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Thursday, March 20, 2014
VOL. 13 ISSUE 9
‘Celebrated lecher’ Khushwant Singh dies, aged 99
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Election special: A look at where the Congress stands PAGES 4 & 5
Sadananda Gowda files nomination PAGE 6
Sabotage ‘plot’ sparks plant lockdown The lockout notice outside the factory gate. The laborers protesting outside the factory. ANANNYA SARKAR Over 300 laborers at a spring making plant were locked out by bosses over fears they wanted to blow up machinery. Management at the plant – which makes one million springs a day for the auto industry – then bussed in migrant workers to keep the machines running as the men they had sacked staged an angry protest outside. The new workers are now unable to leave the plant and are effectively locked in. The 330 laborers had been protesting about conditions since March 1 when Stumpp, Schuele and Somappa declared a lock-out on March 6 and brought in laborers from outside the city to replace them. According to the protesting laborers, men from the taluks were brought in immediately to replace them and were being kept inside the factory. Ravikumar, General Secretary of the SSS labor union said, “We came and saw the lock-out notice outside the gates on March 6. It is illegal because we were not given any notice. Also, the company functions are running because they have brought in 150 laborers from Gulbarga, Bijapur and Anantapur who are being paid Rs.400. They have replaced us.” Naresh, Security Head, SSS, said, “The cases were filed so that the management could fire these workers. All the new laborers brought in to replace them are made to live like animals as they are not allowed to go out of the factory until the agitation is over. The management fears that they will be brainwashed. It is doubtful whether they will receive their promised wages.” He added that since he is a permanent employee, he is not allowed to take the side of these striking laborers. The lock-out notice hanging outside the gate reads, “The company will not tolerate the unlawful behavior of the laborers. They have harmed
our expensive machines and have also misbehaved with our female colleagues.” A member of the Board of Directors from the company, who did not wish to be named, said, “We declared the lock-out on grounds of safety. They sabotaged a furnace worth crores which had the potential of blowing up the entire area. We declared the lock-out after consulting our legal advisors.” Commenting on the new laborers being locked in, he said, “These are just allegations. Yes, some laborers have been kept inside for security purposes.” The issue began with the 250 contractual laborers and 80 permanent laborers protesting the poor working conditions and the absence of any privileges. With about 12 plants spread over India and North America, SSS is one of the largest manufacturers of springs for the automobile industry. The company’s Bangalore plants have an annual turnover of over 360 crores and the website says that they produce one million springs every day. N.Yallaraju, Assistant Secretary of the Union, said, “We have the same qualifications as the permanent workers and the staff. We all have a diploma from the Industrial Training Institute. But we get paid Rs.5000 while the others get Rs.15000-20000. The problems began when we asked for our allowances and privileges.” According to Clifton Dezario, a lawyer working with them, the labor law clearly states that all laborers with the same qualification and who do the same kind of work are bound to receive the same pay. Therefore, according to him, the company is clearly flouting the law. The Karnataka Government had passed the law about contrac-
tual laborers receiving two per cent of the salary amount as ‘Service Weightage’ this year. Commenting on this, Yallaraju said, “When we asked for our Service Weightage, the management refused to pay. We then met the Labour Commissioner who asked us to sort it out by mediation. We begged him for his intervention as it is a clear breach of the law but he turned a deaf ear towards us.” Yallaraju added that the laborers had served the management a notice, threatening them with a ‘Tools Down’ strike on March 4 if their demands continued to remain unheard. Sri Parth, Deputy Commissioner, Labor Department, said, “The issue is in the Labor Court now. They will take the final call.” On being asked about the charges of having taken insufficient action, he said, “What do they expect out of us? The issue is quite small. It’s in court. That is all.” The management has maintained that the contractual laborers have to sort out their wage issues with their contractors. But the four companies that have sourced these laborers say that the contract was concluded between the laborers and the management directly. Durga Sources, one of the contractors, on be-
The company functions are running because they have brought in 150 laborers from Gulbarga, Bijapur and Anantapur who are being paid Rs.400. They have replaced us. - Ravikumar, General Secretary of the SSS labor union
ing contacted said, “We do not have any role to play now. This has to be sorted between the management and the laborers.” Dezario, commenting on the situation, said, “Everybody is passing the buck. Nobody is taking any responsibility. It is surprising that the Labor Commissioner refused to intervene and sent cops to protect the factory instead.” Previously, according to Dezario, a number of false cases were also registered against the laborers so that their employment could be terminated. Commenting on the cause behind the agitation by the laborers, the unnamed source from the company’s Board of Directors said, “The workers were instigated by external miscreants. It has been happening all over the city. It is a situation of great industrial unrest in the city.” Bangalore has been in the news for a number of labor strikes lately. Toyota and Bombay Rayon Fashion are the other two companies to have declared a lock-out in recent times. However, according to the Deputy Commissioner of Labor, “There is no need to get worked up. All the cases are in court. Action will be taken in due course.”
The Daily
Observer
Thursday, March 20, 2014
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‘When I go, a lot of people will say nasty things about me’ Kushwant Singh, renowned author, columnist and journalist passed on Thursday, March 20. He was 99 and succumbed to old age. He is well-known as the grand old man of Indian Literature. He had a great fan following for the humor and secularism that was greatly reflected in his writing. His contribution has been immense by way of short story collections, poetry and numerous books.
Tributes
His latest book The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous, coauthored by Humra Quareshi gives an interesting perspective of the present political scenario, political leaders and the most favorite social figures of India, which was published in October, 2013. Following this he retired from the field of writing. He was born in Punjab in the year 1915 and his career is enriched with journalistic experiences of working in
Gutted to hear about the death of Khushwant Singh. He was my mother’s editor, penned a beautiful obituary on her. A great man. My
1915 2014
broadsheet newspapers— The National Herald and The Hindustan Times, and government magazines like the Yojana. He has closely witnessed the transitions that the Indian government has been through during its evolvement. As a Rajya Sabha member he has been actively involved in parliamentary actions for six years, from 1980-1986. In the year 1974 he was awarded Padma Bhushan for his
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Khushwant Singh. End of an era. Only KS could say ‘There’s no condom for pen.” And prove it!
Shobha De
Barkha Dutt
I most fondly remember playing tennis with Mr Kushwant Singh. And his hearty laughter over certain shots! He played to enjoy and not compete!
service to his country, but in the year 1984 he returned the award in order to protest against Operation Blue Star that was carried out by the then Congress government at the Golden Temple. He was also honored with Padma Vibhusan in the year 2007. Some of his famous works as an author are— A History of the Sikhs, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, Train to Pakistan, A Bride for the Sahib and Other Stories and Ranjit Singh:
The Maharajah of the Punjab. ‘With Malice towards One and All’ was a weekly column which gained much popularity and was published in many dailies. He was one the best known Indian satirist and his jokes are still quite popular among the youth. He ruled the hearts of Indians with his take on contemporary issues through satirical writing. Kushwant Singh. Born Punjab, 1915. Died Delhi, 2014.
A gifted author, candid commentator and a dear friend. He lived a truly creative life.”
Manmohan Singh
Khushwant Singh will be remembered for making us laugh through his books and being candid through his columns.
Kiran Bedi
MK Stalin
BSR Cong slams Sriramulu over his Cloud computing a growing solution in the country: Microsoft sudden exit to join BJP
saikat Ghosh
BSR Congress members came down heavily on their national president, B. Sriramulu, who recently joined BJP after he was offered a ticket from the Bellary constituency. The party’s Vice-President, HV Dambal, along with its three defeated candidates, expressed their concern about their party’s future and accused Sriramulu of abandoning them. “We believed in his leadership, when we joined the party he assured us that he will look after all of us, now he has broken that promise,” said Dambal. He added: “He failed to develop the second line of leadership, there was no coordination in the party and that is why we lost the state assembly elections in 2013.” He appealed to B Sriramulu to have a re-think on his decision to join BJP. “Through your medium we want to convey to him that he must come back and discuss the issue with us,” he said. BR Chaubey, one of the defeated candidates in the state assembly election from Belgaum, said: “Our vision was to take everyone along with us but we failed. If you can’t respect your party, how can you respect your country?” “Where should we go now?” asked Dambal. He added that
BSR Congress Vice President HV Dambal and other members of the party expressing discontent over their President’s move to join BJP they have not only lost their out going with Conmoney but also all the politi- gress in this time of crisis. cal base in North Karnataka, He said that if needed the deciwhich was the party stronghold. sion will not come prior to 23rd. He said that the then parActress Rakshita, who ty president miscalculated joined BJP today, also the results of the election evoked reaction from the which was held in May, 2013. BSR Congress’ candidates. Dambal said: “Sriramulu was “She is not a politician, she left a mass leader but he thought us, joined JD(S) and now she is that we will win 50 seats in joining BJP, she is doing this bethe assembly election but cause of self interest,” Jagdish said. we won four seats instead.” BSR Congress founder SriraTalking about future courses mulu moved out of BJP afof action, Dambal said: We ter Yeddyurappa left the can’t tell you anything now, as party, but was looking for a we have a meeting on March merger with the saffron par23 in Bellary and we want ty prior to Lok Sabha Polls. Sriramulu to come there.” When Sushma Swaraj inter“On 23rd we will have our vened in the matter, BJP backbiggest decision of our politi- tracked and Sriramulu was cal career,” said Jagdish another denied any kind of merger. defeated candidate from Kolar. In order to pacify the sitThe vice-president ruled uation BJP made Sriramulu field from Bellary. “ This in turn resulted in a crisis He failed to develop the second line inside the party as its members of leadership, there was no coordina- were left headless with no future. “The problem with regional tion in the party and that is why we lost parties is that they are used for the state assembly elections in 2013 personal gain but their heads think twice before leavHV Dambal, Vice President, don’t ing the party, BS Yeddurappa BSR Congress did that and now Sriramulu is following him,” said Dambal.
Rahul Sadhu & Prutha Bhosle Microsoft India is adding over 2000 new commercial cloud customers every month. The cloud transition will provide a common platform and infrastructure for managing services and monitoring all systems through a global network. In a press conference held in the city, Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, announced that the company is powering the cloud transition with Windows Azure. Tushar Makkar, Head Business Value Communications, Microsoft, said: “Windows Azure is validated by an independent Qualified Security Assessor (QSA). It has also obtained ISO 27001 certification for its core services following a successful audit by the British Standards Institute (BSI). So our customers need not be worried regarding any security issues.” He said, “We are adding customers across all industry sectors like banking, manufacturing, healthcare and media, and across large, midsized and small companies.” The Chairman stated that 89% of Microsoft’s CEO’s believed in upgrading their technology in order to bring more value to the customers. This majority of heads brought a difference to the company which now promotes social mobility through cloud computing. Bhaskar Pramanik said, “Our experience and legacy in supporting customers is responsible in getting users.” Windows Azure is important
MD of Microsoft India, Karan Bajwa, with Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman in capturing and storing data of tomers of Windows Azure, said: the customers’ transactions on “To be able to be proactively adthe company’s data center. For dressing the needs of our organithis, public cloud, private cloud zation in a simple, flexible, scaland hybrid cloud work as sol- able and cost effective manner, diers in maintaining all the vital we turned to Windows Azure. information, said the Chairman. It has enabled us to establish The adoption of cloud an efficient foundation for our amongst enterprises in India rapidly growing organization. is being led by hybrid cloud. Azure fits very well with Fortis.” A study conducted by Zinnov Karan Bajwa, Managing Consulting released today es- Director, Microsoft Corporatablishes hybrid cloud as the way tion (India) said: “18 months forward for large enterprises. ago, when we got our first tarThe study also shows that gets, we wondered if cloud enterprises can save 35% to will actually work. But, India 45% in costs by adopting hy- responded really well. Our brid cloud, over standalone customers were pushing the private cloud deployments. limits which again helped us. In a video conferencing We presume growth in the Incall at the event, Satya Nadella, dian market at a rate three times CEO, Microsoft Corporation, faster than what it is currently. said: “With Azure we have an We are looking foropen cloud platform for people ward to the next few years to build modern applications as the journey is going to be and to grow their cloud enabled both thrilling and exciting.” modern business. Azure is a He added, “Windows Azure powerful platform for the entire Enterprise Customers in the Indian ecosystem expands of IT country include three leadprofessionals, developers and ing private banks and mestartups to bring their applica- dia houses, five leading auto tions to market worldwide.” manufacturers and four leadVarun Sood, CIO, Fortis ing healthcare organizations.” Healthcare Ltd., one of the cus-
The Daily
Observer
Thursday, March 20 , 2014
“I resigned because I had not been consulted”
Bhaskar Dutta
Ending the controversy surrounding his abrupt resignation and reinstatement, the state Advocate-General confirmed that he had decided to step down from his position because he had not been consulted with regard to important legal matters.
On the next day, speaking exclusively to the ‘Daily Observer’, T.B. Jayachandra, Law Minister, dismissed such reports by saying, “Ravivarma Kumar has not resigned. These are merely rumors. Matters are carrying on as usual.” Upon being contacted on the same day, the Administrative Officer of the office of the Advocate-General stated that Kumar
Ravivaram Kumar, Advocate General for Karnataka On March 17, reports stated that Kumar had resigned from his position because of disagreements with the government regarding appointments concerning the Krishna water dispute.
had indeed tendered his resignation and that the reasons behind him taking such a decision were not known to him. Subsequently, Kumar chose to reconsider his decision to resign and continue
performing his duties as the AdvocateGeneral. Speaking exclusively to the ‘Daily Observer’, Kumar commented on the issue by saying, “I resigned because I had not been consulted with regard to important legal matters. The water sharing dispute between Karnataka and its neighboring states is an extremely important issue. As the Advocate-General, I hold the constitutional right to interpret the law and advise the government.” He added that the government had responded immediately to his resignation by dismissing all the members of the legal team that had been appointed to examine the water sharing issue without his knowledge. “The government has ruled out all the appointments that were made without my knowledge. They acted immediately after I handed in my resignation. It was because of such quick action that I decided to withdraw my resignation. The status-quo has now been restored.” According to a former member of the State Public Prosecutor’s Office who preferred to be unnamed, there were ‘deeper political issues’ behind the controversy. He added that Kumar had been appointed to his position because he was initially close to the present Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “They fell out because he wanted to appoint his preferred list of people as law officers”, he added. Commenting on whether there were political calculations behind the government’s decision to appoint advocates without consulting him, Kumar, said, “I don’t know whether there was a political conspiracy. All I can say is that the Krishna-Cauvery-Mahadayi water-sharing issues are of great significance and chose to hand in my resignation because I was not consulted.” B.T. Venkatesh, Special Public Prosecutor, had commented on the issue by saying that he was not aware of the contents of the letter that had been submitted by Kumar and that it was possible that there were other issues involved such as government inaction.
Metro workers on Rs 300 day Soumya Basu
Migrant workers helping to build Bangalore’s metro system are being denied basic amenities and facilities that construction bosses promised them. According to the annual report of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation workers are supposed to be provided with medical benefits, accident compensation, disability pension and schooling for their children. They are supposed to be given a proper colony with the basic amenities including roads, water and electricity medical centre and should not work more than eight hours a day.
Suresh Yadav, a construction worker from Uttar Pradesh, said, “We come here to work and earn money for our family and as we come on a contractual basis our wages are decided but many times we don’t get our decided amount. I do not even know if we are supposed to get medical insurance and a proper place to stay.” BC Ram, from Jharkhand, another BMRCL worker, said: “I get around Rs200300 a day. We work for about 12 hours a day and we do not receive any kind of medical facilities. Many of the workers do not get proper safety measures. I do not think anyone of us get any medical insurance.” Rameshwaram, from Maharashtra, who works at the metro construction site near Majestic Bus Stand, said: “We are given a place to stay in Yelahanka. It is made up of tin and cloth, it is like a tent almost. Yelahanka is
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also very far from Majestic, lot of money is lost in transportation.” Nishchay, 18, from Jharkhand, said, “I get around Rs 350 a day. The pay is different according to the type of work we do. I just turned 18 and I am working here for almost a year. Lots of workers come from Jharkhand, West Bengal and Maharashtra. The money we get here makes it difficult for us to survive.” Another daily wage laborer, Krishnappa from Gulbarga, said, “I earn around Rs 10,000-15,000 if I come to Bangalore or Mumbai, but most of the time we do not receive safety gears during
our work and we don’t receive any kind of medical or other facilities.” Clifton Rozario from the Alternative Law Forum said: “Those who migrate and come to Bangalore are most deprived. The BMRCL is flouting almost all interstate migration laws. These daily wage workers are not supposed to work for more than eight hours, especially keeping in mind the amount of money they get, but they are working for almost more than 12 hours.” Radha, General Secretary Karnataka Construction and Unorganized Workers Union, said: “These workers are made to work only for eight hours and they are provided with all the amenities that the BMRCL has mentioned. They don’t have any problem.” Mohan Rao, Principal, BMRCL, said, “We follow all the norms that are mentioned and we do not violate any kind of labor laws.”
NGO and city cops in rape claim row Tanisha Das & Mayuri J. Ravi Activists at an NGO at the centre of false rape allegations have denied filing any such complaint. Bangalore City Police officers at Cubbon Park station revealed today they had secretly filmed an NGO worker’s rape claims and proved them to be false. The woman told officers she had gone with four men to a hostel in the city and had been gang-raped. Officers said they were suspicious of her version of events and tape recorded the interview. They also claimed that video evidence was not available for the four men to use as part of their defense
during any rape trial. The woman, known as Bharati, worked as a counsellor with an NGO helping sex workers in the city. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Observer, a spokeswoman for the NGO, which we cannot name, said that they had never filed any complaint City police and NGO in a row over rape claim of rape and were furious at statelice station that states that she Marathalli Boy’s Hostel. ments attributed to police. Radha, the NGO spokes- was raped by four men. They The 24-year-old woman al- woman, said: “The woman has are putting a false claim on her legedly claimed that she was not filed a complaint at the po- and our organization.” gang raped by four men in the
Su br am an iy a , “The girl is a prostitute and she Station Head Offi- was picked up by four men on cer at Cubbon Park March 7. They went to somepolice station said: one’s room and she got physi“The woman has cal with all the four men. After not filed a First In- this they had an argument and formation Report the men refused to pay what (FIR) at the police they had already decided on, station. The case is so she said she would file a regarding payment complaint at the police station. and any case that She came to the police station deals with money with the members of the NGO will be registered at and filed a complaint.” the Labor Court.” He added: “I could have But another In- filed a case against the woman spector at the same but I let her go because she is police station said: a woman.” The four men have been “We have a copy of the complaint charged under Section 375 of where the victim The Indian Penal Code. The woman who clamed has stated that she was allegedly gang raped by four men.” she was raped was not availInspector Bhaskar of Cub- able for comment. bon Park police station said: (PC: SureshKumar)
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The Daily
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Cong
Election 2014: Congress candidates for
No Christians in s
Bhaskar Dutta In its recently announced candidate list for the upcoming general elections, the Congress has not fielded any Christian candidates.
Name of the candidate: Nandan Nilekani Age: 58 Constituency: Bangalore South Nandan Nilekani is currently the Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. He did his electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and later in 1981 became the co-founder of Infosys Technologies and left his job as co-Chairman at Infosys in 2009 after working for 28 years. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infosys from 2002-2007. To help resolve infrastructure of Bangalore he also worked for the development of Bangalore Agenda Task Force. Nandan Nilekani is also the president of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, India’s oldest and first independent economic research institute and a member of the board of governors of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Nilekani joined politics in 2014 and is Congress Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bangalore South.
According to reports this is the first time that no Christians have been fielded as Lok Sabha candidates in the last 33 years. The Christian community accounts for approximately four per cent of Karnataka’s population. Speaking exclusively to the ‘Daily Observer’ about the matter, Nazeer Ahmed, Member of Legislative Council and General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said, “This issue was discussed in today’s meeting. They deliberated the fact that there are no Christians in this list. Mr. K.J. George (currently the Home Minister of Karnataka) was very keen that there is some Christian representation.”
As a member of the AAP I can say that we are committed to ensuring plurality of political representation. This is why we have fielded candidates from diverse backgrounds such as farmers, members of the Muslim and Dalit communities as well as individuals from the fields of science and information technology. What the Congress is doing is up to them. It is not for me to comment on the inner workings of that Party.
- Professor Babu Mathew, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Bangalore North constituency.
It is a well-known fact that the Congress has ignored minority communities like the Christians. There is nothing new here.
- V.V. Augustine, Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority Morcha.
When asked about the possible political repercussions of completely excluding Christians from the Lok Sabha list, Ahmed said, “The Christians will be represented in the Rajya Sabha elections which are scheduled to be held in June. They will definitely be accommodated there. At present we could not include Christians in the list because of political calculations and combinations.” The Congress has three seats in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha, which is the upper house of parliament. Speaking on behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), V.V. Augustine, Vice-President, BJP Minority Morcha, said, “It is a well-known fact that the Congress has ignored minority communities like the Christians. There is nothing new here.” According to P.N. Benjamin, Chairman and Coordinator, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD),
The INC under the leadership of Siddaramaiah won 122 seats, nine more than the majority mark of 113 on its own after nine years with Siddaramaiah beco This is mainly because of the split in the BJP. Soon BJP because the party high command denied his re lost the hope from the people. This was the main re Now the BJP is hoping to come back in the upcom majority.
i am not interested in politics. but if given a choice i will vote for congress. They might be able to do a good job
- Anand Vasudev, software engineer, Infosys
I would vote for AAP because they have a good image. They will fight corruption if they come into power.
- Sayuj, Engineering Student, VIT College.
The Congress should have included at least one or two Christians in their state list. The Congress has been sidelining Christians for a long time. Even when it comes to appointing the Chairman of the Minorities Commission, Christians are never preferred. Four per cent of India’s population is comprised of Christians, yet we are totally ignored.
- According to P.N. Benjamin, Chairman and Coordinator, Bangalore Initiative for Religious Dialogue (BIRD)
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Thursday, March 20, 2014
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state election list the Congress should have included at least one or two Christians in their state list. “The Congress has been sidelining Christians for a long time. Even when it comes to appointing the Chairman of the Minorities Commission, Christians are never preferred. Four per cent of India’s population is comprised of Christians, yet we are totally ignored.” “This is extremely disappointing”, he added. Commenting on the issue, Professor Babu Mathew, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Bangalore North constituency told the ‘Daily Observer’, ““As a member of the AAP I can say that we are committed to ensuring plurality of political representation. This is why we have fielded candidates from diverse backgrounds such as farmers, members of the Muslim and Dalit communities as well as
individuals from the fields of science and information technology.” “What the Congress is doing is up to them. It is not for me to comment on the inner workings of that Party”, he added. Christians account for approximately four per cent (or 24 lakh people) of Karnataka’s population. The announcement has evoked criticism from people within the community. Sarah Thomas, 21, a student of St Josephs College said: “It is disappointing that Christians being a minority and a strong support to the congress are not given representation this time. But I personally do not favor the idea of minorities and treating them differently. So if they have not made it to the list, it’s okay. Congress has never let them down so I think they’ll make up.”
n the election with an absolute majority of 3. As a result, the INC returned to power oming the Chief Minister. n after the Yeddyurappa walked out of the equest to name him as Chief Minister, BJP eason for their assembly loss. ming general elections with the thumbing
The main idea of a christian is peace and justice. There must be allowance for christians to take part in politics. Let one christian be elected and chosen, India will find a major difference. Christian politicians may not scam money like the current politicians. They will show mercy and justice to the nation and hopefully solve everybody’s problems.
meena das narayan @Meedana
18,000 villages have power all the time - why does Congress ruled Bangalore give me power for a few hours a day? #AbKiBaarModiSarkaar
- Bernard Nichu, 19, Bangalore University Student. More than him being a christian or anybody else, I want him to think more like a human and what his people need, not just his post. But on the matters of the question, may be there can be some hope, fingers crossed.
Vol 4 A better India @bhaanuprakash
Nandan Nilekani’s ppl call me up from Adhaar card reference & ask me to vote for him & congress here in South #Bangalore. @surnell @ KiranKS
- Shallon Sherly, 22,
Freelance Content Writer.
maidros78 @maidros78
@sarkar_swati No one wants to contest Bangalore South. Congress hasn’t won since 89. BJP stronghold. Nilekani supposed to appeal to educated
Shivam Vij @DilliDurAst
It is disappointing that Christians being a minority and a strong support to the congress are not given representation this time. But I personally do not favour the idea of minorities and treating them differently. So if they have not made it to the list, its okay. Congress has never let them down so I think they’ll make up.
- Sarh Thomas, 21. Student, St Josephs College
I think India is starting to look over religion.This generation of youth, who nominate or vote leaders are actually looking for people who can lead India by being loyalty and just... And they have started to overlook the religious factor... Im not that much a reader of political news... But , this is what I feel about this issue.
- James Thomas, 22
It’s an election everyone thinks Congress will lose. Why, then, is Nandan Nilekani making his political debut now http://scroll.in/article/ why-nandan-nilekani-will-give-ananth-kumara-tough-fight-in-bangalore?id=658150 …
I am a BJP supporter and it doesn’t really matter if there is no Christian being nominated. It is about choosing the right person irrespective of religion.
- Sujain CJ, 21, Accenture Employee.
It’s not like the christians were barred from participating in the party activities. As long as the selected candidate is good and worth being selected its okay. Nothing else matters.”
- Reshma Mary Antony John, 21, student, Christ University.
MontyPyt & TrollAdmi @tweetingsourav
Congress govt in Bangalore is creating separate hostels for North Easterners. The best way to enforce national integration is segregation.
The Daily
Observer
Thursday, March 20 , 2014
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EVENTS THEATRE
Accident victims get a leg-up from donors Anand jain
Poonacha, who was at the conference to speak to patients, said: “I fought with my director to attend this conference, but it feels really good to be part of this. I can see smiles on the faces of these people, and that’s all we want.”
Dancer Lakshmi Gopalaswamy added: “After looking at these people, it’s scary to think how lucky we are. We are not far from the day when yoga instructors will wear artificial limbs.” “However rich a person is, limb im-
plantation is done for free,” Singhvi said. The limbs are made of wood and the foot is designed with rubber for flexibility. Below-knee limbs cost Rs. 2500 and those that stretch up to the thighs amount to Rs.3000. According to Singhvi, a new limb can be created in less than two hours. Kiran, 14, who lost his leg in a truck accident three years ago, said: “We went to many government hospitals, but nobody cared. Then someone told us about this hospital, and I got my limb implanted here. The only money I had to pay was the bus charge.” He added: “I am not completely happy with this. I cannot run or cycle. And every two years, I need to install a new limb. When I turn 18, I’ll go for the robotic leg, so that I can run faster.”
More than 40 people a week have artificial limbs fitted at just one city hospital, according to a group which donates false arms and legs. Jain Hospital is among the few hospitals in the city that conducts artificial limb implants. In 2013, they installed 2044 artificial legs, only 100 of which were due to the patient suffering from Polio. “That means a majority of these accidents, like being crushed by a truck, electric shock, tree falling over, building collapse, and others are completely avoidable,” said F.R. Singhvi, Chairman of the Limb Donation Camp, in a conference organized at the hospital. A collaboration of Round Table India and Ladies Circle donated 555 artificial limbs to the hospital this year, as compared to 400 in 2013. Popular actress Harshika Ladies Circle donated 555 limbs to Jain Hospital, actress Harshika was present.
Nirbhaya
Violence against women is a global epidemic. NIRBHAYA, a thought- provoking and award winning theatre production addresses this issue Venue: No.36/2, 8th Cross, 2nd Phase RV Dental College ,JP Nagar, Bangalore Date: March 26 to 28 Time: 7:30 PM Onwards
MUSIC & DANCE
Maname Brindavaname - The Magical Grove Within
Sarukkai`s physical beauty, chaste technique and smouldering sensuality make her the ideal stand-alone artist. “Maname Brindavaname” is Malavika Sarukkai`s interpretation of the saint poet Andal`s “Nachiyar Thirumozhi”. Venue: Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, 16th Cross, Vyalikaval , Malleshwaram Date: Saturday 29 Time: 7 pm onwards
ART
Sadananda Gowda files nomination in DC office accompanied by Ananth Kumar, BJP National General Secretary
Karnataka administrative offices unaware of potential cyber risk Gaurav Kumar
The Centre for E-governance of Karnataka government has awarded a contract for switching their computer operating system from Windows XP to Windows 7 but has refused to reveal how much the job is worth. The centre management awarded the contract, complete with a gagging order, to Tata Consultancy Services. Microsoft announced that it will no longer provide ‘support-services’ like security updates and technical supports for Window XP operating system beyond April 8, without which personal computers “may become vulnerable to harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious
software.” The state government has thousands of pc’s which could in theory be open to attack if systems are not properly updated. But in a Daily Observer survey, our reporters found a worrying lack of knowledge among state staff about which system they were currently using– including a project director at the Centre for E-Governance who had no idea what Windows software version his machine was running. A random survey of government departments including the Centre for E-governance (CEG), the Women and Child Development Department
(WCDD), the Finance Department and police headquarter revealed that the majority of computers are still operating on Window XP. Officials of various departments, including CEG, were caught unaware about the issue. T. Prabhakar, the Project Director (Capacity Building) in CEG, could not even tell on which operating system his PC was functioning. He said, “I don’t know my operating system. I am an administrative officer.” He also claimed ignorance about Microsoft’s announcement or any step taken by the department or government in this regard.
Another officer of the same department, on condition of anonymity, said that Microsoft was just “trying to scare” people and nothing will happen to the computers. He said that he uses a Window 98 based computer in his home. It was Ms. Suryaprabha, Consultant in WCDD, who revealed that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been awarded the contract for the switchover. TCS confirmed that it has been awarded the contract by the CEG but declined to reveal the number of computers and cost involved citing a ‘Non-Disclosure Agreement’ signed with CEG. Dr. Rathan Kelkar, CEO of CEG, could not be reached for comments.
Masters Signed Prints & Serigraphs Galerie Sara Arakkal presents an exhibition of signed works by artists such as Achuthan Kudallur, Arpana Caur, Azis TM and Babu Xavier among others. Venue:Galerie Sara Arakkal 156, 4th Main, BEML Layout Road ,ITPL Date: March 31 Time: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Observer Team: Editor–Nikita Gokuldas Chief Sub Editor-Apurva Venkat Sub Editors– Anagha Sawant, Neha Singh, Anant Jain, Karishma Ravindran News Editors -Ishaan Bhattacharya, Bhaskar Dutta, Annanya Sarkar Design Desk- Chitharth Mathivannan Emergency calls tracker – Mayur. J.Ravi Reporters– Batch B Email- editor@iijnm.org An IIJNM Publication (For Private Circulation)