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Karnataka
By Our Special Correspondent
At one point of time, the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, was said to have decided to nominate three non-politicians, B. Saroja Devi, veteran film actress, H. Sudarshan, noted social worker, and Baragur Ramachandrappa, Kannada writer and former chairman of the Kannnada Development Authority. Dr. Sudarshan said that he would decline the nomination. But the AICC is said to be of the view that nominating non-politicians to the Council would hardly benefit the party or the Government. They tend to confine themselves to their field of activity or profession inside and outside the House. Moreover, as the Congress is in a minority in the Upper House, it had to secure majority and therefore nomination of Congressmen or sympathisers was the easiest way. The three vacancies arose on December 4, 2002, when the then Deputy Chairman of the Council, David Simeon, K.B. Shanappa, and M.S. Siddaraju retired. Since then the Government has given the impression that it is in no hurry to fill the vacancies. The delay even gave rise to the apprehension that the Government might not fill the three seats as was done by the Veerappa Moily Government in 1994 which left six vacancies in the Council unfilled. It came in handy for the Janata Dal Government of H.D.Deve Gowda to name its party men to the Upper House. One reason for the inaction of the Moily Government was infighting in the Congress at that time. With the Government dragging its feet on nomination, pressure mounted from within the Congress to nominate "educated and distinguished" persons within its ranks to the Council. The demand came from those who had been ignored in the appointment of chairmen of boards and corporations. It is another thing that the history of the Upper House in recent decades has been that most of the non-politicians nominated to it joined the ruling party. Of the eight nominated MLCs today, only the veteran journalist, P.Ramiah, has remained an independent. He was nominated by the Janata Dal Government of J.H.Patel in 1998. Such exceptions in the last 23 years have been the former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, H.Narasimhaiah, the Kannada film and stage actress of yesteryear, the late B.Jayamma, the renowned Hindustani classicist, Gangubhai Hangal, and the noted eye surgeon, M.C.Modi. The five-month delay in nomination has resulted in various lists of probables being speculated upon. According to party sources, the AICC and the State Government have shortlisted some names from the various caste groups. The names doing the rounds are those of the former Union minister of State, Siddhu Nyamagowda, and the former MP, M.B.Patil (Lingayats), the former president of the Bidar District Congress, Baburao Gudige (backward classes), the former Union minister of State in the National Front Government, Rathnamala Savanur, and Jaishree Pujar (of Belgaum) (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes), the former MP and PCC president, V.Krishna Rao, the former Law Minister, Haranahalli Ramaswamy who had headed the Administrative Reforms Commission, the senior party man of Bangalore, V.S.Murthy, and Shantharam Hegde of Sirsi (Brahmins), the noted industrialist, M.K.Ramachandra, and V.Ramaiah of Siraguppa (Vaishyas) and the former minister, Abdul Samad of Channapatna, and M.A.Ghafoor of Udupi (Muslims).
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