Surprised and saddened by Deve Gowda's statement: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he was both surprised and saddened by JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda's statement that a Chief Minister representing six crore people should not question a Prime Minister who represents a hundred crore people.
He was referring to a reported statement by Gowda, a former Prime Minister, at a NDA rally in Mysuru on Sunday, when he shared the stage with PM Narendra Modi.
"Respected H D Deve Gowda, I am both surprised and saddened by your statement that a Chief Minister representing six crore people should not question a Prime Minister who represents a hundred crore people," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.
He said, "You have led a regional party for many years and have been a consistent critic of the Union Government and the Prime Ministers. Why, then, do you choose to adopt such a submissive stance at this stage in your life?"
Pointing out to Gowda that we are part of a federal democracy where the Prime Minister is not an autocrat, nor is a Chief Minister a mere subordinate, the CM said both hold positions of equal stature, irrespective of their age.
"Age does not dictate the relevance of their roles. Even when Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister at a young age, there were older Chief Ministers who engaged with him in mutual critique and dialogue. Until now, no one else has raised questions in the impudent and impertinent manner that you have," he said.
Noting that in the discussions that lasted till midnight in the Lok Sabha about the 2002 Gujarat violence, there may be records of the criticism Gowda levelled against then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Siddaramaiah said, "I still don't consider them wrong as these are part of the proceedings of a parliamentary democracy. At that time, you were not the Chief Minister, but just a representative of a Lok Sabha constituency. Did the difference between representing a hundred crore and six crore people not concern you then?"
"Mr Deve Gowda, it's worth noting that just a few months ago, your son, H D Kumaraswamy - who is at least 10 years younger to Narendra Modi and was merely an MLA at the time - used harsh language to criticise PM Modi. This has not been forgotten by the people of our state, and likely not by you either," he said.
"Why did you not advise your son against criticising the Prime Minister, who represents a 100 crore people? The people of our state are well aware that these actions were motivated by convenience," he added.
Suggesting that it is everyone's right to oppose and question the Union Government and the Prime Minister when the state government is treated unfairly, the CM said, "I presume you recall the language Narendra Modi used against then PM Manmohan Singh, who is one of the most dignified and respected political leaders our country has seen, when the former was the Chief Minister of Gujarat."
When Gowda was Prime Minister, Kannadigas swelled with pride, Siddaramaiah said, they praised him whenever he confronted the Union Government to protect the state's land, water, and language against the Prime Ministers of those times.
"Particularly in the current instance where the Prime Minister seems to act vindictively against southern states, including Karnataka, simply because these states did not support his party, you were expected to lead our resistance. Unfortunately, you are now compromising Karnataka's interests for the survival of your party and family politics, by aligning with the Prime Minister and opposing our cause," he said.
"Deve Gowda, it is not too late to amend your ways and speak out against the injustices inflicted on Kannadigas by the Union Government," the CM said and added that the Narendra Modi administration is undermining Kannadigas through its policies on tax distribution, drought relief, and Centrally-sponsored schemes.
"Your silence on these issues might temporarily benefit your party, but history will certainly not forgive you," he added.
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SC stays CBI probe into West Bengal govt officials' role in teacher recruitment scam
New Delhi, Apr 29: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI to probe the role of West Bengal government officials in a teacher recruitment scam. It, however, refused to stay for now the cancellation of the appointment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff.
The top court was hearing a plea by the West Bengal government against a high court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, however, refused to stay the high court order cancelling the appointments and said it will hear the matter on May 6.
Observing that taking away the jobs of about 25,000 persons is a serious matter, the top court asked if it is possible to segregate the valid and invalid appointments on the basis of the material available and who the beneficiaries of the fraud are.
"We will stay the direction which says the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government," the bench said.
Calcutta High Court had said the CBI would undertake further investigations with regard to the persons in the state government involved in approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments.
If necessary, the CBI will undertake custodial interrogation of such persons involved, it had said.
Challenging the order, the state government, in its appeal filed before the top court, said the high court cancelled the appointments "arbitrarily".
"The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill," the plea said.
Calcutta High Court last week declared the selection process as "null and void" and directed the CBI to probe the appointment process. It also asked the central agency to submit a report within three months.
"All appointments granted in the selection processes involved being violative of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, are declared null and void and cancelled," the high court said in its April 22 order.
The high court said those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, appointed after the expiry of the official date of recruitment, and those who submitted blank Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets but obtained appointment to return all remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent interest per annum within four weeks.
Observing that it had given "anxious consideration to the passionate plea" that persons who obtained the appointments legally would be prejudiced if the entire selection process was cancelled, the bench said it hardly had any choice left.
The high court held that all appointments involved were violative of articles 14 (equality before law) and 16 (prohibiting discrimination in employment in any government office) of the Constitution.
"It is shocking that, at the level of the cabinet of the state government, a decision is taken to protect employment obtained fraudulently in a selection process conducted by SSC for state-funded schools, knowing fully well that, such appointments were obtained beyond the panel and after expiry of the panel, at the bare minimum," the high court had said.
It said unless "there is a deep connection between the persons perpetuating the fraud and the beneficiaries" with persons involved in the decision-making process, such action to create supernumerary posts to protect illegal appointments is "inconceivable".
The division bench had also rejected a prayer by some appellants, including the SSC, for a stay on the order and asked the commission to initiate a fresh appointment process within a fortnight from the date of the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The bench, constituted by the high court chief justice on a direction of the Supreme Court, had heard 350 petitions and appeals relating to the selection of candidates for appointment by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 and group-C and D staffers through the SLST-2016.
In its 282-page judgment, the high court had said retaining appointees selected through "such a dubious process" would be contrary to public interest.
