The sibling rivalry between Congressman and former Minister Kumar Bangarappa and his younger brother Madhu Bangarappa, who is a JD(S) MLA, is well known. The scions from Sorab in Shivamogga are not only politicians; they have dabbled in films too. During the campaigning for the panchayat election but from opposite sides, the brothers have been taking potshots at each other by alluding to each other’s failures in Sandalwood. At a meeting of JD(S) activists in Sorab taluk recently, Mr. Madhu referred to Ashwamedha , a movie based on the bond between a jockey (played by Mr. Kumar) and his race horse. He said Mr. Kumar was a spent force, just like the horse in the movie.
Now, Devi is a film starring the junior brother. The shooting for it started in 2011 but the film is yet to hit the screens. Mr. Kumar in reply said just as the fate of the still-born Devi, Mr. Madhu’s political would also remain canned.
Funeral politics
The JD(S) is never short of drama (or do we say farce) and this was proved beyond doubt during the recent rebellion led by a chunk of party legislators. Over the last few days, loyalist and rebel camps exchanged jibes and counter-jibes that would put the scriptwriter of any potboiler to shame. Perhaps the best theatrical gimmick came from Mandya, the party’s heartland.
A few party workers of the district got mock invitation cards printed for the ‘tithi’ (funeral rites) of two rebel MLAs and distributed them widely. The card mentioned their “date of death” as the day on which the Rajya Sabha elections were held and on which day the rebels voted in violation of the party whip. The last rites would be held, the invitation said, on the day of the next Legislative Assembly elections.
Parrikar’s missile
It was Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s first media interaction in Bengaluru. In the middle of a serious Q&A over the Air Force’s fighter planes and trainers, few expected this ‘missile’ from him. The seasoned politician that he is, Mr. Parrikar was not one to miss an opportunity to fling one at old and favourite adversary.
Just then, Hindustan Aeronautics demonstrated the inaugural flight of HTT-40, a small plane it’s making to train Air Force pilots.
This was the same plane that the IAF had nixed three years ago to import Swiss-made trainer aircraft. Ruminating on an old decision that went against an Indian product, Mr. Parrikar underscored that the trainer was never encouraged by the earlier dispensation while his government had supported it. To illustrate his point, he held up a small bottle of water and said, “See this! You cannot make out if the bottle is empty or full.” Likewise, for such decisions on costly imports, “I never blame the bureaucracy. It is always colourless, odourless, tasteless, and shapeless like this water here. It always takes the colour of the government. If it is a bitter government, [the bureaucracy] will taste bitter. If the government is pro-poor, pro-people, pro-make in India, the bureaucracy also takes that shape and colour.”
Ballari ZP out
of topics
Has the Ballari Zilla Panchayat run dry of topics for its sittings or for the quarterly meetings of the Karnataka Development Programme? Of late, these meetings are quickly wound up after discussing the action taken reports (ATR) of the previous meetings. At the KDP that is chaired by the Minister in-charge of the district, there are no takers for the department-wise booklet on the status of various schemes. The ATR is discussed but no resolution is passed. Often, the issues discussed earlier are repeated.
When the newly elected ZP held its maiden general body meeting, it avoided the ATR which pertained to the previous ZP and focused on approving the action plan. The apathy is surprising considering that the district reels from this year’s failure of rain, the resultant drought, crop loss, and shortage of drinking water. Those topics, it seems, are strictly not for the members.
Veerendra P.M.
Bageshree S.
Madhumathi D.S.
M. Ahiraj
