Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Jun 24: Chief minister (CM) of Karnataka Siddaramaiah reportedly decided at the last minute to withhold the recommendation being made to the governor to nominate five persons chosen by the government to the legislative council. It is said that the CM's decision was influenced by the public interest litigation filed in the high court against nominating political personalities instead of people representing fields like art, culture, science etc.
However, some leaders have been asserting that the chief minister was pressurized to withhold the list because of intense lobbying carried out by groups of party activists who want their choice of persons to prevail over others.
Suspense about who have made the grade continues. There is information that out of the list already finalized, the name of Shantakumar has been left out, and Ivan D'Souza from Mangalore has made it into the list. It is learnt that hectic lobbying by a section of legislators is on to ensure that veteran leader, Ugrappa's name is deleted from the list.
A group within the Congress also had raised objections to the fact that names of three persons belonging to minorities was included in the list including Iqbal Ahmed Saradagi. Leaders like former chief minister, Dharam Singh, are understood to have asked the CM not to lend credence to such objections. Initially there were rumours that Dharam Singh, during his meeting with Siddaramaiah, had asked the latter to drop the name of Saradagi from the list. However, Singh later clarified that he had in fact, supported the nomination of Saradagi to the council.
The situation has become hazy, because of the above PIL, pressure from different factions within the party to delete certain names, and persistent efforts by certain quarters to push for the nomination of their own people. The chief minister, who earlier wanted to forward the list for the governor's signature on Monday afternoon, deferred the same, on the excuse of awaiting the court's directions on the PIL, it is gathered.