Land deal: Cong-JDS coalition received kickbacks, alleges Yeddyurappa
Bengaluru, Jun 9: The BJP in Karnataka Sunday alleged that the Congress-JDS coalition has received "kickbacks" for selling 3,667 acres of land, having rich deposits of iron ore, to JSW steel company in Ballari district.
The comments by Karnataka BJP Chief B S Yeddyurappa have come a day after chairman and managing director of the steel giant, Sajjan Jindal said that the company never does anything "illegal" or "disadvantage" the people of the state.
"We will be holding a three-day protest in Bengaluru against government's decision to sell 3,667 acres of land to Jindal at Rs 1.22 lakh per acre," Yeddyurappa told reporters in Yadgir.
"If the decision is not taken back and if the need arises, we have decided to hold a state-wide protest also," added the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader.
Asked whether any kickback was received by the coalition government, he said, "If not, why will they do it? After the Lok Sabha elections the first thing they did in the cabinet meeting was giving away over 3,600 acres of land... H K Patil (Congress leader) has also opposed it."
To another query on who received kickbacks, Yeddyurappa said, "Who else? those running the government."
The state cabinet had recently decided to convert the lease of 3,667 acres land to JSW Steel in Ballari district into sale, in accordance with the initial agreement.
Accusing the government of selling the land to the company at a throwaway price, Yeddyurappa had already announced that the BJP would stage a three-day Satyagraha in the city opposing the decision from June 13.
Embarrassing the coalition, senior Congress leader H K Patil has been opposing the move by writing a series of letters to the state government.
He has maintained that the company has been accused of indulging in "illegal mining" and that it owed dues to the government and the state-run Mysore Minerals Ltd.
Meanwhile, Congress sources said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is expected to intervene in the matter soon.
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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."
