BBMP Bill 2020 passed in Karnataka Assembly: Hits and misses

Srikanth Vishwanathan, CEO of Jannagraha said, “The silver lining to the cloud is the decentralisation of powers and functions to the zones and wards and citizen participation

TNM Staff

PTI Photo

The Karnataka State Assembly on Thursday passed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bill 2020, that proposes a new governing structure for the city. But some citizens have taken a stance against the bill. The bill that decentralises power in Bengaluru, increases the term for Mayor has been met with resistance from various quarters.  Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy is one of the non-profit trusts that has raised a few questions pertaining to the bill.“The BBMP bill, 2020 is a missed opportunity for the transformation of Bengaluru’s governance.  It should have been far more ambitious and comprehensive and based on a far more systematic, consultative and well-informed process,” read the press note stating that the bill is like “a glass less than half-full”. They urged the state government to look into the gaping lacunas—lack of provisions for robust metropolitan governance, complete side-step on spatial planning and environment and absence of technology in governance—in the bill that needs to be addressed which could not be beneficial for the citizens. However, highlighting the better aspects of the bill, they mentioned that the decentralized governance and vesting powers in zonal and ward levels will pave a way for more citizen participation in the affairs. In addition, it will also improve the financial governance of the city. Srikanth Vishwanathan, CEO of Jannagraha said, “The silver lining to the cloud is the decentralisation of powers and functions to the zones and wards and citizen participation through ward committees and area sabhas.  We need to however emphasise to the state government that major missing pieces such as metropolitan governance, spatial planning, and financial and human resource capacities, besides digitalisation need to be addressed soon for meaningful change on the ground.”   What is BBMP Bill 2020? The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bill (BBMP Bill), 2020 proposed a new form of governance for the city of Bengaluru. Firstly, the bill decentralizes the power to zones and wards. The city will be divided into 15 zones and further into 243 wards. Each zone will have their committee responsible for the execution of developmental plans. And it will also subsume the gram panchayats, municipal councils which were outside the limits of BBMP. Secondly, the mayoral term has been increased to 30 months from 18 months. Bengaluru will see two mayors who will get 30-month-tenure each. A consultative committee will be established and the MLA will preside over the committee but they will constitute members from resident welfare associations. Lastly, the BBMP will also collect entertainment tax and levy fees for advertisement. According to law minister Madhuswamy, after GST, BBMP couldn’t levy a tax on the advertisement. Instead of a tax, there’ll be a fee and also, we’re allowing the BBMP to levy an entertainment tax,” he said.    

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IMA doctors' strike: Many Bengaluru hospital OPDs remain open

Doctor's Strike

The IMA is protesting against the Union government’s decision to allow ayurveda students to study general surgery.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representation Photo

Several private hospitals in Bengaluru kept their out-patient departments (OPDs) operational on Friday in the wake of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) calling for a nation-wide strike. The IMA had called for shut down of OPDs in private hospitals practising allopathy after the Union government’s decision to allow ayurveda students to obtain general surgery training.  On November 20 this year, the Central Council of Indian Medicine, which regulates ayurveda education, issued a notification that ayurveda graduates with postgraduate degrees can now be trained in 58 surgical procedures from modern medicine. The doctors practising allopathy have called for a strike stating that such an outcome would be a public health hazard.  Major private hospitals including Apollo Hospital (Jayanagar), Fortis Hospital, and Motherhood Hospitals have kept their outpatient departments open. However, Jain Hospital had shut its OPD for the day, stating that the doctors supported IMA’s strike. COVID-19 private hospitals and government hospitals continued to operate their OPDs, as they are mandated to do so under the Epidemics Act.  “We have more patients coming in today and our OPD is open. We have too many appointments and patients who can’t be turned away,” said a doctor from St John’s Hospital, which is designated as COVID-19 hospital.  Speaking to TNM, Dr SM Prasad, Secretary of IMA Karnataka chapter said that the primary reason for the strike is to “create awareness among people” regarding the Union government’s decision to allow ayurveda students to work in general surgeon positions.  “Ayurveda rejects antibiotics. The students studying the course do not learn anything about anesthesia or microbiology. You can’t put turmeric and neem leaves on surgical wounds. Without the proper knowledge that MBBS and MD doctors obtain, how can they be allowed to become general surgeons. This will lead to increase in quacks and will result in a community health crisis,” Dr SM Prasad said.  He further stated that the cross-over to general surgery would “inadvertently” result in more complications in patients. “When they don’t have the knowledge about modern medicine and are allowed to operate, it will increase risks in patients who they operate on. Why should we legalise something which is detrimental to public health. We are not against Ayurveda. Let them practise but they can’t be equipped to delve into modern medicine and the two spheres are different. We are not against Ayurveda, just the crossover with allopathy,” he added.  Dr Prasad said that the IMA would have a list of hospitals, who supported the strike only by the end of the day. “We will take this to the government to show the support we have for our cause,” he added. 

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There is no 'too much democracy', Karnataka govt’s bulldozing of beef Bill is proof

Opinion

The government divesting the opposition of even discussion on crucial Bills should be called a dangerous trend – except, it’s been going on for so long that ‘trend’ is a wrong word.

Pooja Prasanna

PTI photo

It has been recently alleged that ‘too much democracy in India’ is making ‘tough reforms’ difficult. And the BJP government’s bulldozing of anti-cow slaughter amendments in Karnataka seems to be the party’s latest attempt to remedy the ‘excess democracy’ in India. The Bill recently passed in the state Assembly followed what the Union government has been doing with several crucial legislations in Parliament – there was no discussion, there was no attempt at consensus building, there was absolutely no chance BS Yediyurappa’s Cabinet was going to let ‘democracy’ hinder their pet project.  The new Bill – an amendment to the already existing anti-cow slaughter law – is contentious. It was bound to be met with stiff opposition both inside and outside the Assembly. The Bill has far reaching repercussions and some of the provisions are oppressive.  Read: Karnataka beef ban: Beyond restaurant menu, here's how things will change The Bill denies citizens their right to choice of profession and means of livelihood as well as food. In addition to this, the search and seizure powers given to anybody higher than the rank of a sub-inspector based on mere suspicion, can result in large scale harassment – particularly of Dalits and minorities.  The official reasoning behind the new legislation is Article 48 of the Indian Constitution – one of the Directive Principles of State Policy. Article 48 says: “The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” Needless to say however, the new legislation has little to do with ‘modern and scientific lines’, and is about ‘Hindu sentiments’ – whatever that term means in the polarised world of today. The state government of course can point to the Constitution all it wants – but it cannot be denied that by bringing in such a law, they are exposing vulnerable populations to emboldened vigilante groups.  While the Bill itself is deeply problematic, what’s even more so is the beef that BJP and its governments seem to have with ‘too much democracy’.  School taught us that ‘democracy’ is government by the people, for the people, and of the people. We’ve been told that the Indian democracy has three pillars – the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The legislature makes laws; the executive implements them; and the judiciary upholds them.  Except, as several people have pointed out, it’s the executive – the government – that actually makes laws in India, and not the legislature. Ministers draft laws, and all the our legislative – your and my elected representatives sitting in the Parliament and in state Assemblies – can do, is to vote on them, and discuss amendments. And since 2014, even this limited role of the legislature has been rendered ineffective by BJP governments.  It’s become par for the course for Bills to be passed in the Parliament without any discussion or debate – and with the anti-cow slaughter amendments, the BJP government in Karnataka has taken a leaf out of their Delhi high command’s books. Some may argue that BS Yediyurappa’s government went a step further – not only was the Bill not debated in the Assembly, there was no prior notice to the House that the Bill was even being brought in! There was no mention of the Bill in the Business Advisory Committee meeting. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) consisting of members from all parties decides on the transaction of the House. From when the Assembly session should commence to what the agenda of the session should be and even how much time should be allocated to discuss what topic, the committee, as the name explains, decides on how the business of the House is conducted. The current BAC of the Karnataka Assembly has the Speaker, CM BS Yediyurappa, Leader of Opposition Siddaramiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madhuswamy, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy along with several others.   Speaker Vishweshwar Kageri claimed that in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, it was said that ‘important Bills’ will be tabled – a contested claim. The official agenda published on the Karnataka Assembly website does not reflect tabling of the Bill which debunks the claim of the Speaker.  Siddaramiah alleged that the copy of the Bill was not even given to opposition parties before it was tabled, as is the practice. How then are our elected representatives supposed to study the Bill that they’re technically supposed to be ‘making’?  The House was adjourned amidst ruckus, and later in the evening, the BJP went ahead with the Bill and ensured its passage with the opposition absent. When questioned, the exceedingly boring strategy was used by the government: whataboutery. The BJP responded to the Congress’ accusation that in 2013, when a similar Bill against cattle slaughter was withdrawn by the then Siddaramiah-led government, it was also done in a similar manner.  Read: Karnataka Assembly passes stringent anti-cow slaughter law amid ruckus The government finding ways to divest the opposition of even a discussion on such crucial Bills is a dangerous trend. The opposition leaders have questioned the very need of having such committees if the government disregards their role. The draconian nature of the said Bill has been documented and it still needs to pass in the Legislative Council before it can become a law. But the manner in which such disputed Bills are being pushed by subverting democratic practices exhibits a blatant contempt towards democratic principles and institutions.  The BJP often indulges in whataboutery when questioned about their autocratic ways. And as a last resort, they remind the Congress and the people of the country of the Emergency that was declared 45 years ago. But the trend of invalidating norms, backed by a brute electoral majority and a weakened opposition, is a worrying one. The Bill against cattle slaughter is a highly litigious one and pushing it without deliberating on the impact it will have on farmers, Dalits, minorities and other citizens' rights is a gross misuse of power by the government. Muzzling of dissent has been done in various forms to suit the situation but when even elected representatives are not allowed discussions on the floor of the House, it raises serious doubts about the functionality of our democratic set-up. And if this diluted version of our democracy is also ‘too much’, then one has to wonder if merely conducting elections makes India a democracy.   Read: Farmers continue protest in Bengaluru, condemn anti-cattle slaughter Bill Views expressed are author's own.

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Karnataka govt defers presenting anti-cattle slaughter bill in Legislative Council

Controversy

The BJP does not have the numbers to counter the combined strength of Congress and JD(S) in the Council.

TNM Staff

Pixabay

The Karnataka government did not introduce the stringent anti-cattle slaughter bill in the Legislative Council on Thursday, a day after it was passed in the state Assembly. The BJP does not have the numbers to overcome the combined strength of Congress and JD(S) in the Legislative Council. It is likely that the state government may choose to promulgate an ordinance. The BJP with 31 members in the Council was banking on support from the JD(S) which has 14 members. The Congress has 29 members. This is the third contentious bill this week that was not passed in the Council. The JD(S) earlier backed the BJP in passing the Karnataka Land Reform Bill but the party, under pressure from farmer groups, backed out from supporting the anti-cattle slaughter bill. JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister Kumaraswamy tweeted that the anti-cow slaughter Bill, which was introduced and adopted in the Karnataka Assembly in a tearing hurry, appears to affect farmers adversely. "This is because the Bill does not appear to have taken measures to protect farmers, who actually protect and nurture cattle. It is going to be difficult for a farmer when a cow gives birth to a male calf or when it gets old or falls sick," he said. The Karnataka government on Wednesday passed the stringent anti-cattle slaughter bill in the Assembly. The bill widened the definition of cattle to include bulls, bullocks and buffalos under the age of 13. The bill was not presented in the Council on Thursday and it is not clear when it will be presented.  Read: Karnataka beef ban: Beyond restaurant menu, here's how things will change Kumaraswamy said that the bill could also adversely affect milk production in the state. "This clause would increase financial burden on dairy farmers and make dairying a loss-making venture. Already, the farmers are reeling under distress as milk unions have slashed the procurement prices by Rs 5 a litre ever since the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the state," he said.  

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IT employees in Karnataka will continue to work from home: Deputy CM

Health

The Deputy CM cited concerns over a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases as the reason.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan

Due to concerns of a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases, employees of IT firms in Karnataka will continue to work from home for some more months, Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday. "Employees of IT or software firms in the state will be allowed to work from their home for more months, as the pandemic is expected to persist for some more time," Ashwath Narayan, who is also in-charge of IT, BT and Science and Technology portfolios, told the Assembly. The Central and state governments have permitted all IT and IT-enabled firms to allow their employees to work from home or anywhere since mid-March when the COVID-19-induced lockdown was enforced and extended to contain the virus spread. The Centre has also extended connectivity norms for work-from-home to IT and business processing outsourcing (BPO) firms till March 2021.The government will not insist on IT firms to re-open their offices fully, as the state is not free from the pandemic though cases have been declining of late," Narayan told Independent legislator B Sharath. "The IT industry has been doing well despite the pandemic fallout on its operations over the last 9 months. In fact, their technology came to the rescue of people in these extraordinary times due to the virus spread," he said. Sharath, who worked in the tech sector as an executive before taking the plunge into politics, said that with 7-8% of the techies working from their offices on essential services, the industry's productivity had declined. "As allied sectors like cabs, buses and eateries depend on techies working from offices, their business has been affected since March," he said. Some reputed companies including Amazon and Google in the US have announced that work from home will continue till June next year in their country.

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Namma metro services on purple line to be affected on Saturday, Sunday

Public Transport

BMRCL said they will be doing electrical cable laying work at Mysuru Road Metro Station due to which the services will be affected.

TNM Staff

NammaMetro/PTI

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announced that they will begin the electrical cable laying work at Mysuru Road Metro Station of the purple line on Saturday and Sunday (December 12-13), in connection with the proposed extension from Mysuru Road towards Kengeri. In light of the same, metro train services will be suspended on the purple line between Mysuru Road and Vijayanagar stations on the aforementioned dates. However, the metro services will be available between Baiyappanahalli and Vijayanagar metro stations from 7 am onwards. Services on the green line will work as usual. The metro services will be restored from December 14, 2020, by 7 am and function as usual on the entire purple line. The work for Mysuru to Challaghatta on the purple Line was completed on November 5. Namma Metro’s project has paced since the resolution with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises Ltd (NICE) over land acquisition. Metro work on Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road, Kanakapura Road and Hosur road was lagging due to issues with NICE over land acquisition. Steel girders have been launched for green and purple lines said a NICE spokesperson. “It is difficult work since the movement of the cranes has to be synchronous without affecting vehicular movement below,” added the spokesperson.    “There are many challenges involved while constructing viaducts. The major ones are height and traffic management. Also, the time is limited as work only happens at night,” a senior official at the BMRCL said. Meanwhile Asian Development Bank on Thursday approved a loan of $500 million for BMRCL to complete the work of laying new lines to the airport from the city. This project will establish 30 new metro stations including multimodal facilities like bus bays, motorbike pools, taxi stand, pedestrian walkways and bridges.   

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‘Nalegalannu Maduvavaru’: GV Iyer's film which was ahead of its time

Flix Flashback

GV Iyer wrote and directed this unconventional film that was way ahead of its time, focusing on a couple and their children.

Sanjana Deshpande

Screengrab: Nalegalannu Maduvavaru/YouTube/TVNXT

The 1950s were a defining time for the Indian cinema industry. The New Indian Cinema movement, inspired by Italian Neorealism, first began in West Bengal with filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen making films that presented the reality of the prevalent sociopolitical climate. The flames of parallel cinema soon engulfed the rest of India. ‘Kannada Bheeshma’ GV Iyer was one of the earlier Kannada parallel cinema filmmakers.  Ganapathi Venkataramana Iyer has a legion of esteemed awards to his name. Iyer’s films always circled around the theme of spirituality. However, Nalegalannu Maduvavaru (The Ones Who Will Build the Future) stands out in his filmography. The film, which released in 1976-1977, moves away from the realm of spirituality and explores rationality. While it is not devoid of spiritual elements, it juxtaposes the two. Sharada (Rekha Rao), seeking the whereabouts of Kareem, her partner, visits his friend Jay’s clinic. As she waits, a priest enters the clinic. “You never know with these Christians. Once they touch anything, they contaminate it and only a dip in the holy water of Ganges can rid us of it,” says the priest to the doctor, reflecting the prevalent animosity towards minority communities. The leads, Sharada and Jay, come off as rational beings until Iyer begins to explore their relationship, which is often clouded by others’ opinions. Jay has always despised the relationship that Sharada and Kareem had, before they eventually broke up. “I will take good care of you, please have trust in my abilities,” says Jay, before marrying Sharada, although the tables turn after they wed. Jay starts caving to pressure, influenced by whatever people say. His displeasure heightens when she doesn’t comply with his wishes. However, unlike them, the next generation is not subservient. The focus of the narrative shifts from the couple to their children, Ranga and Balu. While Ranga is an established author and a literature enthusiast, Balu is a psychology geek. Jay’s niece Archana comes to live with them, and all three are very rational people who look at life from a logical lens, detached from societal norms and expectations. “I don’t want to live a conventional life. I want to date different men, and then if I feel like getting married and having kids, I’ll do that too. Anyway, all love ends in sex. That’s why I want to experience what it feels like; I am inquisitive,” says Archana, as she speaks to Balu about her opinion on marriage, love and relationships. Iyer’s direction unravels themes on love, relationship, marriage and the taboo subject of premarital sex. Known for his Sanskrit films, he broached these subjects in the conservative '70s. What makes the viewing interesting is that he doesn’t offer a commentary himself, but has rather shot the film as if he were in the audience, watching the story unfold from the sidelines.   “Your mother was a strong woman but her dependence on her husband is what made her suffer for so long. Ranga and I don’t have such a relationship. Even in his absence, I can raise the child by myself,” Chithra, who is pregnant with Ranga’s child, says to Balu and Archana. Asserting their difference from the previous generations, their needs are not materialistic but metaphysical in nature. The dialogue paves a way for the discourse of rationality versus spirituality to be viewed with a new lens. Iyer asks the audience to decide whether being spiritual is dependent on reciting hymns and scriptures, as Jay does, or is it being truly free of all materialistic comforts and surrendering to your rationale. By discussing modern ideas of exploration, romance, sexual relationships and marriage, while challenging the audience’s notion of spirituality and rationality, the film holds up a mirror, compelling viewers to search within themselves for answers. All of this makes Nalegalannu Maduvavaru worth revisiting. The film can be watched on YouTube here.

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