Anybody can purchase doctoral degree for thousand bucks: Regrets Prof S.G. Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, October 14: Kannada Development Authority chairman Prof S.G. Siddaramaiah said that anybody could get doctorate degree for a thousand rupees from a foreign university.
Speaking at the Ninth Kannada Sahitya Samskritika Samavesha organised by the Buddha Basava Gandhi Cultural Trust at Kannada Sahitya Parishad here on Sunday, he said that instead of getting a doctoral degree through payment, it was better to get it by working on a literary work. Those who involve in literary activities as multi-lingual personality would promote Kannada. Such writers would contribute for the exchange of literature and culture as they have knowledge of literature of other languages and writer Varada Srinivas was one among such writers, he said.
The competitive exams should be conducted in regional languages. As the Central government was conducting various competitive exams only in Hindi and English, the pluralism of regional languages does not have place in the federal system and it was anti-Constitutional. Poetess Varada Srinivas has raised voice against atrocity on women, dominance of male-dominated society and female equality in her poems, he opined.
Both are equal
Convention president and writer Varada Srinivas welcomed the Supreme Court decision of abolishing the IPC Section 486 which allowed man to have ownership over woman and removing the restriction on women to enter Sabarimala temple. The Supreme Court had upheld the Constitutional morality, according to which, husband was no longer a boss or owner and woman was no longer a slave. Both man and woman were equal in all aspects including sex and they were basic values. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court verdict, in a way, has given licence to husband to have illicit affair. Normally, the chances of wife having illicit affair were less. Many people opined that this verdict was like a licence given to have adultery. The verdict would create enmity between men and women individually. This would create an embarrassing situation in a society which has traditional mindset, she said.
Rapes, sexual harassment, use of contraceptive pills, removing uterus and other issues have already pushed women to ditch. Why should she be punished for the mistakes of others? She was not happy with the verdict given by the Supreme Court. No woman would think of having illicit affair if her husband had such relationship. It would be a rare case as some modern women could think of having such relationship, she said.
Sahitya Koota President Nanjappa Kalegowda, Buddha Basava Gandhi Cultural Trust President S. Ramalingeswara, K.V. Nagaraja Murthy of District Sharana Sahitya Parishat and others were present.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka procured 16 lakh expired RT-PCR kits during Covid wave: D’Cunha commission
Bengaluru: Justice John Michael D’Cunha’s committee has uncovered significant irregularities in the procurement of medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing that more than 16 lakh RT-PCR test kits purchased by Karnataka in 2022 under the BJP-led government were either expired or close to their expiry dates.
After irregularities in PPE kit purchases, ventilators have also come under the scanner, with the report highlighting discrepancies amounting to Rs 173.26 crore in purchases made by the Medical Education Department.
The commission has also found that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd. (KSMSCL) that cancelled a supply order for one lakh Rapid Antigen (RAT) kits placed with a Singapore-based company in March 2020 — for delay in supplying — has not recovered the Rs 6.99 crore paid to the company towards the order, as reported by The Hindu on Thursday.
According to the 279-page report on procurements made by the KSMSCL that is compiled in part IV of the report, a payment of Rs 148.84 crore was made by KSMSCL to various suppliers and firms towards procurement of RT-PCR kits from 2020 to 2022.
The Commission’s report, as cited by the publication, stated that there were records indicating procurement of RT-PCR kits, RNA extraction kits and Viral transport media (VTM) of a total value of Rs 106.25 crore during the pandemic in Karnataka. However, according to the report, this procurement was made without administrative approval.
“Since the KSMSCL has failed to discharge its obligation and responsibility, the loss caused to the State exchequer to this extent is required to be replenished by the erring officers and/or officials of the KSMSCL as well as the officers and/or officials of the consignee designated laboratories who received the consignment,” the report said, pegging the losses due to expired kits supplied by companies at Rs 3.11 crore.
In response to the report’s findings, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticised the saffron party for profiting from the pandemic. He promised accountability for the irregularities involving PPE kits and ventilators, stating that those responsible would face punishment.
