Congress moves EC against Amit Shah
Bengaluru: Karnataka's ruling Congress on Wednesday complained to the Election Commission against the BJP President Amit Shah's alleged violation of the election code by terming Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "anti-Hindu" on Monday.
"We have brought to the notice of the poll panel and the state's chief electoral officer that Shah had violated the poll code by accusing Siddaramaiah of being Ahindu (anti-Hindu) instead of being pro-Ahinda," party's state unit vice-president V.R. Sudarshan told reporters here.
Ahinda is a Kannada acronym for the socio-political movement Siddaramaiah launched in 2006 the betterment of minorities, backward classes and Dalits, after he quit the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). Later he joined the Congress.
"Shah had stated at Shivamogga on March 26 that he (Siddaramaiah) should look at how the Karnataka government is dividing Hindus and Lingayats, let alone other religions. In reality, he is not pro-Ahinda but Ahindu," said Sudarshan.
Terming Shah's charge as a violation of the Representation of the People's Act and an offence under the Indian Penal Code, he urged the poll panel to investigate the complaint and take action against the BJP chief.
State CEO Sanjiv Kumar has directed the Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner, who is also the returning officer for the May 12 assembly election to the constituencies in the state's Malnad region's district, to order an inquiry into the complaint and submit a report on the action taken by Thursday.
Shah was on a two-day visit to the region to campaign for the party ahead of the poll.
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20,000 more vacancies in Karnataka Government Jobs; Services affected
Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded an increase of 20,466 vacancies in government jobs this year, with data revealing that one-third of sanctioned posts in the administration remain unfilled. This shortage has led to significant delays in public service delivery.
Of the 7.72 lakh sanctioned government posts in the state, 2.76 lakh remain vacant, compared to 2.55 lakh last year. The Congress party had pledged in its 2023 election manifesto to fill all vacancies within a year, but 19 months later, this promise remains unfulfilled.
The finance department clarified that hiring is being approved on a "case-to-case" basis. However, mounting fiscal constraints, particularly due to over Rs 63,000 crore expenditure on 'guarantee' schemes, have slowed recruitment under the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Criticising the situation, Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar highlighted the impact on essential services, citing an example from Udupi district. “With just two employees handling land conversion applications, a service costing Rs 2,000 is being completed at Rs 25,000 due to delays,” he said.
The agriculture department is among the hardest hit, with a 65% staff shortage. Darshan Puttannaiah, Sarvodaya Karnataka MLA from Melkote, expressed concern over the situation, stating, “Government employees are overworked, often putting in 12-15 hours daily. Vacancies are pushing citizens to seek services through outsourcing or corruption.”
Currently, over 96,000 Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs, including stenographers, typists, and drivers, are being outsourced.
R V Deshpande, chairperson of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, remarked that the government should not be viewed as an employment agency. “While some departments need recruitment, others lack sufficient workloads,” he said, emphasising rising administrative costs.
The Congress government isn’t the first to face criticism over recruitment promises. In November 2022, then BJP Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced plans to fill one lakh vacancies within a year, a promise that also went unfulfilled.
