Veteran Congress leader claims Veerashaiva Lingayats got raw deal in Karnataka
Yediyurappa welcomes statement
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa's statement that Veerashaiva Lingayat community is getting a raw deal under his party's government in Karnataka, seems to have created a stir within the ruling party and gained support from BJP's B S Yediyurappa.
Sensing an opportunity to target the Congress government, opposition BJP has accused it of neglecting the numerically large community.
Senior BJP leader and former chief minister Yediyurappa, who also hails from the community, on Sunday welcomed Shivashankarappa's statement and called on the Veershaiva Lingayats to be united.
The 92-year-old Shivashankarappa, who heads the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, a body that represents the dominant community, made his grouse public during the weekend, which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has denied.
"Many (officers from the community) have not been given (good posts)...our community and its officers are facing trouble," Shivashankarappa had said.
Responding to a question on whether there should be a Lingayat CM, he said, "Earlier Lingappa (Nijalingappa) and Veerendra Patil were there (as CMs). During their tenure, we ran the administration, they had kept us good. Now our people have become helpless."
Further stating that the community need not settle for the post of a Deputy Chief Minister post, he responded to a question saying, "Who wants a DCM post...if possible become CM or else leave it."
Shivashankarappa's statement, despite the fact that his son S S Mallikarjun is part of the government as a minister, has caused embarrassment to the ruling Congress party.
The Veerashaiva Lingayats are said to constitute about 17 per cent of the state's population, and many in the state Congress are worried that such a statement by Shivashankarappa, a senior leader of the community in the state, may impact the party.
During the 2023 assembly polls, Congress had managed to cause a dent in BJP's Veershaiva Lingayat support base, with a campaign alleging that that the saffron party had neglected the dominant community.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, rejecting Shivashankarappa's claim on Saturday, had pointed out that there are seven Lingayat ministers in his Cabinet.
"...how can there be injustice? There is no chance for any injustice. No religion or caste will face injustice under Congress," he said.
Reacting to Shivashankarappa's statement, Yediyurappa today said, "Shamanur Shivashankarappa is national president of Veerashaiva community body. The feelings that he has expressed -- I'm in complete agreement with it."
Shivashankarappa's concern about the current government's alleged neglect of the numerically large Veerashaiva Lingayats is shared by not only himself, but all the leaders of the community, he said.
"So, I welcome his statement. In such a situation I call upon the Veerashaiva Lingayat community to awaken, and to unite."
Responding to a question on Yediyurappa's support for Shivashankarappa's statement, CM Siddaramaiah today said, "Our's is a secular government, there will be no injustice to anyone."
Pointing out to government schemes, he said they are not specific to any community or religion. "We don't practise caste or community politics. We see everyone equally."
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
