Bengaluru, Oct 18: While the debate over leadership change in Karnataka is getting louder, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar have started divergent stands on two major issues.
While Siddaramaiah is coming down heavily on those not participating in the caste survey, including Infosys chief N R Narayanamurthy and his wife Sudha Murthy, Shivakumar has said that the participation was voluntary and not mandatory.
At the same time, while Siddaramaiah has asked the contractors in the state, who have levelled commission charges against the government and demanded clearance of their pending bills to go to court, D K Shivakumar has convened a meeting of contractors to sort out the issue.
Caste Survey Faces Hurdles
The socio-economic caste survey, the pet project of Siddaramaiah has been hitting hurdles from the beginning. The court had ruled that the survey should be voluntary and the government can not force anyone to participate in the survey or to answer all the questions raised by the survey. Secondly, the court had directed the government to protect the privacy of the people by ensuring that no data was leaked.
Murthys Decline To Participate
The first person to hit headlines was Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar himself, who refused to answer many questions. He also said that the questionnaire was very long and the people may not be interested in replying to such long and personal questions.
Meanwhile, Infosys Chief N R Narayanamurthy and Sudha Murthy refused to take part in the survey and said that their participation would not help the survey in any way. They also gave in writing that they were not economically, socially and educationally backward and their participation in this survey would not be needed.
Siddaramaiah’s Sharp Reaction
Siddaramaiah reacted angrily and asked if Infosys people were `Brihaspathis'. He went on to say that the survey was not restricted to Backward Communities alone and lashed out: "The central government will also do it. Will they not participate in that?''
Shivakumar’s Cautious Response
However, the worst thing that happened was the entire undertaking written by Narayanmurthy was leaked in the social media, questioning the safety of the data collected by the government itself. The opposition BJP and JD(S) said that the government was violating the court directions.
However, D K Shivakumar replied cautiously and said that the Murthy's had the right of not participating in the survey. ``It has to be voluntary and no one can force them to participate in the survey,'' he added.
Contractors’ Allegations Of Corruption
Meanwhile, the contractors in the State are also up against the government, alleging corruption in the government and outstanding payments to the tune of Rs 33,000 crore from eight departments.
As a matter of fact, during the previous elections, Congress had run a campaign against the BJP government that the government was getting 40% commission in every contract. This was based on the allegation made by the Contractors Association. However, this time, the contractors association is alleging that the corruption was much more than the previous BJP government and the commission level has gone above 50%.
Pending Bills And Threats Of Escalation
Besides, the government has pending bills to the tune of Rs 33,000 Crore from eight departments. The Contractors' Association President Manjunath has threatened to meet the Congress senior leaders like Surjewala and Rahul Gandhi, if the pending bills are not cleared by December.
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Contrasting Approaches By CM And Dy CM
Unfazed Siddaramaiah asked the contractors to go to court, if they had any corruption charges and get the relief from the court itself. However, D K Shivakumar communicated back to the contractors and convened a meeting of the association to sort out the issue.
