Activists urge Karnataka govt to alter definition of 'Kannadiga' in draft notification

Policy

The activists urged the government to alter the domicile requirement to define Kannadigas applying for jobs in the private sector.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI/ File image

The Karnataka government's decision to alter the definition of a 'Kannadiga', as mentioned in a draft notification, has been criticised by pro-Kannada activists. The amendment is part of the government's efforts at giving preference to residents of the state in employment in private industries. The draft notification amending the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, dated May 24 termed the requirement to be deemed a 'Kannadiga' would be residing in the state for "not less than 15 years" besides being able to read and write Kannada in the case of a job in the government or government-aided sector. However, pro-Kannada activists were irked to find out that the same definition was altered in case of a resident applying for a job in private industries. The requirement says a 'Kannadiga' is a resident of the state "for not less than 10 years" besides being able to read and write Kannada.  The activists say that this dilutes the Sarojini Mahishi Report prepared in 1986 that recommended job opportunities for Karnataka's residents. The report had laid down that 'Kannadigas' are residents of Karnataka who have stayed in the state "for not less than 15 years" and have studied Kannada as a subject till Class 10.  "The new draft notification relaxes the rules set by the Sarojini Mahishi report. We urged the government to apply the recommendations made by the report but the government has modified the definition of a Kannadiga in this notification and we oppose it," SG Siddaramaiah, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority told TNM.  The KDA has urged the state government to immediately change the clause. According to SG Siddaramaiah, the clause will help companies deny job opportunities to Kannadigas. "This is the first time the domicile requirement for a Kannadiga has been reduced from 15 to 10 years. The 1986 report had stated 15 years and it had remained that way in various other reports also," Arun Javagal of the Kannada Grahakara Okoota said.  The amendment comes at a time when the central government was forced to revise the draft of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 after facing backlash for making the study of Hindi mandatory in non-Hindi speaking states. Politicians and citizens, particularly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, had criticised the central government for imposing Hindi upon states. Many pro-Kannada activists and Karnataka residents had taken to social media with the hashtag #Karnatakajobsforkannadigas.   The amendment also comes five months after the Karnataka government announced in February that it would take steps to introduce recommendations made in the Sarojini Mahishi Committee report to give 100% reservation for Kannadigas in Group C and D jobs in private establishments. Group C and D sectors. The Sarojini Mahishi report prepared in 1986 recommended job reservations for Kannadigas in government jobs, public sector units and even in the private sector. Many of the 58 recommendations made in the report have been implemented by successive state governments in power in the state.  As per the central government, Group C jobs comprise non-supervisory roles like clerks, stenographers, typists, telephone operators, while Group D jobs includes manual workers like peons, sweepers, and watchmen.        

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Activists urge Karnataka govt to alter definition of 'Kannadiga' in draft notification

Policy

The activists urged the government to alter the domicile requirement to define Kannadigas applying for jobs in the private sector.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI/ File image

The Karnataka government's decision to alter the definition of a 'Kannadiga', as mentioned in a draft notification, has been criticised by pro-Kannada activists. The amendment is part of the government's efforts at giving preference to residents of the state in employment in private industries. The draft notification amending the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, dated May 24 termed the requirement to be deemed a 'Kannadiga' would be residing in the state for "not less than 15 years" besides being able to read and write Kannada in the case of a job in the government or government-aided sector. However, pro-Kannada activists were irked to find out that the same definition was altered in case of a resident applying for a job in private industries. The requirement says a 'Kannadiga' is a resident of the state "for not less than 10 years" besides being able to read and write Kannada.  The activists say that this dilutes the Sarojini Mahishi Report prepared in 1986 that recommended job opportunities for Karnataka's residents. The report had laid down that 'Kannadigas' are residents of Karnataka who have stayed in the state "for not less than 15 years" and have studied Kannada as a subject till Class 10.  "The new draft notification relaxes the rules set by the Sarojini Mahishi report. We urged the government to apply the recommendations made by the report but the government has modified the definition of a Kannadiga in this notification and we oppose it," SG Siddaramaiah, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority told TNM.  The KDA has urged the state government to immediately change the clause. According to SG Siddaramaiah, the clause will help companies deny job opportunities to Kannadigas. "This is the first time the domicile requirement for a Kannadiga has been reduced from 15 to 10 years. The 1986 report had stated 15 years and it had remained that way in various other reports also," Arun Javagal of the Kannada Grahakara Okoota said.  The amendment comes at a time when the central government was forced to revise the draft of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 after facing backlash for making the study of Hindi mandatory in non-Hindi speaking states. Politicians and citizens, particularly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, had criticised the central government for imposing Hindi upon states. Many pro-Kannada activists and Karnataka residents had taken to social media with the hashtag #Karnatakajobsforkannadigas.   The amendment also comes five months after the Karnataka government announced in February that it would take steps to introduce recommendations made in the Sarojini Mahishi Committee report to give 100% reservation for Kannadigas in Group C and D jobs in private establishments. Group C and D sectors. The Sarojini Mahishi report prepared in 1986 recommended job reservations for Kannadigas in government jobs, public sector units and even in the private sector. Many of the 58 recommendations made in the report have been implemented by successive state governments in power in the state.  As per the central government, Group C jobs comprise non-supervisory roles like clerks, stenographers, typists, telephone operators, while Group D jobs includes manual workers like peons, sweepers, and watchmen.        

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Bengaluru’s property tax hike may not become reality, BJP to oppose it

Civic Issues

The proposed tax hike is expected to fill the BBMP coffers with an additional Rs 500 crore.

Soumya Chatterjee

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s proposed decision to hike the property tax of residential properties by 20% and that of commercial buildings by 25% may not see the light of day. “When the subject comes to the BBMP Council meeting, we will oppose it strongly. First, they have to get it approved by the council, then it will go to the Urban Development Ministry in the state government. Only then can it be implemented. Since we won’t support this, this can’t be implemented,” Padmanabha Reddy, the Leader of Opposition in the BBMP Council, told TNM. The BJP has a simple majority in the BBMP Council but the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions are with the Congress and JD(S) due to the different voting rule for the BBMP Mayoral polls. While the council is made up of ward councillors, all MLAs, MLCs and MPs residing in Bengaluru have a vote. By virtue of this, Congress-JD(S) have been in power since 2015. The tax hike has been in the making since late 2018, in the hopes of increasing BBMP’s revenue by an additional Rs 500 crore. The last tax hike was in 2016 when property tax went up by a similar 20% for residential and 25% for non-residential properties in the city. The BBMP's tax collection went up to Rs 1,725 crore in the process. Speaking on this earlier, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad had said the BBMP Council was well within its right to increase the property tax every three years as per the Karnataka Municipal Act. However, others have also pointed out that instead of hiking the property tax and burdening honest taxpayers, BBMP should concentrate on recovering tax and arrears for consistent tax defaulters. Despite its many claims, the BBMP had failed in its target of collecting Rs 3,100 crore worth of property tax in its previous fiscal ending in March. It had collected Rs 2,510 crore compared to Rs 2,170 crore it had collected in its previous fiscal. Commenting on this, Padmanabha Reddy said, “It was the failure of the ruling party to collect the pending taxes.” TNM had earlier reported how Government of India-run Food Corporation of India (FCI), the state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, and government-owned telecommunications company BSNL were among the top tax defaulters. Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun has asked eight BBMP Zonal Commissioners to seize immovable properties. Other top defaulters were big real estate and corporate companies.

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"Must be ready for polls at any time": NIkhil Kumaraswamy tells JD(S) cadre

Politics

Amidst speculation of infighting in the Congress-JD(S) coalition, a video of Nikhil Kumaraswamy's statement went viral on social media.

TNM Staff

Discord in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government has led to many leaders in both parties instructing their cadre to be prepared in case of snap polls. On Thursday, a video of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, informing JD(S) party workers to start preparing for elections has gone viral. “We may have to go to polls at any given point of time. It may be in a few months, a year or two years. We must be ready for any situation that is presented to us. We will have to begin working for it now,” Nikhil is heard saying in the video while talking to party workers in Mandya. The third-generation aspiring politician told his party cadre that there is no threat to the government and Kumaraswamy would continue to be the Chief Minister for the next four years. “There is no doubt Kumaraswamy will complete his term as the CM but we have to be ready to face elections at any point of time,” he said. After suffering a crushing defeat against independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in the Mandya Lok Sabha segment, Nikhil Kumaraswamy vowed to remain in the district and begin work to strengthen the JD(S) cadre. Nikhil Gowda’s statement comes just two days after veteran Congress leaders blamed Siddaramaiah and his supporters for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Several veterans including HK Patil, Roshan Baig and Ramalinga Reddy have openly criticized Siddaramaiah, alleging that the humiliation suffered by the party was simply because Siddaramaiah was misguiding the high command into making wrong decisions. Ever since the coalition government came to power, he has kept the ‘Siddaramaiah for CM’ campaign on through his supporters, alleged these leaders. Several JD(S) and Congress leaders have also indicated that Siddaramaiah has become a hindrance for the smooth functioning of the coalition. Siddaramaiah has been accused of keeping KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao and former JD(S) President AH Vishwanath out of the coalition’s coordination committee. “Any decision regarding the government has to be a collective one taken by the coordination committee but no one is bothered to adhere to Siddaramaiah’s diktats any more. Kumaraswamy has started his village stay programme without even consulting the coordination committee. Ideally, both Congress and JD(S) leaders were to be a part of it. JD(S) is doing its own thing as they cannot rely on Siddaramaiah,” a JD(S) leader told TNM on condition of anonymity. JD(S) insiders say that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s Grama Vastavya 2.0 (village stay 2.0) programme is all set to launch on June 21 in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Kumaraswamy is planning to stay at government schools and directly interact with the voters. Kumaraswamy had started this campaign in 2006 and had toured 47 villages across 30 districts in the state. “This is just a way to also get an understanding of the areas and constituencies where the JD(S) can expand its base. Relying on the coalition partner (Congress) is not an option at this point. They may pull out support at any point of time and we will be left in lurch. JD(S) cannot join hands with the BJP so this is an effective way to save the party from ruin. If the coalition breaks up, it will be because of the Congress leaders,” the JD(S) leader said.     

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Second time in a week, metro services in Bengaluru interrupted for more than 30 mins

Transport

Commuters were inconvenienced as they were informed about the impromptu maintenance work only they reached the Baiyappanahalli and SV Road metro stations.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representational Image

Less than a week after train services were temporarily stopped in the Purple Line on Namma Metro in Bengaluru due to a power failure, there was another disruption in services on Wednesday between 11.30 am and 12.10 pm, between Baiyyappanahalli and Indiranagar stations. “Train services between Indranagar and Baiyappanahalli will not be available between 11.30 am to 12 noon today due to urgent maintenance work to third rail traction power at SV Road station. Services will continue to be available between Mysore Road to Indiranagar,” the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)  said in a tweet. Speaking with The Hindu, Yashwant Chavan, PRO, BMRCL, said, “The train services were stopped between stations to fix some power supply snags in the third rail system. Services were suspended for 30 minutes, but were operational from Indiranagar to Mysuru Road stations.” Commuters were inconvenienced as they were informed about the impromptu maintenance work only they reached the Baiyappanahalli and SV Road metro stations. “Shutting down the Metro for maintenance without any prior information is an inconvenience for daily passengers. A 40-minute delay here will cost us more than one and a half hours. Why can’t officials plan and inform passengers in advance?” one irate commuter in Baiyappanahalli said. On Sunday too, train services in the same line was hit for 47 minutes, as lightning damaged electrical equipment at Baiyappanahalli metro station. Then in a release, BMRCL said, “Traction power supply on the Purple Line was not available from 7.23 pm to 8.01 pm. During this period, short-loop train operations were done between Indiranagar and Mysuru Road station. Full services on Purple Line, between Mysuru Road and Byappanahalli, were restored at 8.10 pm.” On both days, services in the Green LIne were unaffected.          

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Swiggy food delivery executive attacked, robbed in the heart of Bengaluru

Crime

The 20-year-old was rushed to St Philomena’s Hospital as he was bleeding from his right hand and abdomen.

TNM Staff

Representational image

A 20-year-old man working as a food delivery executive with Swiggy was stabbed and robbed by four men in the early hours of Wednesday in central Bengaluru. The incident was reported from Thiyagi M Palanivelu Road on MG Road. According to reports, the victim, Vinay, was riding his two-wheeler after he had delivered an order at 12.40 am, when four men started chasing him on two bikes. Then, one of those bikes hit his vehicle causing him to fall to the ground. The men then threatened him to give up his valuables. When Vinay showed resistance, he was stabbed and left bleeding, as they made away with Rs 4,000 in cash. Vinay received injuries on his right hand and his abdomen. Following this, one commuter saw him in that condition and volunteered to take him to the police station. Meanwhile, a patrol van spotted them and rushed him to St Philomena’s hospital. “We have taken up a case of attempt to murder and robbery and have formed a team to nab them,” the invesigation officer attached to Ashokenagar Police Station told The New Indian Express. This is not the only incident of assault against food delivery executives. In May, five persons were arrested by Halasuru police in the city. That time it was customers who had attacked the delivery executive for allegedly delivering their food late. The assaulters had left him injured and did not pay for their food.             

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Siddaramaiah slams BJP for not including any Karnataka Dalit MP in Union Cabinet

Politics

Taking umbrage to Siddaramaiah's remarks, the BJP asked him to make senior Congress leader and a Dalit Mallikarjun Kharge the CM.

IANS

Terming the BJP's concern for the downtrodden and deprived a lip sympathy, Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday slammed the party for not making any of its 5 newly-elected Lok Sabha members from the state a minister in the NDA government. "Though the BJP won all the 5 parliamentary seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and two for the Scheduled Tribes(ST) in the state, none of them was included in the 58-member NDA government. It shows how much the ruling BJP cares for Dalits," Siddaramaiah told reporters after attending Eid prayers at Idgah maidan in the city. Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state, the BJP won 25 of the 27 seats it contested, while the Congress and its coalition ally in the state Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) faced rout, winning only one seat each. An Independent (Sumalatha Ambreesh), backed by the BJP, won one seat (Mandya) in the old Mysuru region, about 100km southwest of Bengaluru. "Instead of talking big about uplifting Dalits, the BJP should show in deed than only talking. Not one Dalit MP from the state was included in the Union cabinet," tweeted Siddaramaiah in Kannada. Taking umbrage to Siddaramaiah's sarcastic remarks, the BJP's state unit was quick to rebut by asking him to make senior Congress leader and a Dalit Mallikarjun Kharge the state's chief minister if he had so much love for Dalits. "Twitter Ramaiah, make Kharge the chief minister if you care for Dalits so much. You prevented Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, also a Dalit, from becoming chief minister last time. Don't just tweet. Show your care and concern for Dalits in action," retweeted BJP in response to Siddaramaiah's tweet. Kharge, a two-time Lok Sabha member, lost to BJP's Umesh Yadav from Gulbarga reserved seat in the recent general elections in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took 4 lawmakers from Karnataka into the Union Council of Ministers on May 30, including three newly-elected Lok Sabha and one (Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman) from the Rajya Sabha from the state. The three Lok Sabha members are Union Minster for Chemicals and Fertilisers D.V. Sadananda Gowda from Bangalore North, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad and Minster of State for Railways Suresh Angadi from Belgaum in the state's northwest region. Gowda belongs to the politically dominant Vokkaliga community and Angadi hails from the powerful Lingayat community while Joshi and Sitharaman are Brahmins. "Representation to members of all castes and communities from across the country will be given on merit when the cabinet is expanded, keeping in view the constitutional limit and coalition compulsions," a party spokesman told IANS. The Central Government can have only 15 per cent or 82 of the 543-member Lok Sabha as ministers.  

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