nation possess over 20,000 tonnes of gold and other jewellery worth several crores. Mr. Shantakumar suggested that the Centre take over that gold by formulating a special law. “The law should be formulated as gods don’t need gold,” he argued. Gods may not need gold, but the idea is unlikely to be palatable to those who hold keys to the treasury.
Divided over
Modi app
What exactly is the purpose behind some Kendriya Vidyalaya schools sharing the Narendra Modi app with class 10 students? Though it is purportedly so that students can share their views on exam stress with the Prime Minister, a section of parents are livid. It was following the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, where he spoke about exam stress, that KV schools were asked by the Human Resource Development Ministry to ask students to download the app.
“Why is the Ministry sending such circulars to schools and promoting one party or personality?” a parent asked. Another parent wondered if the Prime Minister has the time to listen to views of the students. While some KVs have sent out the messages, other principals have ignored them as they did not find any of the features interesting or innovative.
Muralidhara Khajane,
Vijaykumar Patil,
Firoz Rozindar and
Tanu Kulkarni
