Fruits live as Leaves Leave

Unlike evergreens do, several species of trees lose their leaves every winter, instead of  maintaining green foliage throughout the year.

One of the reasons trees lose their leaves is to conserve energy over the winter and prevent damage to the tree. During spring, the tree puts out new leaves so that the process can begin anew.

Trees lose their leaves to protect themselves during the winter months, as the cold dry winds in these regions will readily strip moisture from the trees through the leaves, which have a large surface area.

Shedding leaves help trees  conserve their moisture in the trunk and branches, rather than drying out and dying. In addition, the leaf loss puts the tree into a state of dormancy, and greatly reduces the amount of energy that the tree needs to stay alive.
  
In spring and summer, leaves photosynthesize the plentiful sunlight which falls on them, producing chlorophyll, which turns them green. The photosynthesis provides energy for the tree, and the tree feeds the leaves with nutrients it takes up from the ground to keep them healthy.

The bright yellows, oranges, and reds that make fall color distinctive are actually already there, but the chlorophyll masks them. As the days get shorter, the trees have less sunlight to work with, and the efficiency of the leaves starts to decrease.

Trees lose their leaves because they become a draw on the energy of the tree, as the tree would otherwise have to feed the leaves through the winter.

As the nights get longer, trees make preparations to lose their leaves, starting with the secretion of chemicals to cut the leaf off from the rest of the tree. As the leaves stop producing chlorophyll, they start to change color.

Ultimately, trees lose their leaves once the chemicals they secrete have effectively cut the leaves off from the parent branch. These chemicals, primarily ethylene and abscisic acid, make trees lose their leaves by severing the link between the leaf and the tree.

The leaves fall on the ground when trees lose their leaves, providing a layer of protective mulch to insulate their roots, and the tree conserves its energy for the next year and a new growing season.

Courtesy: wiseGEEK

Bangarappa who dared the Centre

by M K Vidyaranya

No Karnataka Chief Minister in the past  had challenged the Government of India and the Prime Minister to dabble in Karnataka’s rights over the Cauvery waters as Bangarappa had done through the instrumentality of his Government’s Ordinance.

The Ordinance had freezed the Cauvery waters dispute pegging the State’s share of the waters as also the extent of its irrigation at a prescribed level.

Bangarappa had the Governor issue the  Ordinance as an extreme measure having been driven to the wall by the ‘unhelpful and hostile’ attitude of the Government of India and of the Tamilnadu Government towards Karnataka on the issue of sharing the Cauvery waters among the riparian States. The judiciary also had been banned from adjudicating on the dispute.

The Ordinance had come in the wake of Karnataka’s opposition to the appointment of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal and its interim award, followed by the unsuccessful importunities of Karnataka against the Centre’s action in gazetting the award. In protest action, Bangalore had plunged into outbreaks of violence and arson and loot in December, 1991.

The Ordinance had caused great consternation and embarrassment to the Government of India. The President had to intervene and invoke the Constitutional provision of referring the Karnataka Ordinance for the Supreme Court’s advice as to its Constitutionality, etc. observes Sri C M Ramachandra ,one of the Seniormost  Journalist of Karnataka and the fomer Chief of Bureau of The Hindu who is now on a tour of the United States of America.

The Ordinance had been regularised through a Bill and put on the Statute Book, later.

The Supreme Court, in giving its opinion, had held the Ordinance as violated  the Constitution and that it was beyond the legislative competence of the State. It had also come down heavily on the action and had passed severe strictures on the ground of among other things, sabotage of the spirit of federalism, etc.

The Karnataka Act was later repealed after a long time under a decision of the successor government.

 In the case of Mr. Bangarappa, the Supreme Court had attacked him for the Cauvery ordinance which had asked even the Supreme Court to keep off the Cauvery waters dispute!

 The 79 year old flamboyant S Bangarappa died of  health problems in Bangalore on Sunday night.

Rebel Sriramulu wins Bellary by-poll. Will Karnataka BJP Govt fall ?

by M K Vidyaranya

Fanning an air of ‘self -respect’ forfmer Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu who quit his MLA post and contested as an independent candidate in the by-poll for Bellary Assembly Constituency under the ‘Fan’ symbol  won by a margin of more than 46,000 votes over his nearest Congress rival pushing the BJP nominee to the third place.

Sriramulu attributed his victory to the people of Bellary who reposed faith in the good work he had done to the district when he was the Minister in the BJP government. Sriramul has dismissed the commonly observaed notion that he might seek to topple the D V Sadananda Gowda Ministry, since a good number of BJP legislators from in and around Bellary are supporting him.

It may be recalled here that BJP, had “dumped” Janardhana Reddy, his brother and former Minister G Karunakara Reddy and Sreeramulu after the Lokayukta report on illegal mining indicted them, had already suspended three MLAs, one MLC and two Loksabha MPs for supporting Sreeramulu during the electioneering.

“It’s not my victory, it’s the victory of the people. It’s a victory for the pride”, Sreeramulu said, charging the BJP with “backstabbing him” forgetting about the contributions made by him and the Reddy brothers in the last Assembly polls which saw the Saffron party storming to power for the first time in the southern states.”Just because I am a leader of backward classes, I come from the lower caste of ‘Valmiky’ community, they tried to finish me politically by hatching a conspiracy, he said  addressing a victory rally at Bellary.

The BJP candidate lost the deposit eventhough the Chief Minister r Sadananda Gowda, Fomer Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the whole cabinet had camped in the constituency and made do or die attempt to win the elections. Janata Dal (S) had not set up its candidate and was supporting Sriramulu. Bellary by-poll had attracted pan-India attention as the legislators and MPs from Bellary district elected on the BJP ticket had supported Sriramulu, a close confidante of mining barons Reddy brothers.

For Karnataka’s BJP unit it was a major challenge and the entire cabinet camped at Bellary to campaign for its nominee Gadilingappa. Money and liquor flowed freely despite the election officers claiming that stringent measures had been taken to contain the influence of money and liquor.

The Reddy brothers, Janardhana, Karunakara and Somashekara, sons of a police constable in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, made Bellary their home and joined BJP in 1999. They consider the district as their pocket borough.The three brothers are still in BJP, though the party has suspended Somashekara for campaigning for Sriramulu. Karunakara and Somashekara are assembly members while Janardhana is in legislative council.

Will BJP govt fall ?

Will the ruling BJP party in the state which suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of B Sriramulu fall ?

A setback for the ruling BJP party, Sreeramulu’s victory, will help Reddy brother’s efforts to take chances on the ruling BJP .With Sreeramalu’s win in Bellary, the ball sure is in Reddy Brothers court now, with the possibilty that the Karnataka government could now ask CBI to investigate Reddy brothers.

BJP which has been trying to distance itself from the Reddy brothers of Bellary for their alleged involvement in the illegal mining scam will now have to start from scratch to rebuild its image.

Sreeramulu’s win will definately change the course of developments in Karnataka’s political scenario, which went for a toss after the arrest of mining czar Janardhana Reddy in illegal mining case. Sreeramulu is a close aide of Janardhana Reddy who is now lodgaed in Chanchalaguda prison in Andhra Pradesh.

Sreeramulu’s victory also means the emergence of a new regional party which means that the ruling BJP party may have to bite the dust. It is not hidden that it was the Reddy brothers who helped BJP come to power in the state and its defeat spells trouble for the party, as the Reddy brothers claim that they have the support of atleast 14 of the BJP’s 119 lawmakers in the 225-member assembly that includes one nominated member.

pic courtesy: Hindu

Politicians gearing up to close down anti-corruption Ombudsman in Karnataka

by M K Vidyaranya

Even as the BJP”s topmost stalwart and Prime Ministerial candidate and octogenarian leader K Advani who has taken up a nationwide crusade against corruption by travelling throughout the country, there seems to be a covert but systematic and grandiose plan by the vested interests in the BJP ruled Karnataka to close down the Lokayukta, the anti-corruption ombudsman in the state. An exclusive telephonic interview published in Kannada Prabha, a leading Kannada daily, quoting K. Madhukar Shetty of the 1999 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) (who worked as Superintendent of Police in Lokayukta for over two years), that the setup was steeped in corruption and he felt relieved to leave it, has virtually stirred  the hornets nest in Karnataka Politics. Shetty, son of Late Vaddarse Raghurama Shetty ( who has served as chief reporter of Prajavani and Deccan Herald in the 1980’s) had told the newspaper in  his telephonic interview from United States where he has gone on a two year study leave.,that ” I had not seen so many corrupt people in Lokayukta, they are more dangerous than the corrupt” the lokayukta catches. Kannada Prabha is owned by Dr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the JD(S) Member of Rajyasabha and a Media Baron who also owns Suvarna 24×7 Kannada Channel and Asia Net TV channels. Visveswara Bhat is the Editor in Chief of both Suvarna News 24×7 and Kannada Prabha.

 “Close down  Lokayukta”

Cashing in on the opportunity to go hammer and tongs on the Lokayukta which has sent several high and mighty BJP policians and Ministers including  B S Yeddyurappa to jail, the state BJP president K S Eswarappa, who is already spitting fire on both the Karnataka Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj and the Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, has said, “”Madhukar Shetty’s revelations show that Lokayukta has become an institution of thieves set up to catch thieves”.

In a terse and cryptic reaction, Former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde has said that the “BJP leaders are running a systemaic and orgainsed campaign to malign and defame the Lokayukta with an agenda to close it down. Eswarappa’s statement confirms my worst fears”.

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda’s son and Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy used Shetty’s allegations to fire shots at former Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde, who is with Team Anna campaigning for a strong Jan Lokpal bill.

“Santosh Hegde has no moral right to talk about corruption when he failed to check it in Lokayukta,”Kumaraswamy said.

Congress, the main opposition party in  Karnataka headed by Dr G Parameshwar  which was regularly criticising Hegde in the past (before he gave a report on illegal mining in karnatka indicting B S Yeddyurappa),  threatened to launch agitation if there were attempts  to wind up the Lokayutka or even curtail its powers.

“We will not allow it. There is no question of winding up or even reduction in Lokayukta powers. We will launch an agitation if any attempt is made by the BJP government,” he told reporters.However, the Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda has assured that the Lokayukta will not be wound up.

In another link to this developing story,Deve Gowda, JHD (S) MP, who is upset over the Lokayukta raid on his eldest son and a former Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS)  official H.D. Balakrishna Gowda, who has been accused of amassing assets worth Rs.500 crore when he was in  service, is  caught in a row over his alleged threat to another senior police officer of the Lokayukta’.“I welcome the statement (of BJP Sstate President K S Eswarappa)and will raise the issue in parliament,” Gowda told reporters in Mysore.

On Nov 7, Deve Gowda had telephoned Jeevan Kumar Gaonkar, Additional Director General of Police (Lokayukta)  and told him

he was acting like a “slave” of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who quit on July 31 after Santosh Hegde sought his trial for corruption in an illegal mining scam.

Gaonkar was supervising investigation into cases against Yeddyurappa and also Deve Gowda’s eldest son H.D. Balakrishna Gowda.  Gaonkar, has alleged that Gowda also warned him that he was mistaken if he thought that Yeddyurappa would save him. Gaonkar gave these details in a letter to the government. He was transferred out of the Lokayukta Nov 10.

Mean  while every one surprised why Madhukar Shetty, who was all powerful as Superintendent of Police Lokayukta Institution did not bring the to the notice of Satosh Hegde, the corruption inside the anti-corruption Ombudsman. Shetty was hitting headlines whenever a raid is conducted and earned the fame, might now be trying to get back in to the media in India and make name before he returns to the country from United States. Is Sheety a Publicity Crazy Policeman, asks the common man and wants to know why  he kept  mum and did not initiate action when there were reports that money was flowing into the hands of the Lokayukta Superintendent of Police office in Bangalore from the  Sub-Registrar’s office from all over the state.

What is the hidden agenda behind this telephonic interview, people  ask.

pics: Inernet

Jigajinagi makes French Grade wine at Bijapur

 by M K Vidyaranya in Bijapur

The Bijapur Region, located in northern Karnataka (538 mts above sea level) -approximately 600 km from Bangalore (1000 mts above sea level), is ideally suited for growing Horticulture crops.   Bijapur -Bagalkot belt had been identified as the target area for implementing the new wine policy.
 “We are expecting at least 15 to 20 wine manufacturing units coming up after unveiling the policy”, are according to sources. Coming along will be new varieties of grape fetching better price, creation of employment opportunities in processing of grapes, manufacturing, packing and transport of wine and of course, big bucks by tapping the huge export market. Northern region of Karnataka have the ideal soil fertility, weather as they fall under Krishna valley.

 

 

Mr.Ramesh C Jigajinagi, BJP Member of Parliament and Chairman and Managing Director of Hampi Heritage Vineyards Pvt Ltd in Bijapur exhibited the rich crop of wine variety of grapes grown in his Vinod Farms.

Here in the Krishna Valey lies the M/s Vinod Farms and Hampi Heritage Winery Company Pvt. Ltd, Bijapur, is that the 100 acre plot was exclusively developed for growing French variety of grapes. Mr Ramesh C Jigajinagi, is the man behind the Krishna Valley winery success story. He took the  advice of Horticultural Scientist Dr Shikhamani ( Dr.Shikhamani former head of the National Horticulture Research Institute at Hessaraghatta, near Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India) in developing the farm.

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Mr Ramesh Jigajinagi’s sons- Mr Vinod and Mr.Anand (pics ) have toiled to convert barren lands  into green pasture, an awe inspiring place reminiscent  of  13/14 century Hampi.    

In a winery at Boothanal on the outskirts of Bijapur, French  variety of wines including Rose wine, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and   blush Zinfandel are being brewed. With expert management practices, good wine cultivation and constant supervision at all stages has been the success stories of the wineries in Karnataka.

      Mr Ramesh Jigajinagi and Mr Raju launching the ‘Kinvah’  brand  of wines produced by hampihedritage winery in a function at Bangalore.

        

Jail term – only Panacea for reducing frivilous cases

M K Vidyaranya

The Supreme Court’s suggestion to the Union Government for a 3,000% hike in the cost imposed on a person indulging in frivolous and vexatious litigation may go a long way in bringing down such cases. 

The current Rs 3,000 fine has failed to control false cases being foisted to victimize innocent citizens.

The Supreme Court has lamented that “lack of appropriate provisions relating to costs has resulted in a steady increase in malicious, vexatious, false, frivolous and speculative suits”. There is an immediate need to stop wasting of time of Judicial system . However people with black money will not be affected affected because it’s not their money, it’s the loot. They engage costly lawyers and indulge in never ending judicial farce.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik, in a judgment delivered last month but made available last week , said, “At present, courts have virtually given up awarding any compensatory costs as such a small sum of Rs 3,000 will not make much difference. We are of the view that the ceiling in regard to compensatory costs should be at least Rs 1 lakh.” It referred to Section 35A of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides for compensatory cost in respect of false or vexatious claims or defence. The maximum amount to be levied on a person indulging in false litigation was amended in 1977 from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. Justice Raveendran who expressed dismay at the cost remaining unchanged for 34 years said, “Unless the cost is brought to a realistic level, the provision authorizing the levy of an absurdly small sum by present day standards may, instead of discouraging such litigation, encourage false and vexatious claims.”

The bench also did not approve of the current tendency of courts not to award even normal litigation cost-different from exemplary cost-to the litigant who wins a case. “The prosecution and defence of cases is a time-consuming and costly process. A plaintiff/petitioner/appellant who is driven to the court by the illegal acts of the defendant/respondent or denial of a right to which he is entitled, if he succeeds, is to be reimbursed his expenses in accordance with law,” it said.

The court has also made it clear that it was talking of normal litigation cost and it should not be calculated on the basis of the actual cost of fighting a case. For, it said, a wealthy person may engage five senior advocates paying fees running into lakhs per day and the other side cannot be asked to reimburse such astronomical amounts.

Every law abiding citizen wants the judiciary to take a stringent action against frivolous litigation. Thought the Supreme Court’s observation may go a long way towards curbing the menace, it remains to be seen whether the much stiffer monetary penalty becomes a serious deterrent also for organizations out to earn cheap publicity.

Persons who wants to become rich by circumventing the laws usually adopt in filing  frivilous cases against their rivals by paying some money to needy person and ask him to fight the case and bear all court expenses. If they win the case, they will reap rich harvest and in case they fail they are prepared to pay the fine fixed by the court. The present amount of fine is so meagre and any one would be ready to pay it.

If the law is amended fixing a jail term for such false cases no one would dare to accept money for fighting such cases as every one fears a jail term.

The only deterrent to curb the menace of frivolous cases is to enact a law fixing 5 year jail term for those who engage in filing such cases for monetary gains or publicity.

Will the Manmohan Singh government take such a bold step ?

Caste Politics ruling the roost in Karnataka

Politics dominated by caste equations seem to be ruling the roost in Karnataka where Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the two major castes who form 18  percent and 16 percent respectively of the states nearly 6 crore population spread over 28 districts taking cudgels against each other.

The fight between the two communities which started during the early years of the formation of the state now seems to be between the jailed former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the former Prime Minister H D Devegowda.
While the Lingayats dominate in the northern Karnataka region beyond Tungabhadra river, Vokkaligas are prominent population in the Southern  Karnataka districts of Bangalore, Mandya, Hassan, Mysore, Kolar and Chikamagalur.

Dalits population in Karnataka is estimated at 23 per cent, Kurubas 8 per cent while the Muslims make up 10 per cent. The rest of the population comprises Kurubas (8%), Muslim (12.2%),Brahmins (5 %),Christian (1.9%), Jains (0.8%), Buddhist   ( 0.7%), Sikhs (0.1% ), and remaining belong to other religions.

Though the Dalits outnumber the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, no Dalit leader,whether it be Late B Basavalingappa, M Mallikarjuna Kharge and others have been able to occupy the post of Chief Minister in political history of Karnataka after independence. 

This is because of the internal squabble between various groups with in the Dalit and backward classes community.Frantic efforts by Dalit revolutionary leader and former Minitser late  B Basavalingappa to bring all of them under one umbrella to  achieve political supremacy failed due to egoism of the group leaders.

Both  Deve Gowda and Yeddyurappa have begun a new era of caste politics by waging a war of slur against each other.The caste  war started hotting up after Devegowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy, who became Chief Minister with the help of the BJP in 2006 with an understanding that he would hand over power to Yeddyurappa after 20 months, failed to relinquish his post
as per the agreement. The rift started then, is snowballing even now and no one knows which turn it takes in the coming days.

Since one year, both Devegowda’s family and Yeddyurappa have engaged in pulling each other’s legs by exposing various omissions and commissions. While Devedgowda used Kumaraswamy to expose Yeddyurappa’s “faults” , Yeddyurappa used his political secaretary Puttaswamy to do vice-versa,providing juicy copies to both electronic and print media.
The two caste groups that have dominated the political scene are major players in the educational field, running institutions from kindergarten to engineering and medicine.

The power of two castes can be seen by the number of chief ministers from the groups since Independence.
Of  19 chief ministers, 7 were Lingayats,   and 7 were Vokkaligas, 2 Brahmins, 4 backward classes.Upset at the sacking of powerful Lingayat Leader Veerendra Patil as chief minister by then Congress chief Rajiv Gandhi,in october 1990, majority of the Lingayats moved away from the Congress towards the BJP.In the last 20 years, the only Lingayat chief minister other than Yeddyurappa was J. H. Patel of the Janata Dal. The Lingayat vote for BJP was consolidated in the 2008 assembly polls held after the collapse of JD-S/BJP coalition. 

BJP, particularly Yeddyurappa, virtually exploited the JD-S’ ‘betrayal’ as a ‘conspiracy’ against Lingayats and bagged 110 seats in the 225-member assembly and became BJP’s first chief minister in south India in May 2008 with the help of five Independents to achieve majority in the house. Now the same caste equation is a stumbling block for BJP to act against Yeddyurappa. The chief minister has been facing slew of charges of prime land allotment to his kin, to people who invested in his two sons business ventures and other dealings by the two.

With Yeddyurappa in  prison ,there is no lingayat   leader with pan-Karnataka appeal in the BJP . Even the Congress and the JD-S are not in combat ready to face elections in Karnataka. While the JD-S has lost much of credibility, though it took a lead in releasing documents alleging illegal deals by Yeddyurappa, the Congress has failed to make best use of the opportunity due to internal squabbles in the party’.The electoral debacles starting with losing power in the 2004 assembly polls have demoralised the Congress.  Lingayat leaders  meeting among themselves to publicly express that the community remains neglected by the party. Two years ago when H D Deve Gowda   saw that the support for Yeddyurappa was growing leaps and bounds  Gowda realised that it was time he too used the caste card. Gowda decided to use the Vokkaliga card while making it clear that his community would rally behind the JD-S. The Congress too sensed that the elections would largely be fought on the caste factor and roped in S M Krishna , also a Vokkaliga leader, at the last minute.

Past actions have shown that ,  the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats vote for a leader and not a party. So if a chief ministerial candidate is from their community, they will vote for that person’s party.A fear is lurking among both communities that the other will try and outsmart them and therefore continue the constant tussle between themselves.

According to newspaper reports Devegowda at a press conference following the FIR filed by the CID regarding the alleged irregularities in the Upper Krishna project  , hit out at top cop Shankar Bidari (also a Lingayat) for conspiring against him in the matter.Giving a detailed clarification on the project, Gowda said it was cleared after careful consideration and after having been scrutinised by a high-level committee and the cabinet.

The JD(S) leader said that when the BJP?government had given the go ahead for the probe into the matter last year, retired IPS officer D V Guruprasad – who was then holding charge as ADGP, CID – went through the report and dismissed the matter.

“I don’t know why he (Guruprasad) didn’t file a case. However, the minute Bidari took charge he has filed a case. The officer, who has been aspiring for the DG&IGP post, may be hoping that this would be a sure shot way for his desire to be fulfilled,” alleged Gowda.Gowda, who side stepped a direct question about the BJP’s involvement in the matter, said: “If BJP is targeting me, then I will target the entire party. I am going to hit back,” he said, adding he would even wage a battle against the Congress, if need be.

He also accused former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa of controlling the BJP government from inside the jail. “There is no doubt about that. In fact, just before he left the Jayadeva Hospital, it looked like a mini cabinet had been convened by him. Around 15 ministers and Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda were present in the meeting at the hospital,” he said.

Land denotification – a pain in the neck and embarrassment for BJP in Karnataka

                                                                                                                              FAXNEWS

 The list of Karnataka Ministers and politicians in connection with the land grab charges seems to be growing by the day with the Lokayukta Special Court Judge N K Sudhindra Rao asking the Police to submit a report by Nov 16 in connection with a case filed against Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani that he had de-notified (freed from official control) the government land on Bangalore outskirts for monetary gain.

 Industrialist Alam Pasha has complained to Lokayukta alleging that Nirani has abused his office to get the 27 acres de-notified, and in turn sold it at a huge rate and the industries minister benefited monetarily from this deal. Nirani along with eight others, including his family members, “misused his position as Industries Minister” and floated a number of non-existent companies and de-notified Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board land in Devanahalli and Dobb’s pet to them, causing over Rs 130 crore loss to the exchequer, the complaint alleged. Costs of Land at in and around Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) at Devanahalli have skyrocketed in recent years as also at Dobbspet 20 km from BIAL.

Mr Sudhindra rao who functions as the Lokayukta special court judge for speedy disposal of corruption cases may be heading towards a record in Karnataka on the number of politicians against whom he has ordered the probe.

The court order, coming just six days ahead of Jan Chetna Yatra of senior BJP leader L.K. Advani to get people support against corruption, has come as a pain in neck and embarrassment for the ruling BJP in Karnataka.

There were reports in a section of the press few days ago that efforts were on from certain section of the politicians to either ‘promote’ or ‘transfer’ the Lokayukta Special Court judge who has been taking such a ‘bold’ step of sending to jail even the high and the mighty politicians of  the ruling paty and issuing notices to a former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita Kumaraswamy,   a JD(s) MLA toappear before  the court in person . Media has appreciated the actions of the judge for his courage and impartiality.

He has already sent behind bars, BJP’s first Chief Minister in South India ,B.S. Yeddyurappa in corruption cases. With the Judge ordering a probe, Nirani joins Ashoka, Yeddyurappa and two former ministers, Katta Subramanaya Naidu and S.N. Krishnaiah Setty, facing land grab or illegal land deal charges.While Yeddyurappa, Katta Subramanya Naidu and Setty are in judicial custody, Naidu has been allowed to go to Mumbai for treatment of cancer at Leelavathi Hospital.

On Home Minister R Ashok, the Lokayukta court last week ordered a probe on a private complaint alleging illegal de-notification of government land. The Lokayukta probe against Nirani will begin when the police register the FIR in a day or two. Ex-BJP minister mining baron G. Janardhana Reddy has been arrested by the CBI and sent to Chanchagalaguda jail in Hyderabad for alleged illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.                                Alam Pasha in his October 20 complaint prayed that the court take cognisance of the matter and order a thorough investigation. Nirani had “misused” the forum of Global Investors’ Meet held last year by the Karnataka Government for his “own personal advantage”, he had alleged. He claimed that Nirani had “consolidated” land allotted to the said companies “run by men of his choice” and raised a loan of over    Rs 500 crore without any authority.

Gowda cabinet resorts to hair splitting act, Yedyurappa shifted to Hospital from Jail

by M K Vidyaranya

Even as the Sadananda Gowda led BJP  Cabinet in Karnataka is engaged in the hair splitting act of demanding clarification from the yet to be appointed Lokayukta on its own terms of reference,  former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurrappa,who was cooling  his heels inside the Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara for few hours  was shifted to the government run Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology late last night, following complaints of chest pain and vomiting.

Yeddyurappa was arrested  in connection with the corruption cases registered against him for illegally de-notifying land in and around Bangalore and sent to the jail where he  to spend the week end.
 
The jail stay  is not the first for him. Known for his pro-poor and pro-farmers agitations, Yeddyurappa was imprisoned many a times between 1975-1977 during Indira Gandhi’s infamous Emergency.

News papers in Bangalore carried  Yeddyurappa’s arrest story in screaming eight column headlines.

While the Sunday Times termed Yeddyurappa as , ” Pracharak, Politician, Prisoner” and pointed out that he evaded arrest for four hours after the Lokayukta Judge, Justice N K Sudheendra Rao ordered the accused be sent to judicial custody till Oct 22.

Kannada Prabha,now – a -days seems  to be trying to re-establish its old glory of labelling itself as anti-establishment newspaper devoted the entire first page showing a photograph of Yeddyurappa inside the jail cell thinking of future.

The news paper also carried two interesting statements – one by the Lokayukta Judge and another by Yeddyurappa a fortnight ago- as ear-panels in the second front page.
 
While the judge said ” Bail application filed by the accused No.1 under section 439 crpc has been rejected….”,the newspaper quoted Yeddyurappa’s statement made 15 days  ago’ ” Even if I go to jail, I will do politics from inside the jail”.
The screaming  head-line in the second front page said, B  S Yeddyurappa,  ” Quaidi No10462 “.

Bangalore  Mirror, a sister publication of the Times of India group, which linked Yeddyurapp’s arrest with L K Advani’s anti graft yatra said in its front page, ” Yeddyurappa arrest jeopardises Advani’s anti-graft Yatra” . The veteran national leader is caught in  a bind with the arrest of BJP’s first chief minister in  South India and that too on the charges of corruption, the theme song of his tour.

The newspaper said, Yeddyurappa, as a chief minister was enjoying hassle free ride wherever he went, had the luxury of hassle free drive to the Central Jail as well, as the senior officers had sent out a message to the traffic police inspectors to clear the rods for Yeddyurappa’s vehicle to pass, with the former chief minister seating inside a police jeep and not in his high end luxury car Honda  CRV.

Utilising the opportunity to its advantage, the Congress said that  it is ironical that Yeddyurappa is fighting for bail in corruption case at a time when Advani’s anti-graft rath is rolling. Advani should have stgarted his yatgra frfom Karnataka which is reeling under corruption since its came to power in the state.

According to Mr C H Hanumantharaya, the Counsel for the Complainant, “It is a historic judgement. It will be an eye-opener for unscrupulous politicians. It instills the fear of law and they will think  10 times before committing  any illegality….”

‘Corruption begins at Home,Justice begins at Lokayukta ‘

by M K Vidyaranya

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME — The idea of the proverb can be found in the Bible. The proverb dates back to the time of the Roman comic playwright Terence (about 190-159 BC).In 1383, John Wycliffe wrote: ‘Charity should begin at himself.’ Five hundred years later Dickens said that ‘Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.
I think a time has come to modify the old adage.
The root of corruption begins in almost every individuals home and we can certainly modify the adage to ‘Corruption begins at Home, Justice begins  at Lokayukta’

The corruption in India, synonymous with Politicians and government officials
is ingrained in the both the Central and State Governments, has spread like cancer affecting the common man to the hilt.
When every one was hesitating to take on the Union Government and corrupt politicians both in the ruling and opposition parties , a ray of hope was sighted in the form of Anna Hazare and the movement against corruption spread like wild fire across nooks and corners of the country demanding the UPA government to introduce the Janlokpal Bill which aims at rooting out corruption at all levels right from peon to prime minister.
According to historian and moralist, Lord Acton (1887),”Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

How the corruption starts:

The root of corruption which begins at Home can be attributed to parents.
Take for example, when a small child refuses to eat food, the mother offers the child a piece of chocolate if it eats the food without any grouse. The child then agrees to eat the food and makes it a habit to demand chocolate every time to eat food.
Similarly. a smoking father, without the knowledge of other family members, quietly sends his child to the nearby shop to bring cigarette or beedi and asks the child to keep the change, so that he could entice the child for his next purchase.
A politician uses students to work for them during the elections and pays them money which he had amassed through commission for the contracts he gets them from the government in various departments. The students develop a habit of working only if they get money and this habit will continue when they join jobs in government.

He also purchases votes during the election by inducing them with cash or kind to win the elections.

More than 25 centuries ago, Gautama Buddha had observed, “Desire is the root cause of sorrow”.

The unending desire of many citizens who want to violate law in order to increase their wealth or get the work quickly without taking trouble is being made use of by the officials to earn money through corrupt ways.

For example, a common man who has a 30×40 site will be permitted to build building only in 65 percent of the plot. Since his desire is to build a spacious house, he constructs a bigger building and bribes the Corporation Engineers and urges them to ignore the unauthorised construction. The desire in him to have a spacious house is the root cause of corruption.

Though the government has written rules stating that a work had to be done with in a specified time, the citizens in their hurry to get the work done pays bribe to the officials as they cannot make several trips to the office.

It is high time, the Residents Welfare Associations should ask the people in their area to adhere to the rule book and approach the Government offices through them so that they will not demand bribe for clearing their papers.

Similarly businessmen desirous of making huge profits submit tailored balance sheet, bribe officials and pay lesser tax to the government.

The traffic police let off the traffic violators if they pay 50 percent of the fine without demanding the receipt. The ‘desire’ to save another 50 percent makes the traffic violator to agree for the deal .