Karnataka’s Rajya Sabha choices: Questions Remain
Four candidates have been elected unanimously to the Rajya Sabha from the Karnataka in the biennial polls held recently. A matter of consolation this time is that all the four are from Karnataka. Political parties have for long used the Rajya Sabha for the back-door entry of candidates who cannot win direct elections to the hallowed portals of Parliament. Political parties also strangely hold the view that Rajya Sabha members from a state need not be from that state, which helped many candidates from other states to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. And more often than not, the contribution of such candidates to Karnataka has been zero. In fact, many Rajya Sabha MPs elected from the state have spoken in favor of other states such as Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. As this trend had drawn the ire of Kannada organizations in the past, political parties have now started giving a serious thought to the selection of candidates.
Of the four candidates elected this time, two are senior leaders from the JDS and the Congress and the other two representing the BJP are new faces. The BJP is taking credit for electing grass-root workers of the party to the Rajya Sabha. The JDS, however, claims that selecting local-level workers does not fulfill any objective if they are not able to effectively represent the state’s interest in the Rajya Sabha. The party’s argument is that those elected to the Rajya Sabha should be seasoned politicians who can raise their voices on the issues before the state. While there is a grain of truth in both the arguments, they are equally shallow.
In the Parliamentary system, the Lok Sabha is called as the Lower House and the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House, indicating the significance of both the houses. Though the Lower House plays a more decisive role in governance, the Upper House cannot be neglected. The Upper House exists to guide the Lower House and its functioning whose representatives are usually inexperienced and lack administrative acumen. It is therefore important that candidates to the Rajya Sabha have experience in different fields. If the Lok Sabha has to proceed in the right direction, experts in various fields, thinkers, and a collection of bright minds should be seated in the Rajya Sabha. Only then the objective of having a Rajya Sabha – the House of Elders – will be fulfilled. However, political parties have been using the Rajya Sabha membership as a reward to workers and leaders who cannot contest and win direct elections to the Lok Sabha and the Legislative Assembly.
There cannot be any doubt that Parliament needs seasoned politicians such as Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress and Janata Dal’s Deve Gowda. The choice of the Congress and the JD(S) therefore makes good sense. At the same time, the BJP has done well by showing the powerful lobbies of senior leaders their place and by favouring two hitherto unknown district-level functionaries. But the decision of all the three parties raise many questions.
If the BJP were to give an opportunity for ordinary party workers to contest Lok Sabha or Assembly elections, the decision could have been lauded. But how fair is the party’s stand of giving ‘tickets to the winning candidates’ during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and ‘recognizing party workers’ when it comes to selecting candidates for Rajya Sabha elections? Doesn’t the selection of inexperienced persons to the Rajya Sabha defeat the purpose of the Upper House which is meant to be the preserve of the seasoned and the experienced? How far will such inexperienced party workers succeed in guiding the young MPs in Lok Sabha?
At the same time, how valid is the stand of the JDS that it had made the right choice in Deve Gowda? No doubt, Deve Gowda has on many occasions effectively fought for the interests of the state in Parliament, including the Cauvery river issue. However, now he is on the threshold of 87 years. Will his age not work against him? Does it mean that the party is openly admitting that it has a paucity of seasoned politicians other than the former prime minister? With the Corona virus spreading all over the country, health experts are warning that it is dangerous for senior citizens to be active in public. If the Congress and JDS had encouraged and groomed youngsters, would they have been facing the situation of having to choose aged politicians with health issues?
BJP has in its fold several seasoned and experienced thinkers and politicians. The party could have given its grass-roots workers ticket to contest the Lok Sabha or Assembly seats and sent seasoned politicians to the Rajya Sabha. The JDS, on the other hand, could have selected a candidate such as former MLA Y.S.V. Dutta to the Rajya Sabha instead of imposing on Deve Gowda the pressures of being a Rajya Sabha member. Of all the candidates selected to the Rajya Sabha, the selection of Kharge seems fair but at 77, the age is a factor to be considered in his case too. The Congress should also identify and recognize other seasoned leaders who can take Kharge’s place.
When it is becoming increasingly important for the Rajya Sabha to include experienced and seasoned political faces to correct the Lok Sabha which is going astray because of its financial might, it is difficult to accept the selection of these four candidates.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
