Roopa also appealed to bureaucrats to take on political leaders boldly to uphold the law even if they are faced with notices. Police officer Roopa D, who famously exposed special favours accorded to ousted AIADMK leader VK Sasikala in prison in Bengaluru, said that bureaucrats should boldly uphold the law even if it means inviting trouble. She was speaking at a TedX talk in Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering on November 3. The video of the TedX talk was published on YouTube recently. Roopa is Karnataka’s first Kannadiga woman police officer. She has been transferred 17 times in her career. Roopa was posted as DIG Prisons in Bengaluru when she was credited for her whistle-blowing act of pointing out that Sasikala was receiving special treatment in prison. “I witnessed special treatment given to a particular convict, who was the close aide of the recently departed ex-CM of Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court had convicted her under the Corruption Act for possessing disproportionate assets beyond her known sources of income. Jail officials had given special facilities to her as a quid pro quo. I reported it to authorities. After this report, I was slapped a defamation suit notice. If you stir the hornet’s nest, be prepared for all kinds of oddities,” says Roopa. She also said that as a woman police officer, she faced times in her career when her instructions were taken lightly by her subordinates. She recounted an earlier experience from Gadag in 2008.
“In Nargund, a powerful politician who had been a minister earlier, addressed a gathering of his followers and gave an inciting speech that made his followers set ablaze three government buses. I instructed DYSP to arrest the politician as he was prima facie guilty of abetment of offence. There was videographed evidence of his speech. Not only did my subordinate resist and refuse but he also kept on arguing and lying that politician had left town,” says Roopa. She was not one to budge and sat at the police station through the day and in the night when police officers brought the guilty politician to the station. Upon investigation, it was found that the ‘subordinate’ was in constant touch with the guilty politician and was suspended. Roopa also slammed the VVIP culture of politicians that she observed in her career. When she was DCP of Bengaluru Armed Reserve she found that several elected representatives including MLAs, MPs and MLCs had kept gunmen in excess of the authorised number. “I made a list and found 82 politicians had kept 216 gunmen in excess of the number entitled. I began withdrawing them and it was first resisted by my boss who reprimanded me in front of my subordinates but I kept withdrawing them until the last excess gunman returned to the police unit,” she says to applause from the audience. She appealed to bureaucrats to take on political leaders boldly to uphold the law even if they are faced with notices. “These kind of notices cause personal discomfiture for bureaucrats. They take away personal time, energy and money if you have to fight it out in the court of law. These notices are an occupational hazards which have to be faced boldly by the bureaucrats,” adds the police officer. One lakh and counting Less than a week after its launch, the ‘Rajini Mandram’ mobile app, launched by Tamil film actor Rajinikanth to kick-start his political career has been downloaded by over a lakh users. This is in contrast to the apps launched by senior politicians such as DMK leaders M. Karunanidhi and M.K. Stalin, PMK’s Anbumani Ramadoss and DMDK founder Vijayakant.
While Mr. Anbumani’s For Change app, which he launched when he projected himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate in 2016, has been downloaded by about 50,000 users, most other apps of politicians have found acceptance among 10,000 or fewer mobile phone users. ASK, an app launched recently by actor-politician R. Sarathkumar, who is also keen on projecting himself as an alternative leader, has seen about a thousand downloads. Aspiring politician and leading actor Kamal Haasan too had indicated that he will formally launch his app maiam whistle in January. Does the popularity of Mr. Rajinikanth’s app indicate that traditional politicians have failed to tap technology to reach a larger audience or have not found acceptance from the tech savvy people? Mr. Palanivel Thiagarajan of the DMK, and MLA from Madurai Central who heads the party’s Information Technology cell, acknowledges that having an app helps in two-way communication, monitoring responsiveness, identify who is an active supporter, analyse trends among other things. “But the most important thing is it helps us get feedback,” he says. Mr. Anbumani agrees that with more than two crore households in Tamil Nadu with a smart phone, the app helps politicians reach citizens easily. According to Mr. Ramadoss, the app also helps in communicating directly with the users. Denies allegations of rise in accidents after operating buses with temporary drivers; accuses unions of misleading people Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar on Sunday urged the transport workers to respect the Madras High Court directive and return to work.
Addressing mediapersons here, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said that a number of employees were returning to work after accepting the wage revision offered by the government. The Minister exuded confidence that bus operations would resume in the State with more employees expected to return to work. Rebutting allegations about a rise in the frequency of accidents caused by temporary drivers, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said all the drivers hired by the State transport undertakings were qualified for operating the buses. “Retired drivers and those who have experience in driving school buses have been roped in,” he said. Alleging that the unions were giving misleading information, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said, “Around 32,000 employees have benefited from the wage hike. In addition, we have increased wages by ₹900 for entry level employees,” he informed. “We will wait for the High Court directive on Monday. The government will take a decision on action against employees later on Monday,” he said. The unions say they will continue the strike and will justify their stand in the court on Monday. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar on Sunday separately appealed to the striking transport workers to resume duty heeding the Madras High Court’s direction as two persons were killed in separate accidents involving buses reportedly driven by drivers hired on a casual basis in Cuddalore and Chennai districts.
However, the unions said they would continue the strike and justify their stand in the court on Monday. In Virudhachalam, a temporary driver J. Elumalai, who was driving a bus from the TNSTC depot, rammed a motorcycle being driven by Seon Kumar, 37, with two pillion riders. Seon succumbed to injuries following which the police arrested Mr. Elumalai. In Chennai, an 18-year-old youth — Joseph alias Ajit of Dooming Kuppam — was run over by an MTC bus when his bike skidded on the Santhome High Road. While it was claimed that the bus driver was hired on an ad hoc basis, the police did not confirm the same. Meanwhile, ruling out further talks with the unions, Mr. Vijayabhaskar accused them, including the CITU, of misleading workers on the actual wage revision. Releasing the break-up of the revised wages that the government was willing to pay, he told journalists: “If all the workers come to know about these figures, they will return to work.” The actor has also sought time to announce the name and flag of his party. Chennai: Taking the next step towards formally launching a political party, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth has converted his fan clubs association into “People’s Forum”. The web portal www.rajinimandram.org, launched by the actor, has changed its title from All India Rajinikanth Fans Association to Rajini Makkal Mandram without much fanfare.
Sources said Rajinikanth feels strengthening the Makkal Mandram by eliciting support from various quarters of society is necessary before launching the political party. They said since nearly 4 to 5 lakh people have already registered themselves on the portal and app, the actor is hopeful of more people supporting his call for a “political revolution” in Tamil Nadu. Both the mobile app and web portal sported the name “Rajini Makkal Mandram” instead of All India Rajinikanth Fans Association, which existed till Friday. Rajinikanth, while announcing his intention to launch a political party and contest all 234 constituencies in the next assembly elections, had made it clear that he will not make any political comment till his outfit takes shape. He had also asked his fans to follow suit. “The views expressed by such individuals do not reflect our official position in such matters,” V. M. Sudhakar, administrator of All India Rajinikanth Fans Association said in a press release. The statement comes six days after Rajinikanth launched a web portal and a mobile application asking his fans and “those yearning for a change” to register themselves. The actor has also sought time to announce the name and flag of his party. Trade unions resolve to rally support for transport corporation employees by staging protest demonstrations in all districts on January 8 While the Transport Minister warned the striking employees of the State transport corporations of stern action if they failed to return to work immediately, trade unions resolved to rally support to the strike by staging protest demonstrations in all districts on January 8.
As both the government and the unions are unwilling to budge from their stand, the transport strike is expected to continue on Sunday as well. Speaking to reporters at Karur, Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar claimed that more than 80% of the government buses were operated in the State on Saturday. A press release said that, on an average, 66% of the fleet of various operations was operated across the State. ‘Uncalled for’ The Minister alleged that a few workers belonging to unions affiliated to Opposition parties were creating trouble and threatening the crew members operating buses. “It was totally uncalled for and departmental action would be taken against them,” he warned. Mr. Vijayabhaskar said a new wage agreement for transport employees had been reached after 23 rounds of talks. He himself had presided over 13 rounds of talks with the representatives of various unions. However, the CITU and DMK-affiliated unions, who refused to accept the new wage agreement, were spearheading the strike. The workers had been given a wage hike that no other government had given. Moreover, the State government had allotted ₹1500 crore to settle the dues for retired transport workers, he said. After a meeting on Saturday evening, the trade unions on strike announced that they would hold protest demonstrations in all the districts. The union leaders charged that while they were negotiating for a 2.57% increase, the government discreetly tried to reach an agreement with unions supporting the ruling party. The issues had already been taken to the court and the government has not granted the sum even after contempt of court proceedings were initiated, leaders of the striking unions said in a joint statement. The courts already gave delayed verdicts and the administration failed to honour the verdict, they said, and added that the court order staying the strike had shocked the workers. They sought the personal intervention of the Chief Minister. The Collector says that acquisition of Veda Nilayam to convert it into a memorial is a government directive, and it will be followed. Despite pending cases in court against the conversion of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's residence into a memorial, the district administration is unperturbed. Speaking to TNM, Chennai Collector V Anbuselvan says that there are absolutely no legal hurdles to the acquisition of the land and that the process will be completed by April.
The Collector says that acquisition of Veda Nilayam to convert it into a memorial is a government directive and it will be followed. The government had proposed this in August 2017. However, Jayalalithaa's niece J Deepa had moved the High Court, which disposed the plea in October 2017 and directed the state government to take a decision on her representation in four months. In addition to this. Traffic Ramaswamy, a social activist has moved court seeking that public funds not be used for the acquisition. "Yes, he has filed a case asking that public funds not be used as the Chief Minister was convicted," admits the Collector. "However the High Court has not given a directive on the matter and so we will proceed with our work," he adds. The District authority explains that the due process under the Land Acquisition Act, including social impact assessment, would be carried out for Veda Nilayam. As far as the matter of legal heir is concerned, he says, "The former CM has not named any legal heir and so as far as claimants are concerned, they will be paid compensation as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act. But there is no stopping the process of acquisition now because it is a government decision." The land has been measured for their records but there were hurdles in the form of income tax raids, admits the Collector. Two rooms in Poes Garden were initially unmeasured because they were sealed by the Income Tax department. "But the IT department later cooperated with us and we managed to measure those rooms as well. All processes are on track." According to sources, Elangovan a resident of Ganapathy-Maniyakarampalayam has filed a petition against Kamal Hassan. Coimbatore: A supporter of rebel AIADMK leader, TTV Dhinakaran has moved a Coimbatore court against actor Kamal Hassan for his controversial remarks on the recently concluded R.K.Nagar bypolls to the State Assembly.
According to sources, Elangovan a resident of Ganapathy-Maniyakarampalayam has filed a petition against Kamal Hassan, in which he had reportedly mentioned that the actor had said in a recent interview to a Tamil magazine voters had begged from a thief to poll their valuable votes for TTV Dinakaran in the recent Assembly byelection held for R.K. Nagar constituency. Drivers and conductors of various state transport corporations are demanding wage hike among other things. Chennai: Scores of commuters were left stranded in Koyambedu bus terminal of Chennai as an indefinite strike by the transport workers' unions in Tamil Nadu continued for the third day despite the Madras High Court warning.
Taking a serious view of the strike called by certain transport unions, the Madras High Court on Friday said the workers should get back to work or "face consequences", including termination and contempt of court. "There will be an interim order restraining the transport workers, specially, the drivers and conductors, from taking recourse to strike," the court said. Hours after the Madras High Court ordered them to call of the strike, the transport corporation unions on Friday said their agitation would continue till their demands on wage revision were met by the Tamil Nadu government. The unions, including DMK-affiliated LPF and CITU, rejected the state government's ultimatum to return to work or face 'consequences', issued following the court directive. Drivers and conductors of various state transport corporations are demanding wage hike among other things. DMK working president MK Stalin on Friday, spoke to Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palanisamy over phone and expressed concern over the ongoing transport strike and urged the government to expedite talks with the unions. A large number of people were seen queued up waiting for the private buses at the different bus stops. The strike, following the failure of talks on wage revision and clearance of pending dues with Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar, was declared on Thursday. The workers of the transport department have been demanding for a pay scale revision to Rs 30,000. However, the authorities agreed to pay only Rs 24,400. Council meet expenditure, sitting fees with heavy lunch and operation costs of councillor offices is all savings, the official added. Chennai: With special officers administering local bodies in the state, no major infrastructure projects and schemes have been executed since October 2016 and the absence of council had also reduced the review meetings and expenditure of 12 corporations and 152 municipal bodies in TN, informed official sources said.
Admitting that the state and Central fund allocation to tier-II cities is just around Rs 520 crore for the fiscal 2016-17, an official explained that there is a need for mayors to represent their city with the centre so that they can bring in more funds and central schemes. Tamil Nadu's overall state financial resources are around Rs 9,755 crore and this caters 664 local bodies and this is not sufficient for a developed state like Tamil Nadu where more than 55 per cent is urbanised. However, another official who has worked with the Chennai corporation said that to make the cities clean and to develop the local bodies in rural local bodies there is no need for councillors. “There are 12,820 posts of councillors and with the state not having the elected council for the past one year the state till now would have easily saved more than Rs 50 crore. Council meet expenditure, sitting fees with heavy lunch and operation costs of councillor offices is all savings, the official added. “New flyovers, integrated drinking water projects and construction of new parks have taken a hit since 2016 and with the absence of a council, the developments and the issues related to local bodies have been suppressed by the state for the past one year”, said Thiruvika Nagar legislator Thayagam Kavi. “No new flyover has been constructed in Chennai and traffic congestion is an issue across the city. Sanitation and waste management has not improved in north Chennai. Whether it is corruption or good governance it comes out in public only when there is an elected body. The adverse issue related to administration is now brushed under carpet”, the MLA added. |
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