Siddaramaiah questions PM Modi's silence on Hindenburg report, Manipur violence
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the Hindenburg report and the Manipur violence, as he hit back at the latter, for raising the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case against him, to target the Congress during poll campaign in Haryana.
Alleging that there are many corrupt people in the BJP, he asked the prime minister to correct things within his party first.
"There are many corrupt people in his party (BJP). Let him correct it first. Why doesn't Narendra Modi speak about Hindenburg (report)? on Manipur? Why hasn't he visited Manipur? Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha) has raised these issues. Why don't he speak on that?" Siddaramaiah asked in response to a question by reporters.
Targeting the Congress over the issue of corruption, Modi, addressing a poll rally in Haryana's Sonipat on Wednesday, had cited an example of Congress-ruled Karnataka, saying Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was facing an accusation of land scam and even the high court has also stated that the probe against him was right.
Lokayukta police on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Siddaramaiah and others in the MUDA site allotment case, following a Special Court in Bengaluru on Wednesday ordering a Lokayukta police probe against him.
The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.
The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs issued the order directing the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna.
On Congress MLA and senior advocate A S Ponnanna meeting him today, following the FIR, the chief minister said, "he is my legal advisor. I discuss with him every day. His visit is not special. Every day he discusses things with me. He was on his way to his constituency (Virajpet), as I was in Mysuru he met me."
Responding to a question on certain allegations made against him by JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah said, "Kumaraswamy only speaks lies. I cannot respond to all that he says. I won't respond."
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Academics express concern over new selection criteria for prestigious science prize
New Delhi: Nearly 200 academics wrote to the principal scientific advisor to the Government of India on Tuesday, raising concerns about the new selection criteria for the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award.
This letter follows a previous communication from 26 eminent scientists on August 30, who sought clarification on the award selection process after media reports suggested that “unfair non-scientific considerations” had influenced this year's list of awardees.
The Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award is a revamped version of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, which has been regarded as one of India’s most prestigious science award for over six decades. It is now part of a larger group of science prizes known as the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar.
This year, at least two potential awardees recommended by an expert panel were omitted from the final list of winners, including one individual who has been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led government, as reported by Scroll.
The letter, as cited by the publication, stated, “We are in agreement with the spirit, intent and the text of the letter sent by 26 of our colleagues." It added, “We agree with them that the procedures and criteria for determining Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskars should be, and seen to be fully fair, transparent and free of extraneous considerations.”
The 176 academics expressed concern that “the list of names declared as the award winners is not the same as the list recommended by RVPC”.
They emphasised that the expert panel can only recommend names to the president or prime minister, noting that this aspect of the process is not new. However, they pointed out that the recent practice of dropping names at the “discretion of the minister (science and technology) is something that has been unheard of for all these years.”
Furthermore, the letter mentioned that this could set a troubling precedent, allowing the minister “to use unrestricted vetoes” to overrule the expert committee’s recommendations. They cautioned that academics viewed unfavourably by the government could be sidelined not only from awards but also from scientific grants, recruitments, promotions, and more.
