In cartoons: The work of P Mahamud, the winner of the inaugural Gauri Lankesh award
Bengaluru : Political cartoonist P Mahamud has won the first edition of an award set up in the memory of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was assassinated in Bengaluru a year ago. The announcement was made on Wednesday by two India centres of writers’ organisation PEN.
Mahamud has been given the “Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism” award for his “exemplary commitment to the advancement of social and economic justice and political democracy”, the award citation said. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and will be given annually to individuals or organisations whose work “reflects an abiding passion and courage towards advancing democratic culture in India”, said PEN Delhi and PEN South India.
“Mahamud’s cartoons have offered a powerful, non-partisan critique of political corruption, communalism and caste prejudice, among other problems seen in the country in general and in Karnataka in particular,” said the awarding organisations. “The bold and passionate work of Mahamud has contributed richly to nourish a democratic spirit in public discussions.”
Mahmud began his career as a freelance cartoonist with Kannada weekly in 1986 and went on to work with several English and Kannada publications.
The jury for the inaugural award – which was given for work in Kannada – comprised sociologist Chandan Gowda, journalist Sangamesh Menasinakai, and authors Arshia Sattar and Vivek Shanbhag.
Here are a few cartoons he has drawn in recent weeks:
(A cartoon, dated August 30, that takes a jibe at the Centre for the arrest of five human rights activists while bigger problems remain unsolved.)
(A cartoon drawn on July 20, 2018, when a no-confidence motion against the government was discussed in the Lok Sabha. The government won the vote.)
(A cartoon, dated September 5, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reaction to the declining value of the rupee and rising fuel prices.)
(A cartoon published on August 4 after Imran Khan's party emerged the single-largest party in the Pakistan national elections.)
Gauri Lankesh was shot dead in her home in Bengaluru on the night of September 5, 2017. Unidentified men fired at least four shots at her before escaping by motorbike. A special investigation team of the Karnataka Police is investigating the murder.
courtesy : scroll.in
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Prez nod for FIR against AAP's Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain in Rs 2,000-cr classroom 'scam'
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.
In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
The President has given her approval for registering the FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with the alleged scam during their tenures as ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted "glaring irregularities" in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department (PWD).
The President's approval came under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act that pertains to "enquiry or inquiry or investigation of offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by public servant in discharge of official functions or duties".
Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of carrying out a witch-hunt against its political rivals.
The BJP has no interest or intention to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of people, the former minister said in a statement.
The BJP-led central government has already decided to prosecute every political adversary of the party and grant approvals to move the case forward but it should wait for the judicial process to begin, he said.
In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then AAP rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.
According to a report prepared by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi government, the complainants alleged that there was a scam worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms and school buildings in Delhi. The work was done at a highly inflated cost by the Delhi government.
The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms.
The ACB report said the total expenditure incurred for constructing the classrooms and school buildings was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. They were allegedly constructed at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square feet, whereas it was common knowledge that the average construction cost (even for a builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per square feet.
The total cost for constructing a classroom and school building, according to the tender awarded, was allegedly around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, whereas such rooms are easily constructed in Delhi at around Rs 5 lakh per room, it said.
The prices were increased almost five times to defraud the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer in the garb of construction cost, the report said.
Even for a 5-star hotel, top ultra-luxury quality construction is around Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 per square feet, it said.
The complainants submitted a copy of documents in which information received under the RTI Act in respect of the construction of 18 classrooms in the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari (school ID:-1207111) revealed that they were constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the ACB report said.
