India
From deathly silence to violence: The journey of wrestlers struggling for justice.
Civil liberties platform condemns arrest of women wrestlers and other activists
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has strongly condemned the brutal manner by which the Delhi Police forcibly arrested the women wrestlers yesterday, May 28, 2023, as they prepared to go from Jantar Mantar where they have been protesting peacefully since April 23, 2023, to the `Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat’ near the new Parliament Building. Without any sense of respect to their contribution to Indian sports, protesting wrestlers, all champions -- Olympic medalists Bajranj Punia and Sakshi Malik, and Asian Games Gold medalist, Vinesh Phogat, and Sangeeta Phogat, who were sitting in the 35th day of their dharna, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and others were, summarily dragged, forcibly pushed to the ground, manhandled, thrown into buses and removed to unknown destinations.
Soon thereafter, the protest site at Jantar Mantar where the women wrestlers have been protesting since 23rd April, 2023 had the tents dismantled, their belongings including their beddings and coolers thrown away and the protest site cleared by the Delhi police.
Ironically, even as the wrestlers were being forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making grandiose announcements in the newly opened Parliament building about India not only being the mother of Democracies but also being a model for other democracies!
The PUCL statement issued by Kavita Srivastava, president and Dr. V. Suresh, general secretary states that “the aggressive and violent action of the Delhi Police stands in contrast to the reluctance of the Central Government to act against the six times BJP MP and three times ex-President of the Wrestlers Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, for sexual violence against young women wrestlers. This, despite all the seven complainant women wrestlers, including a minor, recording their statements before the concerned Judicial Magistrate under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.”
Apart from the wrestlers, all the groups who lent their support to the demand of arrest of the accused and came out to participate in the Mahila Samman Panchayat, outside the new Parliament building in several hundreds, were detained. They included former MP Subhashini Ali, Annie Raja, Kawaljeet Kaur and Dipti Bharti of the National Federation of Indian women, Poonam of Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan, Sucheta De of CPIML (L) and AICCTU, Jagmati Sangwan and Maimoona Mollah of AIDWA, activists Maya John and others of CSW, Purogami Mahila Samiti and AIMSS activists Ritu Kaushik and others, Krantikari Yuva Sangathan activists, JNU students, AISA, NSUI activists were also picked up.
Supporting farmer leaders were either detained in Haryana or Punjab itself or picked up from the protest site at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur border. Those picked up from the Haryana borders of Singhu and Tikri included Charanjit Kaur Dhulia, Davinder Kaur Hardaspura, Gurnam Singh Chaudhuri, Amarjit Singh Mohri, Ravi Azad and Jagdeep Aulakh. They also arrested leaders from the Binen Khaps and others in Haryana. Several journalists and bloggers were also picked up, notable amongst them was freelancer Mandeep Punia. Lawyers who were trying to provide legal assistance, including Vertika Mani Tripathi, Abhishist Hela and others, were kept in the dark and not allowed to enter the police stations and meet the detainees. The detainees were kept in more than a dozen police stations, mostly in the outskirts of Delhi.
What was very disturbing was that the four wrestlers were separated and sent to four different police stations and subjected to intimidation and to illegal detention and isolation. The whole idea was to break their morale and demotivate them from returning back to the protest. Even as we release this Press Note, they and other women activists continue to be under illegal detention.
The strong-arm tactics used by the BJP led Central Government through the Delhi police against the women wrestlers ironically exposes the lie of the BJP government as being committed towards justice for women, protecting their dignity and democratic rights. What is clear is that:
-
The BJP Government and the Delhi police showed its true anti-women and anti-democratic character by preventing and trying to crush what has been a very peaceful, violence-free and orderly protest of women wrestlers whose only request is to enforce the law against a person who has sexually inflicted violence on them, including ensuring the mandatory arrest of the perpetrator under POCSO.
-
It is very much a part of the fundamental right of the women wrestlers to peacefully demand accountability and express their protest against the inaction of the Delhi police under the Ministry of Home Affairs to arrest Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The women wrestlers have been demanding action since January, 2023. No justice came their way, despite being subjected to two illegal Complaint Committees regarding sexual harassment. It was only thereafter that on 23rd April, 2023 they were forced to make their grievances public by staging their protest in Jantar Mantar. The deathly silence of the ruling Modi regime continues to date.
-
The reluctance to act on the part of the Modi government to enforce the law against wrongdoers from its own ranks is made clear when we see that the FIR itself came to be lodged only when the wrestlers filed a petition in the SC and the CJI’s Bench ordered registration of a FIR.
-
What is indicative and best exemplifies the authoritarian, anti-women and anti-democratic mind-set of the Central Government and the Delhi police to the citizen’s fundamental right to protest is the action of the Delhi police who dubbed the protest of the women wrestlers as constituting anti-national act, as it was marring the day when the PM was inaugurating the new Parliament!
How the protests of the women wrestlers seeking fair implementation of the law against a sexual predator can ever constitute an `anti-national’ act belies logic and only exhibits the ignorance to constitutional norms and proprieties.
Vinesh Phogat very poignantly summed up the mood of the protestors in her statement published by the Hindu to the effect that,
“The accused is roaming free, he is being sheltered by the government and we athletes who won medals for the country are now being put in jail for demanding justice for the country’s daughters”.
The civil liberties platform has called upon all citizens groups, women’s, farmers, students, workers, lawyers and other groups to continue being united and demand justice for the agitating women wrestlers and unequivocally condemn the brute force used by the Delhi police to arrest the women wrestlers and others and dismantle their protest site. The PUCL has also demanded that the wrestlers protest site be restored and they be allowed to peacefully agitate by exercising their democratic rights. Besides, all criminal cases registered today, against the women wrestlers and activists be dropped and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh be immediately arrested.
Strict action should also be taken against those police functionaries who indulged in illegal action and brutal use of force against peaceful protestors.
Related:
Protests erupt at Delhi police violent crackdown on Women Wrestlers, FIR, and nationwide outrage
Attempt to Drown out Wrestlers’ Protest with Song and Dance About ‘Temple of Democracy’
When Will Society Hold Men Accountable for Patriarchy
Farmers announce nationwide agitation in support of #WomenChampionWrestlers
From deathly silence to violence: The journey of wrestlers struggling for justice.
Civil liberties platform condemns arrest of women wrestlers and other activists
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has strongly condemned the brutal manner by which the Delhi Police forcibly arrested the women wrestlers yesterday, May 28, 2023, as they prepared to go from Jantar Mantar where they have been protesting peacefully since April 23, 2023, to the `Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat’ near the new Parliament Building. Without any sense of respect to their contribution to Indian sports, protesting wrestlers, all champions -- Olympic medalists Bajranj Punia and Sakshi Malik, and Asian Games Gold medalist, Vinesh Phogat, and Sangeeta Phogat, who were sitting in the 35th day of their dharna, demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and others were, summarily dragged, forcibly pushed to the ground, manhandled, thrown into buses and removed to unknown destinations.
Soon thereafter, the protest site at Jantar Mantar where the women wrestlers have been protesting since 23rd April, 2023 had the tents dismantled, their belongings including their beddings and coolers thrown away and the protest site cleared by the Delhi police.
Ironically, even as the wrestlers were being forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making grandiose announcements in the newly opened Parliament building about India not only being the mother of Democracies but also being a model for other democracies!
The PUCL statement issued by Kavita Srivastava, president and Dr. V. Suresh, general secretary states that “the aggressive and violent action of the Delhi Police stands in contrast to the reluctance of the Central Government to act against the six times BJP MP and three times ex-President of the Wrestlers Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, for sexual violence against young women wrestlers. This, despite all the seven complainant women wrestlers, including a minor, recording their statements before the concerned Judicial Magistrate under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.”
Apart from the wrestlers, all the groups who lent their support to the demand of arrest of the accused and came out to participate in the Mahila Samman Panchayat, outside the new Parliament building in several hundreds, were detained. They included former MP Subhashini Ali, Annie Raja, Kawaljeet Kaur and Dipti Bharti of the National Federation of Indian women, Poonam of Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan, Sucheta De of CPIML (L) and AICCTU, Jagmati Sangwan and Maimoona Mollah of AIDWA, activists Maya John and others of CSW, Purogami Mahila Samiti and AIMSS activists Ritu Kaushik and others, Krantikari Yuva Sangathan activists, JNU students, AISA, NSUI activists were also picked up.
Supporting farmer leaders were either detained in Haryana or Punjab itself or picked up from the protest site at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur border. Those picked up from the Haryana borders of Singhu and Tikri included Charanjit Kaur Dhulia, Davinder Kaur Hardaspura, Gurnam Singh Chaudhuri, Amarjit Singh Mohri, Ravi Azad and Jagdeep Aulakh. They also arrested leaders from the Binen Khaps and others in Haryana. Several journalists and bloggers were also picked up, notable amongst them was freelancer Mandeep Punia. Lawyers who were trying to provide legal assistance, including Vertika Mani Tripathi, Abhishist Hela and others, were kept in the dark and not allowed to enter the police stations and meet the detainees. The detainees were kept in more than a dozen police stations, mostly in the outskirts of Delhi.
What was very disturbing was that the four wrestlers were separated and sent to four different police stations and subjected to intimidation and to illegal detention and isolation. The whole idea was to break their morale and demotivate them from returning back to the protest. Even as we release this Press Note, they and other women activists continue to be under illegal detention.
The strong-arm tactics used by the BJP led Central Government through the Delhi police against the women wrestlers ironically exposes the lie of the BJP government as being committed towards justice for women, protecting their dignity and democratic rights. What is clear is that:
-
The BJP Government and the Delhi police showed its true anti-women and anti-democratic character by preventing and trying to crush what has been a very peaceful, violence-free and orderly protest of women wrestlers whose only request is to enforce the law against a person who has sexually inflicted violence on them, including ensuring the mandatory arrest of the perpetrator under POCSO.
-
It is very much a part of the fundamental right of the women wrestlers to peacefully demand accountability and express their protest against the inaction of the Delhi police under the Ministry of Home Affairs to arrest Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The women wrestlers have been demanding action since January, 2023. No justice came their way, despite being subjected to two illegal Complaint Committees regarding sexual harassment. It was only thereafter that on 23rd April, 2023 they were forced to make their grievances public by staging their protest in Jantar Mantar. The deathly silence of the ruling Modi regime continues to date.
-
The reluctance to act on the part of the Modi government to enforce the law against wrongdoers from its own ranks is made clear when we see that the FIR itself came to be lodged only when the wrestlers filed a petition in the SC and the CJI’s Bench ordered registration of a FIR.
-
What is indicative and best exemplifies the authoritarian, anti-women and anti-democratic mind-set of the Central Government and the Delhi police to the citizen’s fundamental right to protest is the action of the Delhi police who dubbed the protest of the women wrestlers as constituting anti-national act, as it was marring the day when the PM was inaugurating the new Parliament!
How the protests of the women wrestlers seeking fair implementation of the law against a sexual predator can ever constitute an `anti-national’ act belies logic and only exhibits the ignorance to constitutional norms and proprieties.
Vinesh Phogat very poignantly summed up the mood of the protestors in her statement published by the Hindu to the effect that,
“The accused is roaming free, he is being sheltered by the government and we athletes who won medals for the country are now being put in jail for demanding justice for the country’s daughters”.
The civil liberties platform has called upon all citizens groups, women’s, farmers, students, workers, lawyers and other groups to continue being united and demand justice for the agitating women wrestlers and unequivocally condemn the brute force used by the Delhi police to arrest the women wrestlers and others and dismantle their protest site. The PUCL has also demanded that the wrestlers protest site be restored and they be allowed to peacefully agitate by exercising their democratic rights. Besides, all criminal cases registered today, against the women wrestlers and activists be dropped and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh be immediately arrested.
Strict action should also be taken against those police functionaries who indulged in illegal action and brutal use of force against peaceful protestors.
Related:
Protests erupt at Delhi police violent crackdown on Women Wrestlers, FIR, and nationwide outrage
Attempt to Drown out Wrestlers’ Protest with Song and Dance About ‘Temple of Democracy’
When Will Society Hold Men Accountable for Patriarchy
Farmers announce nationwide agitation in support of #WomenChampionWrestlers
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Attempt to Drown out Wrestlers’ Protest with Song and Dance About ‘Temple of Democracy’
According to the police personnel, the detained protesters were sent to multiple locations including Kapashera and Jajjhar.
Image credit: Twitter/@SakshiMalik
The wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar was brutally crushed by the Delhi Police today while PM Modi was inaugurating the new Parliament building just a few kilometres away from the protest site.
Since morning, the protest site and the area nearby areas saw a heavy police deployment. All the gates leading to the site were heavily guarded by the Delhi Police personnel. Several mediapersons were kept away from the protest site. The police informed reporters that only PIB-accredited press was allowed to go inside – which resulted in the exclusion of a huge chunk of digital media.
However, around 11 am, the wrestles started moving towards the new Parliament building. Consequently, the Delhi Police started detaining the protesters, pushing them inside the buses which were present at the site.
Geeta Chaudhary from Bhartiya Kisan Union spoke with NewsClick while she was being detained. She alleged that the police manhandled the wrestlers including women.
Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia – who have been among the ones spearheading the protest – were also taken into custody along with several activists from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).
Malik could be seen being dragged by the police while she was raising slogans.
Mandeep, one of the wrestlers, alleged that her clothes were torn apart and her already fractured hand got injured in the kerfuffle.
After all the wrestlers were detained, the Delhi Police also wound up their tent and closed the site for media access.
According to the police personnel, the detainees were sent to multiple locations including Kapashera and Jajjhar.
NewsClick spoke with a few other people who had come to express solidarity with the wrestlers but were stopped by the police.
Madhu Prasad, a former professor at the Delhi University, who had come to extend support said that the BJP is the new ruler and doesn’t see itself as the government. “For them, this is a king’s rule,” she said.
“Civil liberties in this country are on a decline since this government has come to power. This brutal assault on protesters and dissent in general has validated this fact,” said Prasad.
She also questioned the politics behind keeping the accused, Brij Bhushan Singh, safe amidst such a huge protest.
Farmers Detained at Singhu Border, JNU Students 'Prevented' from Joining Wrestlers
Amid heavy deployment of police, jawans, and paramilitary forces, 100 farmers who tried to enter Delhi from the Singhu border were detained by Haryana Police.
Tejvir Singh from Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shahid Bhagat Singh) said that they could apprehend a massive crackdown by the police and administration in Ambala after officials from the intelligence wing "started calling farmers' leaders about the mahapanchayat".
Talking to NewsClick, he said, "The deras suddenly announced that there would be huge langars on Sunday. It is not a coincidence. So, we found it very difficult to find buses. We had to call buses from Punjab and Kalka to take people to Delhi. Then we started receiving calls from intelligence officers enquiring about our plans and the extent of mobilisation. Social media handles were closely monitored. Our buses were stopped at Manjit Sahib Gurudwara in Ambala. Other leaders were raided too."
Singh added that the children in the family were particularly frightened as they did not know anything about the ongoing movement to seek justice against sexual harassment.
Ranjit Singh Raju, secretary of Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Rajasthan, said that he had been consistently getting calls from farmer leaders about "run and chase". He opined that the police and administration have not learnt anything from the farmers' movement. "They do not know that youths have joined the movement and there will be a sea of people on the streets soon.”
He added that the farmers are on the streets as they share the pain and misery of women wrestlers who are seeking justice against sexual harassment. “Had Modi listened to them, we would not have been on the streets. It is clear that he does not consider them daughters of India," said Raju.
Pavel Kussa from Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan told NewsClick that they have organised a large assembly in Chandigarh to express solidarity with women wrestlers. “We will be mobilising people from across Punjab to tell them how democracy was butchered in the name of the new parliament.”
Gaurav Rajpurohit, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sonipat told NewsClick, "The farmers were detained after they tried to stage a protest at National Highway 48. We have taken them into preventive detention and they will be questioned about the intent of the protest. So far, no places have been designated as temporary jails.”
Several Students leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru University too alleged that they were taken into custody from the gate of the institute itself when they were going out to extend solidarity to the wrestlers.
Madhurima, an AISA activist, said, "I was physically restrained just as I stepped outside the JNU main gate. The female police gheraoed me and tried to intimidate me by taking videos from their personal phones. There is heavy police deployment in and outside JNU to stop students from going to Mahila Panchayat”.
Aishe Ghosh, president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union, told NewsClick that the police officials asked them not to let any student go outside the exit gates of the university. "Several students and even teachers were detained at Vasant Kunj police station. It is sheer irony that the inauguration of the new Parliament building is being celebrated as a festival of democracy; whereas, the democratic rights of citizens do not matter in the eyes of this government!”
Tikri Border Transformed into a 'Camp'
Following in the footsteps of Singhu and Ghazipur, Tikri Border witnessed a dramatic transformation into a fortified camp today, employing imposing barricades, massive stones, and significant deployment of police forces. The motive behind this imposing display was to deter a group of women farmers who had planned to journey from Tikri Border to Delhi in solidarity with the wrestlers staging a protest at Jantar Mantar. However, the police authorities denied them entry, preventing their passage across the border.
Undeterred, the farmers at Tikri Border held a protest, raising strong slogans against the Modi government and the Khattar government in Haryana. They reiterated the demand for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The farmers stated that they would continue their protest until the authorities take action, and they will only stop when Brij Bhushan is arrested.
As the farmers' protest grew more intense, the police responded by arresting everyone involved. The farmers were taken into custody and transported to the Mahila Shahar police station in Bahadurgarh.
(With inputs from Ravi Kaushal and Ravi Dubey)
Courtesy: Newsclick
Attempt to Drown out Wrestlers’ Protest with Song and Dance About ‘Temple of Democracy’
According to the police personnel, the detained protesters were sent to multiple locations including Kapashera and Jajjhar.
Image credit: Twitter/@SakshiMalik
The wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar was brutally crushed by the Delhi Police today while PM Modi was inaugurating the new Parliament building just a few kilometres away from the protest site.
Since morning, the protest site and the area nearby areas saw a heavy police deployment. All the gates leading to the site were heavily guarded by the Delhi Police personnel. Several mediapersons were kept away from the protest site. The police informed reporters that only PIB-accredited press was allowed to go inside – which resulted in the exclusion of a huge chunk of digital media.
However, around 11 am, the wrestles started moving towards the new Parliament building. Consequently, the Delhi Police started detaining the protesters, pushing them inside the buses which were present at the site.
Geeta Chaudhary from Bhartiya Kisan Union spoke with NewsClick while she was being detained. She alleged that the police manhandled the wrestlers including women.
Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia – who have been among the ones spearheading the protest – were also taken into custody along with several activists from All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).
Malik could be seen being dragged by the police while she was raising slogans.
Mandeep, one of the wrestlers, alleged that her clothes were torn apart and her already fractured hand got injured in the kerfuffle.
After all the wrestlers were detained, the Delhi Police also wound up their tent and closed the site for media access.
According to the police personnel, the detainees were sent to multiple locations including Kapashera and Jajjhar.
NewsClick spoke with a few other people who had come to express solidarity with the wrestlers but were stopped by the police.
Madhu Prasad, a former professor at the Delhi University, who had come to extend support said that the BJP is the new ruler and doesn’t see itself as the government. “For them, this is a king’s rule,” she said.
“Civil liberties in this country are on a decline since this government has come to power. This brutal assault on protesters and dissent in general has validated this fact,” said Prasad.
She also questioned the politics behind keeping the accused, Brij Bhushan Singh, safe amidst such a huge protest.
Farmers Detained at Singhu Border, JNU Students 'Prevented' from Joining Wrestlers
Amid heavy deployment of police, jawans, and paramilitary forces, 100 farmers who tried to enter Delhi from the Singhu border were detained by Haryana Police.
Tejvir Singh from Bharatiya Kisan Union (Shahid Bhagat Singh) said that they could apprehend a massive crackdown by the police and administration in Ambala after officials from the intelligence wing "started calling farmers' leaders about the mahapanchayat".
Talking to NewsClick, he said, "The deras suddenly announced that there would be huge langars on Sunday. It is not a coincidence. So, we found it very difficult to find buses. We had to call buses from Punjab and Kalka to take people to Delhi. Then we started receiving calls from intelligence officers enquiring about our plans and the extent of mobilisation. Social media handles were closely monitored. Our buses were stopped at Manjit Sahib Gurudwara in Ambala. Other leaders were raided too."
Singh added that the children in the family were particularly frightened as they did not know anything about the ongoing movement to seek justice against sexual harassment.
Ranjit Singh Raju, secretary of Ganna Kisan Sangharsh Samiti Rajasthan, said that he had been consistently getting calls from farmer leaders about "run and chase". He opined that the police and administration have not learnt anything from the farmers' movement. "They do not know that youths have joined the movement and there will be a sea of people on the streets soon.”
He added that the farmers are on the streets as they share the pain and misery of women wrestlers who are seeking justice against sexual harassment. “Had Modi listened to them, we would not have been on the streets. It is clear that he does not consider them daughters of India," said Raju.
Pavel Kussa from Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Ugrahan told NewsClick that they have organised a large assembly in Chandigarh to express solidarity with women wrestlers. “We will be mobilising people from across Punjab to tell them how democracy was butchered in the name of the new parliament.”
Gaurav Rajpurohit, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sonipat told NewsClick, "The farmers were detained after they tried to stage a protest at National Highway 48. We have taken them into preventive detention and they will be questioned about the intent of the protest. So far, no places have been designated as temporary jails.”
Several Students leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru University too alleged that they were taken into custody from the gate of the institute itself when they were going out to extend solidarity to the wrestlers.
Madhurima, an AISA activist, said, "I was physically restrained just as I stepped outside the JNU main gate. The female police gheraoed me and tried to intimidate me by taking videos from their personal phones. There is heavy police deployment in and outside JNU to stop students from going to Mahila Panchayat”.
Aishe Ghosh, president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union, told NewsClick that the police officials asked them not to let any student go outside the exit gates of the university. "Several students and even teachers were detained at Vasant Kunj police station. It is sheer irony that the inauguration of the new Parliament building is being celebrated as a festival of democracy; whereas, the democratic rights of citizens do not matter in the eyes of this government!”
Tikri Border Transformed into a 'Camp'
Following in the footsteps of Singhu and Ghazipur, Tikri Border witnessed a dramatic transformation into a fortified camp today, employing imposing barricades, massive stones, and significant deployment of police forces. The motive behind this imposing display was to deter a group of women farmers who had planned to journey from Tikri Border to Delhi in solidarity with the wrestlers staging a protest at Jantar Mantar. However, the police authorities denied them entry, preventing their passage across the border.
Undeterred, the farmers at Tikri Border held a protest, raising strong slogans against the Modi government and the Khattar government in Haryana. They reiterated the demand for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The farmers stated that they would continue their protest until the authorities take action, and they will only stop when Brij Bhushan is arrested.
As the farmers' protest grew more intense, the police responded by arresting everyone involved. The farmers were taken into custody and transported to the Mahila Shahar police station in Bahadurgarh.
(With inputs from Ravi Kaushal and Ravi Dubey)
Courtesy: Newsclick
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Eddelu Karnataka Urges Siddaramaiah Govt to Repeal Unjust Laws, Combat Hate Politics, Address Inflation/Unemployment
On the death anniversary of HS Doreswamy (Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy April 10, 1918-May 26, 2021) Eddelu Karnataka organized a public gathering to honour him, AK Subiah, and Gauri Lankesh. They pledged to continue the fight for a people-oriented governance. An Open Letter to Siddaramaiah government was also released on the occasion
The expectation of the people from the Congress government is very high. In the words of Devanura Mahadeva. “Enough of words, now works must speak”, " 2024 will be won with deeds, not just with words". "We must be inspired next to call for Eddelu India”. We hope that his words come true.
At the vibrant function in Bengaluru on Friday, May 26, an Open Letter to the newly elected government was given. Senior activists were present including those who had worked hard to make the Eddelu Karnataka movement a reality, built alliances, and worked on the ground.
The contents of the May 26 is below:
People's expectations and steps that Congress must take to fulfil them
The Congress party has to take three main steps to respond to public expectations:
1. Fulfil its promises: The five guarantees given by the Congress – increased rations, 200 units of free electricity, Rs 2000 per month for women of the household, free travel for women and Rs 3000 per month for the unemployed - must be implemented without fail.
Whether right or wrong, you must honour the word you have given to the people. We believe these are only emergency measures to alleviate suffering, not permanent solutions. The real solution to the problems of the society today is to raise people’s incomes, ensure employment, reduce costs and create an environment of mutual cooperation and fraternity. Although the government should work in that direction in the long run, today it should first fulfil its promises.
2. Mend the damage done by the BJP’s misrule:
The BJP’s rule has brought two kinds of damage:
-
Anti-people laws to further corporate interests and hate politics have been ushered, such as the Land Reforms Amendment Act, APMC Act, Cattle Act, National Education Policy, Anti-conversion Act, Electricity Privatization Act, casteism in the revision of textbooks, cancellation of reservation for minorities, betrayal under the guise of reservation etc. Cases were filed against those who fought against these evil policies, taking away the possibility of protest.
-
Shocking increase in prices, 40% corruption and rampant politicization have made the life of the common man unbearable.
The second main task before the Congress government is to repeal all these anti-people measures and acts and formulate pro-people acts. The socio-economic situation of each community should be transparently put forth through a caste census, and a comprehensive solution evolved by taking the public into confidence. All cases filed against activists by the previous government should be withdrawn and the people's right to protest restored. Plans should be made to curb corruption and price rise, and re-establish a spirit of peace and fraternity.
3. Government should be responsive to people's demands: Those who govern should first listen to people’s demands, before deciding the government’s course of action. The government should reach out and listen to various groups who have put forward different demands and struggled for them, and collectively work out a solution. People’s demands are reasonable – for farmers, a fair price for their crops and rights over bagair hokum lands; housing for the homeless, strengthening of MGNREGA and its expansion to cities, an increase in minimum wages, equal pay for equal work, job security, social justice, fair reservations with internal reservation, extortion-free education, accessible healthcare, nutritious food, old pension scheme, security for the destitute, protection and proper status for women, abolition of evil practices and freedom from debt. In short, what people are asking for is a dignified, peaceful life. How can a government not respond to this? It is easy to come up with a long list of what the government should do. We are not doing it, instead, we have a simple request. First, get each department to reach out and start a dialogue with the people and those who are fighting for the people. Consult the social organizations, take comprehensive decisions and begin work at once. Create a democratic system where the government is subject to public scrutiny so that all can see whether you are working as you have promised.
If the government responds to the people, the people will respond to the government. You will see even better results in 2024. Otherwise, power is never permanent. There is no other alternative to avoid the danger of the same evil forces seizing power again. Hence the Congress must pay attention to the above three aspects.
We will continue our duty as the voice of civil society, and work as a real and constructive opposition party. We will cooperate with the government’s good work, and at the same time oppose its negligence. We trust you will honour and respect this relationship.
We end with one last word from concerned citizens - “Let the government act as it speaks, and let its actions be its words”.
On behalf of all the common people of Karnataka, “Eddelu Karnataka”….
Rest of the Letter
May 6, 2023
An open letter
To the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and all Ministers and MLAs of the Congress Party:
At long last, Karnataka has heaved a big sigh of relief. The people of the state have rejected the government which has given them unprecedented bad governance. They have given your party a clear majority. We offer our best wishes to you and all your party workers for this victory. We all hope your government will serve its full five years with stability and unity. On this occasion, we would like to bring some issues to your attention.
First of all, we hope you will agree that this victory is not only the victory of the Congress party but also the victory of the masses. The anger within the people of the state has expressed itself as contempt for the BJP. It was not only the people who were determined to defeat this misrule - many pro-people organizations, grassroots organizations, literary thinkers and media friends worked tirelessly to mobilize the people's minds towards it. Organizations of Dalits, minorities, backward communities, farmers, agricultural workers, labour, women, sexual minorities and transgender communities, and many democratic organizations worked relentlessly. Special recognition is due to individuals and organizations from the Lingayath, Vaishya and Brahmin communities who worked to defeat the BJP. Amongst these various efforts, of special note is 'Eddelu Karnataka', which emerged as a collective action of many organizations and eminent people. It can be said with confidence that 'Eddelu Karnataka' has created a new type of program and worked hard to influence the vote. It has taken on the duty both of shaping the public opinion and organizing the secular voters.
Our social media teams strived to convey the issues of price hike, corruption and hate politics that have devastated the people's lives. With more than 1000 posters in different languages, 80 videos and 8 effective song albums, they have touched people's hearts. Apart from committed print media,s a new generation of digital media houses emerging as an alternative 1 to Godi Media has exposed BJP's mismanagement on a large scale and foiled their plots through more than 500 stories. The effective countering of the BJP’s Urigowda – Nanje Gowda campaign is an example of this.
Eddelu Karnataka was also active on the ground, selecting 103 constituencies where BJP is strong and forming over 150 teams to take the message of “Why BJP must be defeated” to the doorsteps of the people. More than 10 lakh copies of literature were printed for this effective campaign across the state. People have memorized the three basic principles of defeating the BJP - "Voting should be increased", "Votes should not be divided", and "Vote only for those who can defeat the BJP". These three formulas, especially the third one, had a great effect on the results. On the basis of this stand, efforts to defeat the BJP have been made in essence by rallying support to Congress in most constituencies, but also JDS and other candidates in a few even as the need to struggle with them eventually was also stressed.
In sum, Eddelu Karnataka has not limited itself to ideological campaigning, but has effectively reached out to the grassroots and influenced voting behavior to a good extent. The pent-up anger of the people, the hope created by the Congress party guarantees and the active role played by social forces including Eddelu Karnataka all came together to ensure victory.
This campaign has brought immense experience to civil society. It has built the confidence that people can be organized on an even larger scale by 2024. In this context, what needs to be clarified is that 'Eddelu Karnataka' was an independent civil society campaign. Those in it do not belong to any party and have not received any financial assistance from any party. The driving force behind the entire campaign is the urge to remove the anti-constitutional, dictatorial, socially harmful BJP from power.
Together, we have pushed back the misrule of this BJP government. But the real challenge starts here. People are fed up with BJP and have chosen Congress with great hope and expectations, despite some doubt whether the Congress would fulfil its promises. Congress now should decide whether it will meet the expectations of the people, or disappoint them. This time we said clearly, "Defeat the BJP which has brought misrule". For us to approach the people with the same spirit in 2024, the Congress has to meet the expectations of the people. In the words of Devanura Mahadeva. “Enough of words, now works must speak”, " 2024 will be won with deeds, not just with words". "We must be inspired next to call for Eddelu India”. We hope that his words come true.
Related:
Social media campaigns seeking accountability gain traction ahead of Karnataka assembly elections
Citizens, civil society hold the ruling party, BJP to account: #ReportCard Karnataka
Eddelu Karnataka Urges Siddaramaiah Govt to Repeal Unjust Laws, Combat Hate Politics, Address Inflation/Unemployment
On the death anniversary of HS Doreswamy (Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy April 10, 1918-May 26, 2021) Eddelu Karnataka organized a public gathering to honour him, AK Subiah, and Gauri Lankesh. They pledged to continue the fight for a people-oriented governance. An Open Letter to Siddaramaiah government was also released on the occasion
The expectation of the people from the Congress government is very high. In the words of Devanura Mahadeva. “Enough of words, now works must speak”, " 2024 will be won with deeds, not just with words". "We must be inspired next to call for Eddelu India”. We hope that his words come true.
At the vibrant function in Bengaluru on Friday, May 26, an Open Letter to the newly elected government was given. Senior activists were present including those who had worked hard to make the Eddelu Karnataka movement a reality, built alliances, and worked on the ground.
The contents of the May 26 is below:
People's expectations and steps that Congress must take to fulfil them
The Congress party has to take three main steps to respond to public expectations:
1. Fulfil its promises: The five guarantees given by the Congress – increased rations, 200 units of free electricity, Rs 2000 per month for women of the household, free travel for women and Rs 3000 per month for the unemployed - must be implemented without fail.
Whether right or wrong, you must honour the word you have given to the people. We believe these are only emergency measures to alleviate suffering, not permanent solutions. The real solution to the problems of the society today is to raise people’s incomes, ensure employment, reduce costs and create an environment of mutual cooperation and fraternity. Although the government should work in that direction in the long run, today it should first fulfil its promises.
2. Mend the damage done by the BJP’s misrule:
The BJP’s rule has brought two kinds of damage:
-
Anti-people laws to further corporate interests and hate politics have been ushered, such as the Land Reforms Amendment Act, APMC Act, Cattle Act, National Education Policy, Anti-conversion Act, Electricity Privatization Act, casteism in the revision of textbooks, cancellation of reservation for minorities, betrayal under the guise of reservation etc. Cases were filed against those who fought against these evil policies, taking away the possibility of protest.
-
Shocking increase in prices, 40% corruption and rampant politicization have made the life of the common man unbearable.
The second main task before the Congress government is to repeal all these anti-people measures and acts and formulate pro-people acts. The socio-economic situation of each community should be transparently put forth through a caste census, and a comprehensive solution evolved by taking the public into confidence. All cases filed against activists by the previous government should be withdrawn and the people's right to protest restored. Plans should be made to curb corruption and price rise, and re-establish a spirit of peace and fraternity.
3. Government should be responsive to people's demands: Those who govern should first listen to people’s demands, before deciding the government’s course of action. The government should reach out and listen to various groups who have put forward different demands and struggled for them, and collectively work out a solution. People’s demands are reasonable – for farmers, a fair price for their crops and rights over bagair hokum lands; housing for the homeless, strengthening of MGNREGA and its expansion to cities, an increase in minimum wages, equal pay for equal work, job security, social justice, fair reservations with internal reservation, extortion-free education, accessible healthcare, nutritious food, old pension scheme, security for the destitute, protection and proper status for women, abolition of evil practices and freedom from debt. In short, what people are asking for is a dignified, peaceful life. How can a government not respond to this? It is easy to come up with a long list of what the government should do. We are not doing it, instead, we have a simple request. First, get each department to reach out and start a dialogue with the people and those who are fighting for the people. Consult the social organizations, take comprehensive decisions and begin work at once. Create a democratic system where the government is subject to public scrutiny so that all can see whether you are working as you have promised.
If the government responds to the people, the people will respond to the government. You will see even better results in 2024. Otherwise, power is never permanent. There is no other alternative to avoid the danger of the same evil forces seizing power again. Hence the Congress must pay attention to the above three aspects.
We will continue our duty as the voice of civil society, and work as a real and constructive opposition party. We will cooperate with the government’s good work, and at the same time oppose its negligence. We trust you will honour and respect this relationship.
We end with one last word from concerned citizens - “Let the government act as it speaks, and let its actions be its words”.
On behalf of all the common people of Karnataka, “Eddelu Karnataka”….
Rest of the Letter
May 6, 2023
An open letter
To the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and all Ministers and MLAs of the Congress Party:
At long last, Karnataka has heaved a big sigh of relief. The people of the state have rejected the government which has given them unprecedented bad governance. They have given your party a clear majority. We offer our best wishes to you and all your party workers for this victory. We all hope your government will serve its full five years with stability and unity. On this occasion, we would like to bring some issues to your attention.
First of all, we hope you will agree that this victory is not only the victory of the Congress party but also the victory of the masses. The anger within the people of the state has expressed itself as contempt for the BJP. It was not only the people who were determined to defeat this misrule - many pro-people organizations, grassroots organizations, literary thinkers and media friends worked tirelessly to mobilize the people's minds towards it. Organizations of Dalits, minorities, backward communities, farmers, agricultural workers, labour, women, sexual minorities and transgender communities, and many democratic organizations worked relentlessly. Special recognition is due to individuals and organizations from the Lingayath, Vaishya and Brahmin communities who worked to defeat the BJP. Amongst these various efforts, of special note is 'Eddelu Karnataka', which emerged as a collective action of many organizations and eminent people. It can be said with confidence that 'Eddelu Karnataka' has created a new type of program and worked hard to influence the vote. It has taken on the duty both of shaping the public opinion and organizing the secular voters.
Our social media teams strived to convey the issues of price hike, corruption and hate politics that have devastated the people's lives. With more than 1000 posters in different languages, 80 videos and 8 effective song albums, they have touched people's hearts. Apart from committed print media,s a new generation of digital media houses emerging as an alternative 1 to Godi Media has exposed BJP's mismanagement on a large scale and foiled their plots through more than 500 stories. The effective countering of the BJP’s Urigowda – Nanje Gowda campaign is an example of this.
Eddelu Karnataka was also active on the ground, selecting 103 constituencies where BJP is strong and forming over 150 teams to take the message of “Why BJP must be defeated” to the doorsteps of the people. More than 10 lakh copies of literature were printed for this effective campaign across the state. People have memorized the three basic principles of defeating the BJP - "Voting should be increased", "Votes should not be divided", and "Vote only for those who can defeat the BJP". These three formulas, especially the third one, had a great effect on the results. On the basis of this stand, efforts to defeat the BJP have been made in essence by rallying support to Congress in most constituencies, but also JDS and other candidates in a few even as the need to struggle with them eventually was also stressed.
In sum, Eddelu Karnataka has not limited itself to ideological campaigning, but has effectively reached out to the grassroots and influenced voting behavior to a good extent. The pent-up anger of the people, the hope created by the Congress party guarantees and the active role played by social forces including Eddelu Karnataka all came together to ensure victory.
This campaign has brought immense experience to civil society. It has built the confidence that people can be organized on an even larger scale by 2024. In this context, what needs to be clarified is that 'Eddelu Karnataka' was an independent civil society campaign. Those in it do not belong to any party and have not received any financial assistance from any party. The driving force behind the entire campaign is the urge to remove the anti-constitutional, dictatorial, socially harmful BJP from power.
Together, we have pushed back the misrule of this BJP government. But the real challenge starts here. People are fed up with BJP and have chosen Congress with great hope and expectations, despite some doubt whether the Congress would fulfil its promises. Congress now should decide whether it will meet the expectations of the people, or disappoint them. This time we said clearly, "Defeat the BJP which has brought misrule". For us to approach the people with the same spirit in 2024, the Congress has to meet the expectations of the people. In the words of Devanura Mahadeva. “Enough of words, now works must speak”, " 2024 will be won with deeds, not just with words". "We must be inspired next to call for Eddelu India”. We hope that his words come true.
Related:
Social media campaigns seeking accountability gain traction ahead of Karnataka assembly elections
Citizens, civil society hold the ruling party, BJP to account: #ReportCard Karnataka
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Gujarat HC orders status quo on Dahod Nagina Masjid demolitions
The Gujarat High Court directed the Dahod municipality to follow ‘due process of law’ on Nagina Masjid plot and give the petitioners the opportunity of a hearing.
Image: The Indian Express
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday, May 23 ordered authorities in Dahod to maintain the status quo on the land parcel where a century old Nagina Masjid stood. In the early hours of May 20 the administration had razed parts of the structure to the ground. The HC directed the municipality to follow “due process of law” reported The Indian Express..
In a petition moved by the Nagina Masjid Trust before Gujarat High Court the week before last, the Trust had pointed out that while notices under the Gujarat Municipalities Act were issued to nearby shops over alleged encroachment and these were demolished on May 15, the authorities also started demolishing other shops that were under the ownership of the petitioner Trust without due process and issuance of any notice.
The petitioners also stated that no official notice was issued to the Trust for the mosque demolition. They were only informally told by the authorities that the “petitioner and others may remove all the religious books, Quran and other revered articles from the Masjid till Friday (May 19) as the Masjid will be demolished after evening prayers”.
The Trust has submitted before the court that the mosque had been standing at the spot since 1926 in a part of the Trust’s land, which was registered in 1953. Some of the shops on other parts of the land – which have now been demolished – were given on rent by the Trust and Waqf over the years, the court was also told.
The Trust further also submitted proof that the mosque was “protected and could not be demolished, more particularly in view of provisions under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991”, and given that the masjid is a Waqf property, no action could have been undertaken without the approval of the Waqf Board.
The court of Justice S V Pinto on Tuesday also issued notice to the authorities and sought that the Dahod authorities respond to the contentions raised in the petition by June 8, until when the authorities have been directed to maintain the status quo.
In another petition moved by Anjumane Mohammadi Jamat through its administrator and secretary Asgarali Ahmedali Rayli, it was contended by the petitioner that they apprehend demolition of another Mosque (masjid) although they have formally not been served with a notice by the Dahod authorities as is required under the Gujarat Municipalities Act. On Tuesday, Justice Pinto, after hearing both sides, disposed of the petition with an instruction to the government counsel that the petitioner be provided with an opportunity of a hearing before taking any coercive steps.
Justice Pinto directed the Dahod municipality to follow “due process of law and give an opportunity of hearing before taking any coercive actions and the petitioners must be allowed to put forward their case. The nagarpalika (municipality) shall give an opportunity of hearing to petitioners and give a reasoned order.”
May 20-21, 2023
A mosque, believed to be around a century old, was among eight places of worship razed Saturday by the Dahod Smart City administration in Gujarat. Amid huge police deployment, the massive demolition drive began at the Nagina Mosque around 4.30 a.m.
The mosque was razed under a Smart City road widening project after the Masjid Trust failed to get relief from the Gujarat High Court or produce land record documents on Friday, officials said. Hours after the mosque demolition, four temples and three other dargahs were also razed.
As a part of two-tier security arrangements, around 450 police personnel were deployed for the 4.30 am demolition. The mosque was “demolished in a peaceful and amicable” manner, officials added.
“The Trust had sought time on its own until Friday to produce land records. The administration conceded to the request. But on Friday, the records it brought were not reliable,” Dahod Superintendent of Police Balram Meena, who is part of the district-level panel for the implementation of the Smart City Project, told the IE.
“On Friday evening, a meeting was held between the mosque members with the sub-divisional magistrate, Prant Officer, and chief officer of the municipality, among others, where the Trust members agreed to evacuate the premises on being given the option to demolish the structure on their own. We did not have to enter the premises as they had already evacuated the structure. The police deployment will remain but we do not anticipate any trouble,” Meena added.
Related:
Aftermath of Demolition Drive in Tughlakabad: Hunger and Homelessness Rife
Demolition of 3 Churches in BJP-Ruled Manipur for 'Illegal Construction' causes social media uproar
Gujarat HC orders status quo on Dahod Nagina Masjid demolitions
The Gujarat High Court directed the Dahod municipality to follow ‘due process of law’ on Nagina Masjid plot and give the petitioners the opportunity of a hearing.
Image: The Indian Express
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday, May 23 ordered authorities in Dahod to maintain the status quo on the land parcel where a century old Nagina Masjid stood. In the early hours of May 20 the administration had razed parts of the structure to the ground. The HC directed the municipality to follow “due process of law” reported The Indian Express..
In a petition moved by the Nagina Masjid Trust before Gujarat High Court the week before last, the Trust had pointed out that while notices under the Gujarat Municipalities Act were issued to nearby shops over alleged encroachment and these were demolished on May 15, the authorities also started demolishing other shops that were under the ownership of the petitioner Trust without due process and issuance of any notice.
The petitioners also stated that no official notice was issued to the Trust for the mosque demolition. They were only informally told by the authorities that the “petitioner and others may remove all the religious books, Quran and other revered articles from the Masjid till Friday (May 19) as the Masjid will be demolished after evening prayers”.
The Trust has submitted before the court that the mosque had been standing at the spot since 1926 in a part of the Trust’s land, which was registered in 1953. Some of the shops on other parts of the land – which have now been demolished – were given on rent by the Trust and Waqf over the years, the court was also told.
The Trust further also submitted proof that the mosque was “protected and could not be demolished, more particularly in view of provisions under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991”, and given that the masjid is a Waqf property, no action could have been undertaken without the approval of the Waqf Board.
The court of Justice S V Pinto on Tuesday also issued notice to the authorities and sought that the Dahod authorities respond to the contentions raised in the petition by June 8, until when the authorities have been directed to maintain the status quo.
In another petition moved by Anjumane Mohammadi Jamat through its administrator and secretary Asgarali Ahmedali Rayli, it was contended by the petitioner that they apprehend demolition of another Mosque (masjid) although they have formally not been served with a notice by the Dahod authorities as is required under the Gujarat Municipalities Act. On Tuesday, Justice Pinto, after hearing both sides, disposed of the petition with an instruction to the government counsel that the petitioner be provided with an opportunity of a hearing before taking any coercive steps.
Justice Pinto directed the Dahod municipality to follow “due process of law and give an opportunity of hearing before taking any coercive actions and the petitioners must be allowed to put forward their case. The nagarpalika (municipality) shall give an opportunity of hearing to petitioners and give a reasoned order.”
May 20-21, 2023
A mosque, believed to be around a century old, was among eight places of worship razed Saturday by the Dahod Smart City administration in Gujarat. Amid huge police deployment, the massive demolition drive began at the Nagina Mosque around 4.30 a.m.
The mosque was razed under a Smart City road widening project after the Masjid Trust failed to get relief from the Gujarat High Court or produce land record documents on Friday, officials said. Hours after the mosque demolition, four temples and three other dargahs were also razed.
As a part of two-tier security arrangements, around 450 police personnel were deployed for the 4.30 am demolition. The mosque was “demolished in a peaceful and amicable” manner, officials added.
“The Trust had sought time on its own until Friday to produce land records. The administration conceded to the request. But on Friday, the records it brought were not reliable,” Dahod Superintendent of Police Balram Meena, who is part of the district-level panel for the implementation of the Smart City Project, told the IE.
“On Friday evening, a meeting was held between the mosque members with the sub-divisional magistrate, Prant Officer, and chief officer of the municipality, among others, where the Trust members agreed to evacuate the premises on being given the option to demolish the structure on their own. We did not have to enter the premises as they had already evacuated the structure. The police deployment will remain but we do not anticipate any trouble,” Meena added.
Related:
Aftermath of Demolition Drive in Tughlakabad: Hunger and Homelessness Rife
Demolition of 3 Churches in BJP-Ruled Manipur for 'Illegal Construction' causes social media uproar
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Indian Civil Services should be neutral not adjuncts of governments in power: Former bureaucrats, CCG
Signals given by the prime minister and other high ups of this regime threaten to redact and diminish the Indian civil services from Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s vision says the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) of former bureaucrats
A systematic attempt is being made to change the character of the civil services, particularly the IAS and the IPS, which, in our constitutional scheme, were uniquely intended to be a protective ring around the Constitution, unaffected by political changes, having an All India perspective rather than a regional, parochial one and being secure enough to maintain an independent, nonpartisan outlook, without fear or favour. It is in this context that former bureaucrats have written an Open Letter to the Indian President, Draupadi Murmu.
“The bedrock of all civil services in any democracy worth the name is their independence, neutrality, non-adherence to any political ideology in the discharge of official duties, the freedom to articulate their views to the political executive and the security of knowing that they would not be subjected to arbitrary actions for adhering to these values.
“These foundational characteristics had been forcefully expressed by Sardar Patel in his address to the Constituent Assembly in October 1947 in the following words:
“There is no alternative to this administrative system…The Union will go, you will not have a united India if you do not have a good All India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has the sense of security that you will stand by your work…If you do not follow this course, then do not follow the present Constitution…Remove them and I see nothing but a picture of chaos all over the country.”
“Contrary to the above exhortation, we fear that the government, of which you are the constitutional head, is now attempting to distort this basic framework and historical understanding.
Further, measures are being taken that threaten the unique federal design of the IAS and the IPS, which underlies Sardar Patel’s vision of a permanent civil service that would both bind the country together and enable it to maintain a balance between the interests of the Union and the interests of the States. There are noticeable attempts to pressurise officers to show exclusive loyalty to the Union rather than to the ‘parent’ state cadre to which they are allotted. On occasion, arbitrary departmental actions have been taken against those who refuse to do so. Service Rules are sought to be amended to compel central deputations without the consent of either the officers concerned or their state governments, effectively undermining the authority and control of Chief Ministers over their officers. This has disturbed the federal balance and left civil servants torn between conflicting loyalties, thereby weakening their ability to be impartial.
“In the past governments have permitted lateral recruitment at senior levels and many such officers have distinguished themselves. Lately, however, there has been opacity in the recruitment process at mid-levels and concerns that candidates are being chosen based on their ideological predilections. The consequences of this for the future of an independent civil service requires no comment.
The CCG has also flagged certain concerning statements by high functionaries.
“The actions and words of some very senior functionaries of the central government increases our concern on the future of the civil service and the consequent danger to democracy in India.
“In this context we would like to mention that the National Security Advisor (NSA), while addressing IPS officers at their passing out function in 2021, had emphasised that they should treat civil society as the “fourth generation of warfare, that can be subverted, suborned, divided and manipulated to hurt the interests of the nation”. Such sentiments are antithetical to any democratic dispensation and aim at placing civil society in a position of conflict with the state.
“On the April 21, this year, the Prime Minister addressed a gathering of civil service officers on Civil Services Day. The address was unremarkable and comprised largely of a litany of the achievements of the present government over the past nine years, with a proforma acknowledgement of the contributions of the civil services. What was disturbing was his exhortation to the officers to be firm in dealing with malfeasance of political parties while in power. Though couched neutrally, the intent and objective were unmistakable.”
The bureaucrats have stated that their “concern about the future of the civil services is heightened by the reaction of some civil servants.
“The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (LBSNAA) is the foundational training institute for All India Services and Central Services. In a recent op-ed, the Director of the LBSNAA wrote, “The task of defining an Indian ethos for the civil servants began in the 75th year of India’s independence, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address where he spelt out the country’s vision….”. Such unwarranted encomiums to the Prime Minister, by the Director of the premier academy for training future civil servants, are deeply disturbing.”
The group states further that they” apprehend that moves are afoot to redact Sardar Patel’s vision of an independent and apolitical civil service and replace it with apparatchiks and foot soldiers whose loyalty shall be to the ruling party and not to the Constitution of India. “
Who is the CCG?
The CCG is a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. Both as individuals and as a group, we believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India. We do not owe allegiance to any political party.
At a time when politics is leaning dangerously towards a centralised, authoritarian, national security state with a leadership seemingly amenable to abandoning, without demur, the fundamental principles on which our Constitution is based, it has become critical for citizens to ensure that institutions and systems like the civil services which can check this frightening erosion of constitutional values in the manner envisaged by the great Sardar are protected and strengthened. By virtue of their allegiance to the Constitution and not the government of the day, the All India Services, particularly the IAS and IPS, have a critical role to play. As the Constitutional Head of the Republic, we appeal to you to convey our concerns to the Union Government and caution them that this attempt to change the character of the civil services is fraught with extreme danger and, as Sardar Patel had warned many years ago, will spell the death of constitutional government in India.
Constitutional Conduct Group (82 signatories, as below)
|
1. |
Anita Agnihotri |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment, GoI |
|
2. |
S.P. Ambrose |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI |
|
3. |
Anand Arni |
RAS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
4. |
Mohinderpal Aulakh |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police (Jails), Govt. of Punjab |
|
5. |
Vappala Balachandran |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
6. |
Chandrashekar Balakrishnan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Coal, GoI |
|
7. |
Sushant Baliga |
Engineering Services (Retd.) |
Former Additional Director General, Central PWD, GoI |
|
8. |
Rana Banerji |
RAS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
9. |
T.K. Banerji |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Union Public Service Commission |
|
10. |
Sharad Behar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
11. |
Aurobindo Behera |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha |
|
12. |
K.V. Bhagirath |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius |
|
13. |
Meeran C Borwankar |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and Development, GoI |
|
14. |
Ravi Budhiraja |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI |
|
15. |
Sundar Burra |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
16. |
R. Chandramohan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi |
|
17. |
Kalyani Chaudhuri |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
|
18. |
Gurjit Singh Cheema |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Govt. of Punjab |
|
19. |
F.T.R. Colaso |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Karnataka & former Director General of Police, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir |
|
20. |
Anna Dani |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
21. |
Surjit K. Das |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttarakhand |
|
22. |
P.R. Dasgupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI |
|
23. |
M.G. Devasahayam |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana |
|
24. |
Sushil Dubey |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Sweden |
|
25. |
A.S. Dulat |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s Office, GoI |
|
26. |
K.P. Fabian |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Italy |
|
27. |
Suresh K. Goel |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI |
|
28. |
H.S. Gujral |
IFoS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Punjab |
|
29. |
Meena Gupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI |
|
30. |
Ravi Vira Gupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India |
|
31. |
Vinod C. Khanna |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Secretary, MEA, GoI |
|
32. |
Ish Kumar |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt. of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission |
|
33. |
Sudhir Kumar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal |
|
34. |
Subodh Lal |
IPoS (Resigned) |
Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI |
|
35. |
Harsh Mander |
IAS (Retd.) |
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
36. |
Amitabh Mathur |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
37. |
L.L. Mehrotra |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Special Envoy to the Prime Minister and former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, GoI |
|
38. |
Aditi Mehta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan |
|
39. |
Sonalini Mirchandani |
IFS (Resigned) |
GoI |
|
40. |
Noor Mohammad |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of India |
|
41. |
Deb Mukharji |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal |
|
42. |
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom |
|
43. |
Nagalsamy |
IA&AS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu & Kerala |
|
44. |
Sobha Nambisan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka |
|
45. |
Ramesh Narayanaswami |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi |
|
46. |
Surendra Nath |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
47. |
P. Joy Oommen |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh |
|
48. |
Amitabha Pande |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI |
|
49. |
Maxwell Pereira |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi |
|
50. |
Alok Perti |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI |
|
51. |
R. Poornalingam |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI |
|
52. |
Rajesh Prasad |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to the Netherlands |
|
53. |
R.M. Premkumar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
54. |
T.R. Raghunandan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI |
|
55. |
N.K. Raghupathy |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
|
|
56. |
V.P. Raja |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission |
|
57. |
P.V. Ramesh |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Addl. Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh |
|
58. |
Satwant Reddy |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI |
|
59. |
Vijaya Latha Reddy |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI |
|
60. |
Julio Ribeiro |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania |
|
61. |
Aruna Roy |
IAS (Resigned) |
|
|
62. |
A.K. Samanta |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal |
|
63. |
N.C. Saxena |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI |
|
64. |
A. Selvaraj |
IRS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI |
|
65. |
Ardhendu Sen |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
|
66. |
Abhijit Sengupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI |
|
67. |
Aftab Seth |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Japan |
|
68. |
Ashok Kumar Sharma |
IFoS (Retd.) |
Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat |
|
69. |
Ashok Kumar Sharma |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia |
|
70. |
Navrekha Sharma |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Indonesia |
|
71. |
Raju Sharma |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh |
|
72. |
Avay Shukla |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests & Technical Education), Govt. of Himachal Pradesh |
|
73. |
Sujatha Singh |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Foreign Secretary, GoI |
|
74. |
Tirlochan Singh |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI |
|
75. |
A.K. Srivastava |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Administrative Member, Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal |
|
76. |
Parveen Talha |
IRS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Union Public Service Commission |
|
77. |
Anup Thakur |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission |
|
78. |
P.S.S. Thomas |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission |
|
79. |
Geetha Thoopal |
IRAS (Retd.) |
Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata |
|
80. |
Jawed Usmani |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh & former Chief Information Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh |
|
81. |
Ramani Venkatesan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
82. |
Rudi Warjri |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica |
Indian Civil Services should be neutral not adjuncts of governments in power: Former bureaucrats, CCG
Signals given by the prime minister and other high ups of this regime threaten to redact and diminish the Indian civil services from Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s vision says the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) of former bureaucrats
A systematic attempt is being made to change the character of the civil services, particularly the IAS and the IPS, which, in our constitutional scheme, were uniquely intended to be a protective ring around the Constitution, unaffected by political changes, having an All India perspective rather than a regional, parochial one and being secure enough to maintain an independent, nonpartisan outlook, without fear or favour. It is in this context that former bureaucrats have written an Open Letter to the Indian President, Draupadi Murmu.
“The bedrock of all civil services in any democracy worth the name is their independence, neutrality, non-adherence to any political ideology in the discharge of official duties, the freedom to articulate their views to the political executive and the security of knowing that they would not be subjected to arbitrary actions for adhering to these values.
“These foundational characteristics had been forcefully expressed by Sardar Patel in his address to the Constituent Assembly in October 1947 in the following words:
“There is no alternative to this administrative system…The Union will go, you will not have a united India if you do not have a good All India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has the sense of security that you will stand by your work…If you do not follow this course, then do not follow the present Constitution…Remove them and I see nothing but a picture of chaos all over the country.”
“Contrary to the above exhortation, we fear that the government, of which you are the constitutional head, is now attempting to distort this basic framework and historical understanding.
Further, measures are being taken that threaten the unique federal design of the IAS and the IPS, which underlies Sardar Patel’s vision of a permanent civil service that would both bind the country together and enable it to maintain a balance between the interests of the Union and the interests of the States. There are noticeable attempts to pressurise officers to show exclusive loyalty to the Union rather than to the ‘parent’ state cadre to which they are allotted. On occasion, arbitrary departmental actions have been taken against those who refuse to do so. Service Rules are sought to be amended to compel central deputations without the consent of either the officers concerned or their state governments, effectively undermining the authority and control of Chief Ministers over their officers. This has disturbed the federal balance and left civil servants torn between conflicting loyalties, thereby weakening their ability to be impartial.
“In the past governments have permitted lateral recruitment at senior levels and many such officers have distinguished themselves. Lately, however, there has been opacity in the recruitment process at mid-levels and concerns that candidates are being chosen based on their ideological predilections. The consequences of this for the future of an independent civil service requires no comment.
The CCG has also flagged certain concerning statements by high functionaries.
“The actions and words of some very senior functionaries of the central government increases our concern on the future of the civil service and the consequent danger to democracy in India.
“In this context we would like to mention that the National Security Advisor (NSA), while addressing IPS officers at their passing out function in 2021, had emphasised that they should treat civil society as the “fourth generation of warfare, that can be subverted, suborned, divided and manipulated to hurt the interests of the nation”. Such sentiments are antithetical to any democratic dispensation and aim at placing civil society in a position of conflict with the state.
“On the April 21, this year, the Prime Minister addressed a gathering of civil service officers on Civil Services Day. The address was unremarkable and comprised largely of a litany of the achievements of the present government over the past nine years, with a proforma acknowledgement of the contributions of the civil services. What was disturbing was his exhortation to the officers to be firm in dealing with malfeasance of political parties while in power. Though couched neutrally, the intent and objective were unmistakable.”
The bureaucrats have stated that their “concern about the future of the civil services is heightened by the reaction of some civil servants.
“The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (LBSNAA) is the foundational training institute for All India Services and Central Services. In a recent op-ed, the Director of the LBSNAA wrote, “The task of defining an Indian ethos for the civil servants began in the 75th year of India’s independence, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address where he spelt out the country’s vision….”. Such unwarranted encomiums to the Prime Minister, by the Director of the premier academy for training future civil servants, are deeply disturbing.”
The group states further that they” apprehend that moves are afoot to redact Sardar Patel’s vision of an independent and apolitical civil service and replace it with apparatchiks and foot soldiers whose loyalty shall be to the ruling party and not to the Constitution of India. “
Who is the CCG?
The CCG is a group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services who have worked with the Central and State Governments in the course of our careers. Both as individuals and as a group, we believe in impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India. We do not owe allegiance to any political party.
At a time when politics is leaning dangerously towards a centralised, authoritarian, national security state with a leadership seemingly amenable to abandoning, without demur, the fundamental principles on which our Constitution is based, it has become critical for citizens to ensure that institutions and systems like the civil services which can check this frightening erosion of constitutional values in the manner envisaged by the great Sardar are protected and strengthened. By virtue of their allegiance to the Constitution and not the government of the day, the All India Services, particularly the IAS and IPS, have a critical role to play. As the Constitutional Head of the Republic, we appeal to you to convey our concerns to the Union Government and caution them that this attempt to change the character of the civil services is fraught with extreme danger and, as Sardar Patel had warned many years ago, will spell the death of constitutional government in India.
Constitutional Conduct Group (82 signatories, as below)
|
1. |
Anita Agnihotri |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Department of Social Justice Empowerment, GoI |
|
2. |
S.P. Ambrose |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Shipping & Transport, GoI |
|
3. |
Anand Arni |
RAS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
4. |
Mohinderpal Aulakh |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police (Jails), Govt. of Punjab |
|
5. |
Vappala Balachandran |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
6. |
Chandrashekar Balakrishnan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Coal, GoI |
|
7. |
Sushant Baliga |
Engineering Services (Retd.) |
Former Additional Director General, Central PWD, GoI |
|
8. |
Rana Banerji |
RAS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
9. |
T.K. Banerji |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Union Public Service Commission |
|
10. |
Sharad Behar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
11. |
Aurobindo Behera |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Odisha |
|
12. |
K.V. Bhagirath |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary General, Indian Ocean Rim Association, Mauritius |
|
13. |
Meeran C Borwankar |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former DGP, Bureau of Police Research and Development, GoI |
|
14. |
Ravi Budhiraja |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, GoI |
|
15. |
Sundar Burra |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
16. |
R. Chandramohan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Secretary, Transport and Urban Development, Govt. of NCT of Delhi |
|
17. |
Kalyani Chaudhuri |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
|
18. |
Gurjit Singh Cheema |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Govt. of Punjab |
|
19. |
F.T.R. Colaso |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police, Govt. of Karnataka & former Director General of Police, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir |
|
20. |
Anna Dani |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
21. |
Surjit K. Das |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttarakhand |
|
22. |
P.R. Dasgupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Food Corporation of India, GoI |
|
23. |
M.G. Devasahayam |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Govt. of Haryana |
|
24. |
Sushil Dubey |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Sweden |
|
25. |
A.S. Dulat |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former OSD on Kashmir, Prime Minister’s Office, GoI |
|
26. |
K.P. Fabian |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Italy |
|
27. |
Suresh K. Goel |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, GoI |
|
28. |
H.S. Gujral |
IFoS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Punjab |
|
29. |
Meena Gupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI |
|
30. |
Ravi Vira Gupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India |
|
31. |
Vinod C. Khanna |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Secretary, MEA, GoI |
|
32. |
Ish Kumar |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former DGP (Vigilance & Enforcement), Govt. of Telangana and former Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission |
|
33. |
Sudhir Kumar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Central Administrative Tribunal |
|
34. |
Subodh Lal |
IPoS (Resigned) |
Former Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications, GoI |
|
35. |
Harsh Mander |
IAS (Retd.) |
Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
36. |
Amitabh Mathur |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
|
37. |
L.L. Mehrotra |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Special Envoy to the Prime Minister and former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, GoI |
|
38. |
Aditi Mehta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan |
|
39. |
Sonalini Mirchandani |
IFS (Resigned) |
GoI |
|
40. |
Noor Mohammad |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of India |
|
41. |
Deb Mukharji |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former High Commissioner to Bangladesh and former Ambassador to Nepal |
|
42. |
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom |
|
43. |
Nagalsamy |
IA&AS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Accountant General, Tamil Nadu & Kerala |
|
44. |
Sobha Nambisan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Principal Secretary (Planning), Govt. of Karnataka |
|
45. |
Ramesh Narayanaswami |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi |
|
46. |
Surendra Nath |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Finance Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh |
|
47. |
P. Joy Oommen |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Chhattisgarh |
|
48. |
Amitabha Pande |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GoI |
|
49. |
Maxwell Pereira |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi |
|
50. |
Alok Perti |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI |
|
51. |
R. Poornalingam |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, GoI |
|
52. |
Rajesh Prasad |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to the Netherlands |
|
53. |
R.M. Premkumar |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
54. |
T.R. Raghunandan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI |
|
55. |
N.K. Raghupathy |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, GoI
|
|
56. |
V.P. Raja |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chairman, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission |
|
57. |
P.V. Ramesh |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Addl. Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh |
|
58. |
Satwant Reddy |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, GoI |
|
59. |
Vijaya Latha Reddy |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Deputy National Security Adviser, GoI |
|
60. |
Julio Ribeiro |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Adviser to Governor of Punjab & former Ambassador to Romania |
|
61. |
Aruna Roy |
IAS (Resigned) |
|
|
62. |
A.K. Samanta |
IPS (Retd.) |
Former Director General of Police (Intelligence), Govt. of West Bengal |
|
63. |
N.C. Saxena |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Planning Commission, GoI |
|
64. |
A. Selvaraj |
IRS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, GoI |
|
65. |
Ardhendu Sen |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal |
|
66. |
Abhijit Sengupta |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, Ministry of Culture, GoI |
|
67. |
Aftab Seth |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Japan |
|
68. |
Ashok Kumar Sharma |
IFoS (Retd.) |
Former MD, State Forest Development Corporation, Govt. of Gujarat |
|
69. |
Ashok Kumar Sharma |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Finland and Estonia |
|
70. |
Navrekha Sharma |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Indonesia |
|
71. |
Raju Sharma |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh |
|
72. |
Avay Shukla |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Additional Chief Secretary (Forests & Technical Education), Govt. of Himachal Pradesh |
|
73. |
Sujatha Singh |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Foreign Secretary, GoI |
|
74. |
Tirlochan Singh |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary, National Commission for Minorities, GoI |
|
75. |
A.K. Srivastava |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Administrative Member, Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal |
|
76. |
Parveen Talha |
IRS (Retd.) |
Former Member, Union Public Service Commission |
|
77. |
Anup Thakur |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission |
|
78. |
P.S.S. Thomas |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission |
|
79. |
Geetha Thoopal |
IRAS (Retd.) |
Former General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata |
|
80. |
Jawed Usmani |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Chief Secretary, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh & former Chief Information Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh |
|
81. |
Ramani Venkatesan |
IAS (Retd.) |
Former Director General, YASHADA, Govt. of Maharashtra |
|
82. |
Rudi Warjri |
IFS (Retd.) |
Former Ambassador to Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica |
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Vote Share Percentage, Politics, Propaganda or Mathematics: Karnataka 2023
The authors argue, with the help of examples and figures, that a political party’s overall vote share, a one-dimensional summary of a very high-dimensional and complex electoral system, is far from being flawless; that the Congress vote share in Karnataka has steadily increased since 2008
It’s old news by now: the Indian National Congress (INC) has won the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election in a landslide, winning 135 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came second with 66 seats, while the Janata Dal (Secular) won 19 seats. The election saw a voter turnout of 73.19%, the highest ever recorded in the history of Legislative Assembly elections in Karnataka. The Congress's victory was attributed to a number of factors, including its strong campaign, the unpopularity of the BJP government, and others. The BJP's defeat was seen as a major setback for the party, which had been in power in Karnataka for the past 3 years and 10 months.
The reactions are not far from expected: INC is hoping to capitalise on its victory in Karnataka and win back power at the Centre. The BJP, on the other hand, is sticking to its game of trying to control the narrative by using the familiar tools of misdirection and half-truths. Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has reportedly recently said, “BJP never got more than 36% votes in Karnataka. This time also BJP got 36%. Five years ago, BJP got 104 seats, but this time our number of seats went down. It's not defeat. It's mathematics.”
Well, is it? Let us look at this so-called ‘mathematics’ a little closely and see why the pooled vote share is not at all a good or healthy way to look at the outcome of any election in India using a simple toy example followed by a real one.
As we all know, India has a multi-party, first-past-the-post electoral system. This means that the candidate who receives the most votes in a constituency wins, regardless of the margin of victory. As a result, the vote share does not directly translate into the number of seats won by a party. There are a number of socio-political factors that can impact the vote percentage in India, including regional variation, polarisation, voter turnout, lines of segregation along economic or caste lines, and so on.
However, we will not go deep into those trenches, at least not here, this time. We will stick to just one unambitious goal: showing that the total vote share has very little to do with who ‘wins’ the election. Let’s start with a “toy” example, albeit carefully chosen to drive home the point. In a fictional district, we have 3 constituencies (A, B, C) and 3 parties (X, Y, Z). Suppose their vote shares are as in Table 1. Roughly speaking, party X receives the highest percentage (38%) of the total votes, and yet fails to win even a single seat. Party Y, on the other hand, gets the lowest share (29%) of votes and wins 1 out of the 3 seats. Party Z, with the second largest vote share but the highest number of seats, forms the fictitious government because of its absolute majority!
If you find tables and numbers a bit dry, you can look at the following figure as well.
Is this surprising, or, a concocted, pathological example? Not at all! Let us go back in time a little bit and look at the Mysore district assembly election results in 2018. As per https://www.indiavotes.com/
Mysore, with its 11 seats, witnessed an intense electoral battle as all three major parties vied for victory across each constituency in 2018. In the absence of any alliances that could have influenced vote shares, an interesting picture emerges. Despite JD(S) securing the second-highest vote share, it emerged with the maximum number of seats. Interestingly, Congress garnered more than double the votes of BJP, yet both parties ended up with an equal number of seats. Delving deeper, we discover a strategic move by BJP, as it refrained from fielding strong contenders in seats like Hunasuru, Periyapatna, Chamundeshwari, T Narasipur, and Krishnarajanagara, where its vote shares ranged from 1.5% to 8%. Instead, the party focused on just six seats, successfully securing three of them. In the aforementioned five seats, the battle predominantly unfolded between JD(S) and Congress, with JD(S) emerging victorious in all five contests. Many observers interpreted BJP's absence from these seats as a subtle alliance between BJP and JD(S),
Going back to the comment of Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, if this is indeed a “half-truth”, then where is the other half? What he remained silent about is how the Congress vote share was the highest achieved by any party in the last 34 years of Karnataka's election history. Furthermore, the Congress vote share in the state has steadily increased since 2008, keeping in mind that Karnataka traditionally has been a three-party race since 2004. However, the 2023 assembly election looked more like a two-party race. Total vote percentage polled by the top two parties in Karnataka was 63.6% in 2004, 68.7% in 2008, 56.8% in 2013, 75% in 2018, and 78.9% in 2023. This indicates a strong consolidation and people's increasing preference towards a two-party system. Despite the polarisation, the consolidation favoured Congress, while BJP simply managed to retain its stable vote share.
Another way to interpret Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s comment is that BJP's core loyal vote share in Karnataka has never been more than 36%, in spite of their huge investment in social engineering, propaganda bandwagon and shamelessly divisive politics. This gives a scope (and a faint ray of hope) to the Congress to work on the fence-sitting voters, i.e., the voters who do not align with the core of extremist Hindutva, and consolidate more anti-BJP votes in its favour in 2024. Will that really happen? What will it take for Congress or other political parties, both regional and national, to strategize against the behemoth of a well-oiled machinery and strictly loyal voter base? We don’t know yet, and it’s too early to extrapolate Karnataka 2023 to pan-India 2024. As Winston Churchill, the former honourable Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, famously said, “the past no longer enables us even dimly to measure the future”. The optimists of the present may, however, hope whatever Karnataka thinks today, India will perhaps think tomorrow.
(Jyotishka Datta is an assistant professor of statistics at Virginia Tech, USA and an author. Sudipto Pal is a corporate leader, statistician, novelist and diversity champion for the LGBTQ community in the tech industry. Parthanil Roy is a professor of mathematical statistics at Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Centre and a fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences. All views expressed in the article are solely based on the authors’ opinions, interpretations and analysis)
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Vote Share Percentage, Politics, Propaganda or Mathematics: Karnataka 2023
The authors argue, with the help of examples and figures, that a political party’s overall vote share, a one-dimensional summary of a very high-dimensional and complex electoral system, is far from being flawless; that the Congress vote share in Karnataka has steadily increased since 2008
It’s old news by now: the Indian National Congress (INC) has won the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election in a landslide, winning 135 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came second with 66 seats, while the Janata Dal (Secular) won 19 seats. The election saw a voter turnout of 73.19%, the highest ever recorded in the history of Legislative Assembly elections in Karnataka. The Congress's victory was attributed to a number of factors, including its strong campaign, the unpopularity of the BJP government, and others. The BJP's defeat was seen as a major setback for the party, which had been in power in Karnataka for the past 3 years and 10 months.
The reactions are not far from expected: INC is hoping to capitalise on its victory in Karnataka and win back power at the Centre. The BJP, on the other hand, is sticking to its game of trying to control the narrative by using the familiar tools of misdirection and half-truths. Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has reportedly recently said, “BJP never got more than 36% votes in Karnataka. This time also BJP got 36%. Five years ago, BJP got 104 seats, but this time our number of seats went down. It's not defeat. It's mathematics.”
Well, is it? Let us look at this so-called ‘mathematics’ a little closely and see why the pooled vote share is not at all a good or healthy way to look at the outcome of any election in India using a simple toy example followed by a real one.
As we all know, India has a multi-party, first-past-the-post electoral system. This means that the candidate who receives the most votes in a constituency wins, regardless of the margin of victory. As a result, the vote share does not directly translate into the number of seats won by a party. There are a number of socio-political factors that can impact the vote percentage in India, including regional variation, polarisation, voter turnout, lines of segregation along economic or caste lines, and so on.
However, we will not go deep into those trenches, at least not here, this time. We will stick to just one unambitious goal: showing that the total vote share has very little to do with who ‘wins’ the election. Let’s start with a “toy” example, albeit carefully chosen to drive home the point. In a fictional district, we have 3 constituencies (A, B, C) and 3 parties (X, Y, Z). Suppose their vote shares are as in Table 1. Roughly speaking, party X receives the highest percentage (38%) of the total votes, and yet fails to win even a single seat. Party Y, on the other hand, gets the lowest share (29%) of votes and wins 1 out of the 3 seats. Party Z, with the second largest vote share but the highest number of seats, forms the fictitious government because of its absolute majority!
If you find tables and numbers a bit dry, you can look at the following figure as well.
Is this surprising, or, a concocted, pathological example? Not at all! Let us go back in time a little bit and look at the Mysore district assembly election results in 2018. As per https://www.indiavotes.com/
Mysore, with its 11 seats, witnessed an intense electoral battle as all three major parties vied for victory across each constituency in 2018. In the absence of any alliances that could have influenced vote shares, an interesting picture emerges. Despite JD(S) securing the second-highest vote share, it emerged with the maximum number of seats. Interestingly, Congress garnered more than double the votes of BJP, yet both parties ended up with an equal number of seats. Delving deeper, we discover a strategic move by BJP, as it refrained from fielding strong contenders in seats like Hunasuru, Periyapatna, Chamundeshwari, T Narasipur, and Krishnarajanagara, where its vote shares ranged from 1.5% to 8%. Instead, the party focused on just six seats, successfully securing three of them. In the aforementioned five seats, the battle predominantly unfolded between JD(S) and Congress, with JD(S) emerging victorious in all five contests. Many observers interpreted BJP's absence from these seats as a subtle alliance between BJP and JD(S),
Going back to the comment of Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, if this is indeed a “half-truth”, then where is the other half? What he remained silent about is how the Congress vote share was the highest achieved by any party in the last 34 years of Karnataka's election history. Furthermore, the Congress vote share in the state has steadily increased since 2008, keeping in mind that Karnataka traditionally has been a three-party race since 2004. However, the 2023 assembly election looked more like a two-party race. Total vote percentage polled by the top two parties in Karnataka was 63.6% in 2004, 68.7% in 2008, 56.8% in 2013, 75% in 2018, and 78.9% in 2023. This indicates a strong consolidation and people's increasing preference towards a two-party system. Despite the polarisation, the consolidation favoured Congress, while BJP simply managed to retain its stable vote share.
Another way to interpret Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s comment is that BJP's core loyal vote share in Karnataka has never been more than 36%, in spite of their huge investment in social engineering, propaganda bandwagon and shamelessly divisive politics. This gives a scope (and a faint ray of hope) to the Congress to work on the fence-sitting voters, i.e., the voters who do not align with the core of extremist Hindutva, and consolidate more anti-BJP votes in its favour in 2024. Will that really happen? What will it take for Congress or other political parties, both regional and national, to strategize against the behemoth of a well-oiled machinery and strictly loyal voter base? We don’t know yet, and it’s too early to extrapolate Karnataka 2023 to pan-India 2024. As Winston Churchill, the former honourable Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, famously said, “the past no longer enables us even dimly to measure the future”. The optimists of the present may, however, hope whatever Karnataka thinks today, India will perhaps think tomorrow.
(Jyotishka Datta is an assistant professor of statistics at Virginia Tech, USA and an author. Sudipto Pal is a corporate leader, statistician, novelist and diversity champion for the LGBTQ community in the tech industry. Parthanil Roy is a professor of mathematical statistics at Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore Centre and a fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences. All views expressed in the article are solely based on the authors’ opinions, interpretations and analysis)
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What Karnataka thinks today, will India think tomorrow?
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No moral policing, no saffronisation of police department, Karnataka CM & deputy CM send out strong message
At the maiden meeting with top police officials with the state, the newly elected political leaders in Karnataka flags recent partisan conduct and stressed the need for an adherence to constitutional principles, non-partisan governance
Image courtesy: PTI
We will put an end to moral policing, declared newly elected Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah stated clearly on Tuesday, May 23 and also vowed to put an end to moral policing in the state, and asked police officials to ensure that there is no discrimination between religions, while maintaining law and order. In his maiden meeting with top police officials after the Congress government came to power, he warned concerned officials that they would be held responsible if law and order situation deteriorates and directed them to take strict action against those disturbing harmony through social media posts. "We have asked the police to be people friendly, they should be courteous towards people who come to file complaints. PTI, Deccan Herald and National Herald carried reports of the meeting.
At the same meeting, also attended by deputy chief minister, D.K. Shivakumar rapped Karnataka police officials and asked them whether they are trying to 'saffronise' the state police department.
"Are you all set to saffronise the police department? We will not allow it under our government," Shivakumar stated while addressing the meeting of high-level police officers of Karnataka at the Conference Hall in Vidhana Soudha of Bengaluru.
He did not stop there. "We know how police officers came to the police station wearing saffron shawls in Mangaluru, Bijapur (Vijayapura), Bagalkot and insulted the department," he said. "You should have come to this meeting wearing a saffron shawl," Shivakumar warned police officers.
"If it was to be patriotic, then you should have come to work wearing the national flag. We will not allow saffronisation of the police department," Shivakumar stressed. "Imagine the level the police department would stoop to if an ADGP-ranked officer is indulged in fabricating OMR sheets in the PSI recruitment scandal," Shivakumar questioned.
The chief minister detailed his government’s concern about deteriorating law and order. Not only the police inspector, DCPs will also be held responsible for crimes and illegal acts like -- rowdyism, clubs, and drug menace -- in any of their police station limits, and action will be taken against them," Siddaramaiah said. Addressing reporters here, he said, "during the maintenance of law and order, there should not be any discrimination between religions, and everyone should be seen equally, and should be protected equally." "No moral policing here on, we will put an end to this..." he added.
Shivakumar emphasized, "People have elected a new government with the expectation of change. Officials should work to respond to their problems," Siddaramaiah said. He also directed officials to take strict legal action against those disturbing harmony in the society, through inflammatory and provocative posts on social media. The CM will hold a separate meeting to discuss the issue of traffic congestion in Bengaluru, his office said in a release quoting him.
Drug addiction should be prevented, Siddaramaiah said, as he asked "Hoysala" patrol teams to always be vigilant to check crimes. Directing senior officers to visit and inspect police stations, he said the public who come to the police station with problems, should be treated courteously, without looking at them like criminals. Siddaramaiah also told police officials that they should take merciless action to control illegal activities within the police station limits. "Our government does not tolerate goondaism, illegal club activities, drug mafia," he said. Ministers K J George, K H Muniyappa, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi and senior officials were also present at the meeting. Taking officials to task over some incidents in the previous BJP government tenure, Shivakumar asked, "Are you planning to saffronise the police department?" He said that it will not be allowed in the present government.
Referring to incidents of policemen sporting saffron shawls or dress, during some occasions in Mangaluru, Vijayapura and Bagalkote, during previous BJP regime, Shivakumar did not hold back, "We will not allow saffronisation of the police department, under our government." Highlighting the involvement of an Additional Director General of Police rank official in the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam, the Deputy CM said, "Look at the bad state of the department." Shivakumar also charged the police with "harassing" Congress leader and now Minister Priyank Kharge, who brought out the scam, by holding a press conference. Accusing the police of filing false cases against Congress leaders and workers, including Siddaramaiah and him, during BJP rule, he said, "We do not hold grudges. We don't believe in that. You change, leave the old. Start a new job."
Shivakumar was firm. "You harass those who conducted the press conference and brought this scandal out. You have harassed Priyank Kharge. The Karnataka police department had made a name in the entire country. You have destroyed the honour and dignity of the department.
"Wherever you see, everywhere it is all about money. Everything has to be cleaned under our government. The people are looking forward to a big change by this government. This should begin from the police department," Shivakumar said.
The message of political change and sharp change in political functioning should reach people. Your earlier behaviour won't be tolerated. I know how you (the police department) behaved with me and CM Siddaramaiah during the Pay CM campaign. You lodged cases against us. Thousands of false cases were lodged against our party workers. They were harassed. You did not spare me and Siddaramaiah, you could have done worse to normal people," Shivakumar said.
He pointed to how partisan behavior had affected police function. "However, you (police) did not lodge any case against the opposite party (then ruling BJP). You danced to their tunes and colluded with them. Why have you not booked a case on those who issued a statement that Siddaramaiah should be dealt with in the same way as erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan? He provoked murder, but you didn't book him (former IT and Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan)," Shivakumar stated.
"Is that not a crime? We have evidence of whatever you have done. All this will not be tolerated henceforth. You should change, your conduct should change. If not, we will have to change you. We will not carry forward hatred. We don't believe in it. Change yourself, start work afresh and give peace to the people," Shivakumar maintained.
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No moral policing, no saffronisation of police department, Karnataka CM & deputy CM send out strong message
At the maiden meeting with top police officials with the state, the newly elected political leaders in Karnataka flags recent partisan conduct and stressed the need for an adherence to constitutional principles, non-partisan governance
Image courtesy: PTI
We will put an end to moral policing, declared newly elected Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah stated clearly on Tuesday, May 23 and also vowed to put an end to moral policing in the state, and asked police officials to ensure that there is no discrimination between religions, while maintaining law and order. In his maiden meeting with top police officials after the Congress government came to power, he warned concerned officials that they would be held responsible if law and order situation deteriorates and directed them to take strict action against those disturbing harmony through social media posts. "We have asked the police to be people friendly, they should be courteous towards people who come to file complaints. PTI, Deccan Herald and National Herald carried reports of the meeting.
At the same meeting, also attended by deputy chief minister, D.K. Shivakumar rapped Karnataka police officials and asked them whether they are trying to 'saffronise' the state police department.
"Are you all set to saffronise the police department? We will not allow it under our government," Shivakumar stated while addressing the meeting of high-level police officers of Karnataka at the Conference Hall in Vidhana Soudha of Bengaluru.
He did not stop there. "We know how police officers came to the police station wearing saffron shawls in Mangaluru, Bijapur (Vijayapura), Bagalkot and insulted the department," he said. "You should have come to this meeting wearing a saffron shawl," Shivakumar warned police officers.
"If it was to be patriotic, then you should have come to work wearing the national flag. We will not allow saffronisation of the police department," Shivakumar stressed. "Imagine the level the police department would stoop to if an ADGP-ranked officer is indulged in fabricating OMR sheets in the PSI recruitment scandal," Shivakumar questioned.
The chief minister detailed his government’s concern about deteriorating law and order. Not only the police inspector, DCPs will also be held responsible for crimes and illegal acts like -- rowdyism, clubs, and drug menace -- in any of their police station limits, and action will be taken against them," Siddaramaiah said. Addressing reporters here, he said, "during the maintenance of law and order, there should not be any discrimination between religions, and everyone should be seen equally, and should be protected equally." "No moral policing here on, we will put an end to this..." he added.
Shivakumar emphasized, "People have elected a new government with the expectation of change. Officials should work to respond to their problems," Siddaramaiah said. He also directed officials to take strict legal action against those disturbing harmony in the society, through inflammatory and provocative posts on social media. The CM will hold a separate meeting to discuss the issue of traffic congestion in Bengaluru, his office said in a release quoting him.
Drug addiction should be prevented, Siddaramaiah said, as he asked "Hoysala" patrol teams to always be vigilant to check crimes. Directing senior officers to visit and inspect police stations, he said the public who come to the police station with problems, should be treated courteously, without looking at them like criminals. Siddaramaiah also told police officials that they should take merciless action to control illegal activities within the police station limits. "Our government does not tolerate goondaism, illegal club activities, drug mafia," he said. Ministers K J George, K H Muniyappa, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi and senior officials were also present at the meeting. Taking officials to task over some incidents in the previous BJP government tenure, Shivakumar asked, "Are you planning to saffronise the police department?" He said that it will not be allowed in the present government.
Referring to incidents of policemen sporting saffron shawls or dress, during some occasions in Mangaluru, Vijayapura and Bagalkote, during previous BJP regime, Shivakumar did not hold back, "We will not allow saffronisation of the police department, under our government." Highlighting the involvement of an Additional Director General of Police rank official in the Police Sub-Inspector recruitment scam, the Deputy CM said, "Look at the bad state of the department." Shivakumar also charged the police with "harassing" Congress leader and now Minister Priyank Kharge, who brought out the scam, by holding a press conference. Accusing the police of filing false cases against Congress leaders and workers, including Siddaramaiah and him, during BJP rule, he said, "We do not hold grudges. We don't believe in that. You change, leave the old. Start a new job."
Shivakumar was firm. "You harass those who conducted the press conference and brought this scandal out. You have harassed Priyank Kharge. The Karnataka police department had made a name in the entire country. You have destroyed the honour and dignity of the department.
"Wherever you see, everywhere it is all about money. Everything has to be cleaned under our government. The people are looking forward to a big change by this government. This should begin from the police department," Shivakumar said.
The message of political change and sharp change in political functioning should reach people. Your earlier behaviour won't be tolerated. I know how you (the police department) behaved with me and CM Siddaramaiah during the Pay CM campaign. You lodged cases against us. Thousands of false cases were lodged against our party workers. They were harassed. You did not spare me and Siddaramaiah, you could have done worse to normal people," Shivakumar said.
He pointed to how partisan behavior had affected police function. "However, you (police) did not lodge any case against the opposite party (then ruling BJP). You danced to their tunes and colluded with them. Why have you not booked a case on those who issued a statement that Siddaramaiah should be dealt with in the same way as erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan? He provoked murder, but you didn't book him (former IT and Higher Education Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan)," Shivakumar stated.
"Is that not a crime? We have evidence of whatever you have done. All this will not be tolerated henceforth. You should change, your conduct should change. If not, we will have to change you. We will not carry forward hatred. We don't believe in it. Change yourself, start work afresh and give peace to the people," Shivakumar maintained.
Related:
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New Bill to link birth and death registry with Electoral rolls in next Session: Amit Shah
The Home Minister has said that this data will be used for updating list of those availing government beneficiary schemes
Image: Twitter @AmitShah
Union home Minister Amit Shah, at the inauguration event of the new Census building has said that registration of births and deaths will be streamlined and be linked to electoral rolls as well as other key documents such as passports, ration cards etc.
It is pertinent to note that linking the registry of birth and death to Aadhar card has also been proposed by the government in the past. IN November 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs floated proposed amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 which entailed a national database of records of births and deaths and linking Aadhar information to the same. The MHA had also expressed its intent to use this data to update the much opposed National Population Register (NPR). The Ministry had stated that the data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database.
The Ministry has started again from where it left things in November 2021. At the inaugural event, Shah said that registration of births and deaths is important for updating citizens’ register, electoral rolls and list of people who avail beneficiary schemes, reported The Hindu.
What about the Census?
The description sounds quite similar to what a Census is supposed to be. 2021 was the year when our Census was due. However, the same could not be held on time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the pandemic long behind us, there is absolute silence from the government on when the Census will be conducted. The general elections are due for 2024 and the Union government has shown no political intent to conduct Census anytime before that.
Under the Census Act, there is no mandate or obligation upon the Union government to conduct Census every 10 years. The section 3 of the Act states:
3. Central Government to take census.—The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare its intention of taking a census in the whole or any part of the territories to which this Act extends, whenever it may consider it necessary or desirable to do so, and there upon the census shall be taken.
Shah did say during the event that previous censuses were not accurate and the government will now conduct the Census electronically so that the data can be audited and verified, reported The Hindu.
What the government plans to do
Shah has said that the Registrar General of India will be the authority for birth and death registration. The RGI is the nodal agency for Census and also implements Registration of Births and Deaths Act. Shah said that the RGI “will ensure that the Election Commission is informed by the related software, immediately after the death of a voter, and the due process to strike off his or her name can be adopted. The opposite can be done to include a new voter in the voter list as soon as he or she becomes 18 years old.”
A source from the government speaking to Hindustan Times disclosed, “The proposed amendments say that the birth and death registration data will be necessary for admission into educational institutions, issuance of driving license, preparation of voter list, registration of marriage, appointment in government jobs and for passports etc.”
Why is centralization of this data a problem?
The Centre has clearly stated that this data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database. This means, the Centre will be able to track births, deaths,
The Centre will have a record of all the registered deaths and will use the same to update NPR which will in turn be used to make the nation wide NRC. However, the question arises, what about those births that are not registered?
Citizen for Justice and Peace’s experience working on the citizenship issue in Assam has led to the realization that out of people excluded from NRC, vast numbers were children because the parents could not provide their birth certificates. Children below 18 do not have voter’s ID cards and if they have not given class 10 or 12 board examination their only proof of birth in the country is the birth certificate and if the infrastructure for registering births is not robust in rural or remote areas, it is likely that a large chunk of population does not exist on paper for the government and there is no way for them to prove that they were indeed born in this country. Hence, if this data is centralized and used to update NPR and eventually the NRC, this population has no strong proof of citizenship and stands at the risk of becoming non-citizens or aliens in the country they were born in. This, in itself, is a potential grave humanitarian crisis.
Based on information received from 32 States/UTs, the share of institutional births to total registered births is 81.2 percent. This means that despite institutional births, there are loopholes whereby registration of births has been missed out.
Related:
Centralising record of deaths and births: Centre's play at a future NRC?
Census is not a priority for the Union government
Identifying fake Aadhaar, a plot to bring in CAA-NRC?
New Bill to link birth and death registry with Electoral rolls in next Session: Amit Shah
The Home Minister has said that this data will be used for updating list of those availing government beneficiary schemes
Image: Twitter @AmitShah
Union home Minister Amit Shah, at the inauguration event of the new Census building has said that registration of births and deaths will be streamlined and be linked to electoral rolls as well as other key documents such as passports, ration cards etc.
It is pertinent to note that linking the registry of birth and death to Aadhar card has also been proposed by the government in the past. IN November 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs floated proposed amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 which entailed a national database of records of births and deaths and linking Aadhar information to the same. The MHA had also expressed its intent to use this data to update the much opposed National Population Register (NPR). The Ministry had stated that the data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database.
The Ministry has started again from where it left things in November 2021. At the inaugural event, Shah said that registration of births and deaths is important for updating citizens’ register, electoral rolls and list of people who avail beneficiary schemes, reported The Hindu.
What about the Census?
The description sounds quite similar to what a Census is supposed to be. 2021 was the year when our Census was due. However, the same could not be held on time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the pandemic long behind us, there is absolute silence from the government on when the Census will be conducted. The general elections are due for 2024 and the Union government has shown no political intent to conduct Census anytime before that.
Under the Census Act, there is no mandate or obligation upon the Union government to conduct Census every 10 years. The section 3 of the Act states:
3. Central Government to take census.—The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare its intention of taking a census in the whole or any part of the territories to which this Act extends, whenever it may consider it necessary or desirable to do so, and there upon the census shall be taken.
Shah did say during the event that previous censuses were not accurate and the government will now conduct the Census electronically so that the data can be audited and verified, reported The Hindu.
What the government plans to do
Shah has said that the Registrar General of India will be the authority for birth and death registration. The RGI is the nodal agency for Census and also implements Registration of Births and Deaths Act. Shah said that the RGI “will ensure that the Election Commission is informed by the related software, immediately after the death of a voter, and the due process to strike off his or her name can be adopted. The opposite can be done to include a new voter in the voter list as soon as he or she becomes 18 years old.”
A source from the government speaking to Hindustan Times disclosed, “The proposed amendments say that the birth and death registration data will be necessary for admission into educational institutions, issuance of driving license, preparation of voter list, registration of marriage, appointment in government jobs and for passports etc.”
Why is centralization of this data a problem?
The Centre has clearly stated that this data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database. This means, the Centre will be able to track births, deaths,
The Centre will have a record of all the registered deaths and will use the same to update NPR which will in turn be used to make the nation wide NRC. However, the question arises, what about those births that are not registered?
Citizen for Justice and Peace’s experience working on the citizenship issue in Assam has led to the realization that out of people excluded from NRC, vast numbers were children because the parents could not provide their birth certificates. Children below 18 do not have voter’s ID cards and if they have not given class 10 or 12 board examination their only proof of birth in the country is the birth certificate and if the infrastructure for registering births is not robust in rural or remote areas, it is likely that a large chunk of population does not exist on paper for the government and there is no way for them to prove that they were indeed born in this country. Hence, if this data is centralized and used to update NPR and eventually the NRC, this population has no strong proof of citizenship and stands at the risk of becoming non-citizens or aliens in the country they were born in. This, in itself, is a potential grave humanitarian crisis.
Based on information received from 32 States/UTs, the share of institutional births to total registered births is 81.2 percent. This means that despite institutional births, there are loopholes whereby registration of births has been missed out.
Related:
Centralising record of deaths and births: Centre's play at a future NRC?
Census is not a priority for the Union government
Identifying fake Aadhaar, a plot to bring in CAA-NRC?
Related Articles
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ASHA Workers ‘Pay Price for Protest’: 25 Terminated, 10 Booked for 'Rioting' in Madhya Pradesh
Since 2018, around 84,000 ASHA workers in Madhya Pradesh have been facing challenges in their pursuit of a wage hike similar to their counterparts in states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and others.
Bhopal: Protesting for the wage hike has purportedly cost jobs to 25 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in Madhya Pradesh.
"Peacefully raising voice against ongoing exploitation is undemocratic these days. You will not only be entangled in the FIR and litigation for protesting but also can be terminated over false allegations to suffer," said ASHA workers from Gwalior, Rajni Meena (39) and Menaf Khan (35), speaking about their termination.
ASHAs are community health workers employed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as a part of India's National Rural Health Mission to deliver doorstep health services to pregnant women and toddlers around the clock. Each ASHA worker draws a monthly payment of Rs 2,200 in Madhya Pradesh and incentives of over Rs 4,000 based on their performance.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, ASHA workers emerged as the strongest frontline health workers linking the community with the health system in the midst of the outbreak. Their efforts were recognised by the World Health Organisation. ASHAs were one of the six recipients of the WHO’s Global Health Leaders Award-2022 which recognises leadership, contributions to advancing global health, and commitment to regional health issues.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan too honoured ASHAs with kind words on several occasions for their contribution to controlling the pandemic. Yet, they are facing termination for a wage hike protest.
Meena and Khan – who have been working as ASHA workers since 2013 in Gwalior Urban – are among the 25 workers who were terminated. The reasons for termination were either being non-performers or that their names surfaced in an FIR lodged against 10 women for protesting at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Gwalior event on April 16, 2023, when they were not allowed to meet him.
Speaking to NewsClick, Manish Sharma, Chief Medical Health Officer, Gwalior confirmed, "Ten ASHA workers were sacked after their names surfaced in the FIR and 15 workers were terminated for negligence or non-performance."
Menaf and Rajni are single mothers. Menaf has a 14-year-old son and Rajni is a mother of two teenage sons. After losing their jobs, both independent women are not only struggling to make ends meet but also worried about their children's future. "One knows how society stigmatises single mothers. After termination, our struggle has worsened," said Rajni.
Since 2018, around 84,000 ASHA workers in Madhya Pradesh have been facing challenges in their pursuit of a wage hike similar to their counterparts in states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and others. These states provide their ASHA workers with a monthly wage of Rs 10,000, in addition to incentives.
After several protests, strikes, and assurance from the government, when their demands were not met, a group of ASHA workers went on an indefinite strike from March 15, 2023, in Gwalior after taking formal permission in a bid to put pressure on the government.
When the state government and the officials did not pay heed to the strike, they sought permission from the Gwalior district administration to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was scheduled to visit the city on April 16 for 'Ambedkar Mahakumbh' to mark the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.
A day before CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit, a news report on a YouTube channel elated the protesters. In the news video, CM Chouhan, while addressing government officials, is heard saying that the government is going to fulfil the demands of Rozgar Sahayak, Panchayat Sachiv, Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, USHAs, Patwari and others soon.
The two-minute video news concluded with the claim that the CM is going to make big announcements in Gwalior including a wage hike for ASHA workers. A bunch of upbeat protestors turned up at the event the following day with prior permission, anticipating an announcement by the CM. But their balloon of excitement burst when CM Chouhan did not make any announcement related to wage hikes but promoted the recently launched Ladli Behna Yojana. The scheme which was launched for women voters ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled in November this year, offers Rs 1,000 a month to women aged between 23 to 60.
The protesters pleaded with the officials present to allow them to meet the CM to hand over their memorandum of demands. But this request was turned down. This allegedly upset the ASHA workers who raised slogans for a wage hike during the event. In the subsequent minutes, they were dragged out of the pandal, allegedly manhandled and booked for creating a 'riot' and behaving indecently at CM's event.
"A group of women from Bhind district, distressed with penury created a ruckus when CM passed them over without listening to their demands. They were in plain clothes, unlike ASHA workers who were wearing uniform saree. The police mistook them as one of us and blamed ASHA workers for the whole episode," explained Laxmi Kaurav, president of the ASHA/USHA State Shramik Sangh.
Over two dozen of the protesters received ‘show cause’ notices following the CM’s event. "Officials used this episode to quell the voices of ASHA workers who were on strike. They also sacked key protestors who were vocal with their demands," Laxmi added.
The police booked 10 ASHA workers under Sections 147 (Riot) and 341 (wrongful Restraint) of the IPC on the same day. "Menaf Khan, who was at home because of fasting (Ramazan) was also wrongly named in the FIR. She was terminated without investigation which shows an attempt to target those who have been vocal about the wage hike demand," lamented Rajni Meena, speaking to NewsClick. "She is among the best ASHA workers in the state. She has won many awards and appreciation from the government."
Yet, the protest continued the next day. The FIR and show cause notices did not deter the protestors and it continued till May 15. After 62 days of protest, the ASHA workers called off the strike giving a window of over a month to the government. They submitted their demands including revoking the termination of ASHA workers at the CM House in Bhopal.
"We have submitted our memorandum in the presence of ACS Health Mohammad Suleman, Union Minister Narendara Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Energy Minister from Gwalior Praduman Singh Tomar and others. Our demands seem to have fallen on deaf ears," said Kavita Solanki, president of the Left-backed ASHA workers' union.
ASHA workers claimed that they have not received their salaries or incentives since January 2023 and they are working without pay.
"The show cause notice mentioned laxity and negligence towards the work when we were on the strike. But the termination letter says that they were sacked for the fallout of the FIR," Laxmi contended.
CMHO Manish Sharma admitted that the ASHA workers went on the strike with prior information.
"Can an employee be sacked over false FIRs?" asked Laxmi. "Dozens of FIRs under serious charges are lodged against IAS, IPS officers and senior bureaucrats. Yet, they enjoy their posts. But ASHA workers were made scapegoats for demanding a wage hike in the election year."
Menaf and Rajni who are looking for private jobs to make ends meet are worried about their children. One has taken a loan from a relative to put food on the plates of their children and another has become dependent on their aged parents.
When asked about their termination, CMHO Sharma said, "We have already started the process to fill those vacant posts. The complaints were pouring in against them that they were not performing their duties properly lately."
Speaking to NewsClick, Menaf said, "On the one hand, CM Chouhan claimed to have been empowering women with Ladli Behna Yojana and self-help groups and on the other hand, their erring officials have terminated Ladli Behnas for demanding a wage hike."
Courtesy: Newsclick
ASHA Workers ‘Pay Price for Protest’: 25 Terminated, 10 Booked for 'Rioting' in Madhya Pradesh
Since 2018, around 84,000 ASHA workers in Madhya Pradesh have been facing challenges in their pursuit of a wage hike similar to their counterparts in states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and others.
Bhopal: Protesting for the wage hike has purportedly cost jobs to 25 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in Madhya Pradesh.
"Peacefully raising voice against ongoing exploitation is undemocratic these days. You will not only be entangled in the FIR and litigation for protesting but also can be terminated over false allegations to suffer," said ASHA workers from Gwalior, Rajni Meena (39) and Menaf Khan (35), speaking about their termination.
ASHAs are community health workers employed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as a part of India's National Rural Health Mission to deliver doorstep health services to pregnant women and toddlers around the clock. Each ASHA worker draws a monthly payment of Rs 2,200 in Madhya Pradesh and incentives of over Rs 4,000 based on their performance.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, ASHA workers emerged as the strongest frontline health workers linking the community with the health system in the midst of the outbreak. Their efforts were recognised by the World Health Organisation. ASHAs were one of the six recipients of the WHO’s Global Health Leaders Award-2022 which recognises leadership, contributions to advancing global health, and commitment to regional health issues.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan too honoured ASHAs with kind words on several occasions for their contribution to controlling the pandemic. Yet, they are facing termination for a wage hike protest.
Meena and Khan – who have been working as ASHA workers since 2013 in Gwalior Urban – are among the 25 workers who were terminated. The reasons for termination were either being non-performers or that their names surfaced in an FIR lodged against 10 women for protesting at Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Gwalior event on April 16, 2023, when they were not allowed to meet him.
Speaking to NewsClick, Manish Sharma, Chief Medical Health Officer, Gwalior confirmed, "Ten ASHA workers were sacked after their names surfaced in the FIR and 15 workers were terminated for negligence or non-performance."
Menaf and Rajni are single mothers. Menaf has a 14-year-old son and Rajni is a mother of two teenage sons. After losing their jobs, both independent women are not only struggling to make ends meet but also worried about their children's future. "One knows how society stigmatises single mothers. After termination, our struggle has worsened," said Rajni.
Since 2018, around 84,000 ASHA workers in Madhya Pradesh have been facing challenges in their pursuit of a wage hike similar to their counterparts in states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and others. These states provide their ASHA workers with a monthly wage of Rs 10,000, in addition to incentives.
After several protests, strikes, and assurance from the government, when their demands were not met, a group of ASHA workers went on an indefinite strike from March 15, 2023, in Gwalior after taking formal permission in a bid to put pressure on the government.
When the state government and the officials did not pay heed to the strike, they sought permission from the Gwalior district administration to meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was scheduled to visit the city on April 16 for 'Ambedkar Mahakumbh' to mark the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.
A day before CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit, a news report on a YouTube channel elated the protesters. In the news video, CM Chouhan, while addressing government officials, is heard saying that the government is going to fulfil the demands of Rozgar Sahayak, Panchayat Sachiv, Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, USHAs, Patwari and others soon.
The two-minute video news concluded with the claim that the CM is going to make big announcements in Gwalior including a wage hike for ASHA workers. A bunch of upbeat protestors turned up at the event the following day with prior permission, anticipating an announcement by the CM. But their balloon of excitement burst when CM Chouhan did not make any announcement related to wage hikes but promoted the recently launched Ladli Behna Yojana. The scheme which was launched for women voters ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled in November this year, offers Rs 1,000 a month to women aged between 23 to 60.
The protesters pleaded with the officials present to allow them to meet the CM to hand over their memorandum of demands. But this request was turned down. This allegedly upset the ASHA workers who raised slogans for a wage hike during the event. In the subsequent minutes, they were dragged out of the pandal, allegedly manhandled and booked for creating a 'riot' and behaving indecently at CM's event.
"A group of women from Bhind district, distressed with penury created a ruckus when CM passed them over without listening to their demands. They were in plain clothes, unlike ASHA workers who were wearing uniform saree. The police mistook them as one of us and blamed ASHA workers for the whole episode," explained Laxmi Kaurav, president of the ASHA/USHA State Shramik Sangh.
Over two dozen of the protesters received ‘show cause’ notices following the CM’s event. "Officials used this episode to quell the voices of ASHA workers who were on strike. They also sacked key protestors who were vocal with their demands," Laxmi added.
The police booked 10 ASHA workers under Sections 147 (Riot) and 341 (wrongful Restraint) of the IPC on the same day. "Menaf Khan, who was at home because of fasting (Ramazan) was also wrongly named in the FIR. She was terminated without investigation which shows an attempt to target those who have been vocal about the wage hike demand," lamented Rajni Meena, speaking to NewsClick. "She is among the best ASHA workers in the state. She has won many awards and appreciation from the government."
Yet, the protest continued the next day. The FIR and show cause notices did not deter the protestors and it continued till May 15. After 62 days of protest, the ASHA workers called off the strike giving a window of over a month to the government. They submitted their demands including revoking the termination of ASHA workers at the CM House in Bhopal.
"We have submitted our memorandum in the presence of ACS Health Mohammad Suleman, Union Minister Narendara Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Energy Minister from Gwalior Praduman Singh Tomar and others. Our demands seem to have fallen on deaf ears," said Kavita Solanki, president of the Left-backed ASHA workers' union.
ASHA workers claimed that they have not received their salaries or incentives since January 2023 and they are working without pay.
"The show cause notice mentioned laxity and negligence towards the work when we were on the strike. But the termination letter says that they were sacked for the fallout of the FIR," Laxmi contended.
CMHO Manish Sharma admitted that the ASHA workers went on the strike with prior information.
"Can an employee be sacked over false FIRs?" asked Laxmi. "Dozens of FIRs under serious charges are lodged against IAS, IPS officers and senior bureaucrats. Yet, they enjoy their posts. But ASHA workers were made scapegoats for demanding a wage hike in the election year."
Menaf and Rajni who are looking for private jobs to make ends meet are worried about their children. One has taken a loan from a relative to put food on the plates of their children and another has become dependent on their aged parents.
When asked about their termination, CMHO Sharma said, "We have already started the process to fill those vacant posts. The complaints were pouring in against them that they were not performing their duties properly lately."
Speaking to NewsClick, Menaf said, "On the one hand, CM Chouhan claimed to have been empowering women with Ladli Behna Yojana and self-help groups and on the other hand, their erring officials have terminated Ladli Behnas for demanding a wage hike."
Courtesy: Newsclick
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Govt teacher suspended for FB post critical of K’ka CM Siddaramaiah’s freebies
TUMAKURU: The Times of India has reported the suspension of a teacher of a government lower primary school in Kanubehalli, Hosadurga taluk, Chitradurga district only because the teacher, in Facebook posts criticised newly sworn-in chief minister Siddaramaiah for his fiscal policies.
In the Facebook post, Shanthamurthy MG said “debt during the tenure of former chief ministers SM Krishna was Rs 3,590 crore, Dharam Singh Rs 15,635 crore, HD Kumaraswamy Rs 3,545 crore, BS Yeddiyurappa Rs 25,653 crore, DV Sadananda Gowda Rs 9,464 crore, Jagadish Shettar Rs 13,464 crore and Siddaramaiah Rs 2,42,000 crores (sic)”.
The teacher reportedly went on to state that loans incurred by chief ministers from the time of Krishna to Shettar was Rs 71,331 crore but it touched Rs 2,42,000 crore during Siddaramaiah’s reign. “Hence it is easy for him to announce freebies,” the post read.
K Ravishankar Reddy, deputy director of public instruction, Chitradurga district, told TOI, “Based on the Facebook post, I have directed the block education officer of Hosadurga taluk L Jayappa to suspend the teacher as he has violated Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules – 1966. ” A departmental inquiry will be conducted before further action is taken.
Govt teacher suspended for FB post critical of K’ka CM Siddaramaiah’s freebies
TUMAKURU: The Times of India has reported the suspension of a teacher of a government lower primary school in Kanubehalli, Hosadurga taluk, Chitradurga district only because the teacher, in Facebook posts criticised newly sworn-in chief minister Siddaramaiah for his fiscal policies.
In the Facebook post, Shanthamurthy MG said “debt during the tenure of former chief ministers SM Krishna was Rs 3,590 crore, Dharam Singh Rs 15,635 crore, HD Kumaraswamy Rs 3,545 crore, BS Yeddiyurappa Rs 25,653 crore, DV Sadananda Gowda Rs 9,464 crore, Jagadish Shettar Rs 13,464 crore and Siddaramaiah Rs 2,42,000 crores (sic)”.
The teacher reportedly went on to state that loans incurred by chief ministers from the time of Krishna to Shettar was Rs 71,331 crore but it touched Rs 2,42,000 crore during Siddaramaiah’s reign. “Hence it is easy for him to announce freebies,” the post read.
K Ravishankar Reddy, deputy director of public instruction, Chitradurga district, told TOI, “Based on the Facebook post, I have directed the block education officer of Hosadurga taluk L Jayappa to suspend the teacher as he has violated Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules – 1966. ” A departmental inquiry will be conducted before further action is taken.