Uproar in Karnataka Assembly as opposition protests demanding minister to resign
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproarious scenes with BJP and JD(S) members protesting from the well of the House, demanding the resignation of Excise Minister R B Timmapur, alleging a multi-crore scam in his department.
The opposition on Tuesday had staged an all-night protest in the Assembly after Timmapur refused to quit over corruption charges against him and his son in liquor licensing and transfer of officials.
As the House met for the day, BJP and JD(S) MLAs, who were in the well of the House, shouted slogans, demanding Timmapur's resignation.
Leading the charge, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka alleged that in the Excise Department, bribes are being taken for granting licenses and for facilitating transfers.
ALSO READ: Excise scam allegation: Bhajans, sloganeering mark Opposition's overnight protest in Assembly
Wine merchants' association has alleged that the scam in the excise department is to the tune of about Rs 6,000 crore, and related audio recordings have been released, complaints have been filed with the Lokayukta, he said.
He also claimed that the "looted money" was being used by the ruling Congress to fund the party in election-bound states.
Stating that he has provided three pen drives in the House, containing audio evidence to prove alleged scam in the excise department, and there are statement made by an Excise Deputy Commissioner about commissions going to the Minister, Ashoka said, Thimmapur should immediately resign, and there should be an inquiry.
"I urge the Chief Minister to take the Minister's resignation immediately, let there be an inquiry, and after three months if he is proved innocent, take him back in to the ministry," he said, adding that K J George of Congress and K S Eshwarappa, earlier with BJP, had resigned as ministers in the past, following allegations against them.
Questions are being asked as to what is the CM's share in this scam, for not taking any action against the minister, who is facing charges, the opposition leader said, "Siddaramaiah preaches morality, but does he have any morality?"
Valmiki ST Development Corporation funds were used by the ruling Congress for Lok Sabha polls, he alleged.
"Now for Assam polls, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar is the Congress election in-charge and for Kerala K J George is the in-charge, and the fund used in these elections is the Karnataka Excise department's. We have been alleging that Congress is using Karnataka as its ATM, but now it is emerging that for the Congress leadership, Karnataka is a Reserve Bank to fund their elections."
Following this, BJP and JD(S) members protesting from the well of the House shouted slogans demanding the Minister Timmapur's resignation; some slogans were also raised against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
As his repeated attempts to convince the opposition to withdraw the protest failed, Speaker U T Khader allowed the Congress members to continue with the discussion on the resolution moved by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Assembly on Tuesday, urging the Centre to immediately repeal the VB-G RAM G act and reinstate MGNREGA.
After some time, as the protest and sloganeering intensified, Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Manappa Lamani, who was on the Chair, adjourned the House for some time.
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CJI's advice to aspirant: Join the bar, become a lawyer, don't hanker for judicial services post
New Delhi (PTI): She came to the Supreme Court seeking a re-evaluation of her paper in the examination for joining judicial services as a magistrate. What she got instead was a rejection — and a candid confession by the Chief Justice that he too had wanted to join the judicial services in his youth but was advised by a senior judge to become a lawyer instead.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Friday dismissed a plea filed by Prerna Gupta, the judicial services aspirant.
As Gupta pressed her case, the CJI intervened and said, "Let me share my personal story and I hope you will go happily as we cannot allow your petition."
He recounted his time as a final-year law student in 1984 when he wanted to become a judicial officer. As per requirement, he cleared the written test and was set to appear for an interview.
Judicial services is one of the two routes to become a judge after initially joining as a magistrate in lower court and thereafter rising through the ranks to become judge in a high court and possibly the Supreme Court.
The other route is to join the Bar, which means becoming a lawyer, and after building a reputation be picked from the Bar to become a judge at a senior level.
By the time the CJI's exam results came out, he had started practising at the Punjab and Haryana High Court when he was called for the interview.
The senior-most judge on the interview panel happened to be a judge before whom he had recently argued two significant matters.
"One of the matters was Sunita Rani vs Baldev Raj, where he had allowed my appeal in a matrimonial case and set aside the decree of divorce granted by the District Judge on the ground of schizophrenia," he noted.
Before the interview could take place, the judge called the young Surya Kant to his chamber and asked, 'Do you want to become a judicial officer?'
"I said 'yes.' He immediately said, 'Get out from (my) the chamber.'"
The courtroom fell silent as the CJI Justice described his initial heartbreak.
“I came out trembling. All my dreams were shattered. I thought he had snubbed me and that my career was over,” the CJI said.
However, the story took another turn the following day and the judge summoned him again, this time offering a piece of advice that would change the trajectory of his life.
“He said, ‘If you want to become (a judge), you are welcome. But my advice is, don’t become a judicial officer. The Bar is waiting for you,’” Justice Surya Kant recalled.
The CJI said he decided to skip his interview and didn't even tell his parents at first, fearing their disappointment, and instead chose to dedicate himself to his practice as an advocate.
“Now tell me did I make a bad right or bad decision,” the CJI asked and the litigant lawyer left the court with a smile on her face despite her case being dismissed.
Encouraging the petitioner to look toward the future rather than dwelling on the re-evaluation of a single paper, Justice Surya Kant said, "The Bar has much to offer."
