Bangalore: Communal incidents have come down under Cong rule: Governor
Bangalore, Jan 23 (DHNS): Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj, in his address to the joint legislature session on Wednesday, said the number of communal incidents had declined under the present Congress dispensation in the State.
Highlighting the government’s achievements and suggesting certain measures it needs to take, the Governor said, “I am happy to report that there has been a decline in the number of communal incidents in the State.”
He said the government was also aware of the need to curb attempts being made by fundamental organisations to ‘vitiate’ communal harmony in different parts of the State.
Bhardwaj, however, added a word of caution by asking the government to monitor the social media, which is being used to spread communal strife. He said the government had already been taking ‘prompt’, ‘effective and ‘unbiased’ administrative action to prevent any disruption in maintaining harmony.
On providing systematic steps to tackle corruption in Karnataka, Bhardwaj said the government had welcomed the Jan Lokpal Bill besides taking steps to adopt it in the State.
Industrial policy
The Governor said a new industrial policy would be formulated and implemented in April. It will ensure balanced and integrated industrialisation and create a million direct jobs in the manufacturing sector in the next five years.
A global investors’ meet is planned during October.
On affordable housing, the Governor said the government would operationalise the strategy envisaged in the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy 2007 to open the housing sector for public-private partnership (PPP) with developers by providing incentives and concessions.
He also stated that the infant mortality rate had come down in the State in the last year. While India’s Under 5 mortality rate is 52 and Infant mortality rate is 42, Karnataka has been successful in bringing it down to 37 and 32, respectively, he said.
PU students to get free laptops in Karnataka
The Karnataka government on Wednesday announced that it would provide free laptops and electronic notepads to pre-university (PU) students across the State.
The announcement was made by Governor H R Bhardwaj while addressing a joint session of the Legislature in Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday.
Karnataka seems to be following in the footsteps of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which have been distributing free laptops to PU students.
The UP government reportedly spent Rs 830 crore on purchasing 4.4 lakh laptops. The State Bharatiya Janata Party, in its Assembly election manifesto, had promised to distribute free laptops and tablets to PU and graduate students if it came to power. There are about 10.5 lakh I and II PUC students in the State.
Except a one-line announcement, the governor’s speech did not offer much details about the government’s plan. The announcement has, however, left the primary and secondary education department, headed by Minister of State Kimmane Ratnakar, in a state of panic. The department has to allocate huge funds for the purchases despite a weak budgetary allocation.
Perceived as a populist scheme, with Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the idea to distribute free laptops was not recommended by the education department. Secretariat sources said the department was more concerned about meeting basic infrastructure facilities in government schools and colleges.
Soon after Bhardwaj’s announcement, education department officials held an emergency meeting to discuss possible avenues to make provision for funds to realise the executive decision. An officer even said the department was unable to understand the decision. The governor said, “My government has decided to provide laptops and electronic notepads to PUC students.”
The department was not sure whether students of all streams would be given free gadgets. It is said even Ratnakar had no answer to many questions raised by the officials, as he was not kept in the loop by the chief minister.
Guv speech bundle of lies, directionless: Oppn
The Opposition parties on Wednesday termed Governor H R Bhardwaj’s address to the joint session “directionless” and “a bundle of lies”.
BJP leader Jagadish Shettar said the speech does not spell out how problems being faced by people, including drought situation, will be solved. Farmers across the State are in distress and people are facing drinking water problem in many drought-hit places. But the government has failed to provide them succour, he alleged. Though the law and order situation has worsened in the State, the Governor’s speech claimed that there is peace and harmony. No step is taken to punish those involved in triggering communal violence in Gulbarga and Yadgir districts, he charged.
Former chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy criticised the speech as “directionless”. Though it is only a customary address, the government has to reveal its priorities in administration. But there is no clarity in the speech.
He poohpoohed Siddaramaiah saying that the chief minister was dozing off when the Governor was addressing the joint session. “This shows how serious is our chief minister as far as the administration is concerned,” he said.
B Sriramulu of BSR Congress alleged that the speech is only “a bundle of lies.” It is surprising that the Governor, who had been criticising the style of the Congress government’s functioning, has praised the government. The Governor should have spoken the truth in the interest of the State, he added.