Improve working, avoid controversies, Digvijay to Karnataka ministry
Bangalore, Jan 6 (IANS): Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh Monday expressed displeasure over the working of several ministers in the party's government in Karnataka and cautioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against landing the party in controversies by hasty decisions, party sources said.
Digvijay Singh, who is in charge of party's Karnataka affairs, expressed these views at a meeting of the party's coordination committee here, the sources said.
He was upset that Bangalore roads continue to be pot-holed filled with no repair taking place even though monsoon is over, they said.
The Congress general secretary told Siddaramaiah that the issue of bringing a legislation to ban superstitious practices was not handled properly as it had landed the ruling party and the government in a controversy.
The ban move was initiated middle of last year but was opposed by several Hindu religious heads as they felt that it was directed against beliefs of only Hindus.
The controversy was sparked off following frequent statements by Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra that the government was determined to introduce the legislation during the legislature's winter session held late November last year.
The row subsided after Siddaramaiah clarified that the draft legislation prepared by a group headed by a professor of Bangalore-based National Law School of India University was not a government draft and any decision to ban superstious practices will be taken after wide consultations.
The sources said Digvijay Singh was also unhappy over Siddaramamaiah government's move in December last year that would have given freedom to professional colleges' (engineering and medical) management to fix the fee which many meritorious but poor students could not have afforded.
Following protests from students, parents and political parties, the move was dropped.
Besides Singh and Siddaramaiah, others who attended the meeting included state Congress chief G. Parameshwara, Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Home Minister K. J. George.