All eyes on Karnataka

The only thing the Karnataka voter has ensured is the installation of a new government in Vidhana Soudha. True to his word, BS Yeddyurappa took oath as Chief Minister at a quick ceremony in Raj Bhavan. The swearing-in came hours after the Supreme Court refused to stay the Governor’s invitation saying it would not act on mere speculation.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka polls but fell short of a majority and now has 15 days to prove its majority. Amit Shah once again has managed to successfully pull a rabbit out of his hat. After sneakily grabbing power in Goa and Manipur, Shah has made another State ‘Congress-mukt’.

Despite being on the back foot, perhaps for the first time since 2014, the BJP outmanoeuvred the Congress and put Yeddyurappa on the CM’s seat. Will it be deja vu for Yeddyurappa, who in 2007 was the CM for only a week, or will the BJP prove the cynics right and sail through by “winning” the support of the eight more MLAs needed within 24 hours? The “nataka” in Karnataka has the country transfixed.

Mysuru

As per reports political parties are luring MLAs with offers of. ₹100 crore to form their government in Karnataka. If it is true (remember there cannot be fire without smoke) then how can the government ensure a corruption-free administration in the country? The politicians must be reined first to set example of honesty and corrupt-free dealings. As per 2014 reports the Global Corruption Barometer report corruption in India was at an all-time high. The cancer of corruption cannot be eliminated unless the political parties and politicians refrain from corrupt practices themselves. Till we elect candidates who are corrupt there would be no end to the corruption in the country.

Let all politicians including that of the ruling party get a clean chit from tax departments every year (including that of their spouses and children/close relatives); and publish the same in newspapers for public scrutiny as in a democracy the public has a right to know all assets and their sources of their leaders/politicians.

New Delhi

Not long back, the banking sector of India was termed as saviour of the economy. However, the way things have shaped for it in recent times, it is surely heading towards some serious trouble.

Banking frauds are coming to light every now and then and NPAs are mounting with every passing day. Top banks of the country like PNB are reporting huge losses. Deposits have touched rock bottom. Employees have not seen a salary revision in a long time, which has a bearing on their service quality. Banks can be revitalised by restructuring and not severely hampering them with strict regulations in the name of cleaning up the mess. It is time to enhance their confidence by being friendly to them.

Kurukshetra

With reference to ‘Foodgrain output record 279.5 mt in 2017-18’ (May 17), due to lack of proper storage facilities, food is allowed to rot when there is a bumper stock. Hence one of the main duties of the government is to build modern storage facilities to store our excess foodgrains which can be systematically sold during inflation/food shortage. New techniques should be encouraged for storing of buffer stocks. Secondly, smooth transport of foodgrains/onions between States, removing bottlenecks or middlemen will also go a long way in curtailing prices.

Thirdly, the government should construct a good transport system, improve roads, remove unnecessary formalities for flow of food items between States to ensure free flow of essential commodities throughout the nation. Fourthly, our leaders should rise above petty politics while dealing with food inflation. Fifthly, educating farmers on modern ways of farming to increase yield and modern ways of storage of foodgrains.

Finally we can also follow the Japanese principle of discouraging hoarders.

Thane

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