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India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
40 Kshatriya MLAs' 'family get-together' in Lucknow sparks political debate
Lucknow witnessed a political stir on the first day of the Assembly session on Wednesday after around 40 MLAs from the Kshatriya community gathered at a prominent hotel in the city. The meeting, held under the name "Kutumba" (meaning 'clan'), has triggered discussions about possible political told India Today that a WhatsApp group has been created for these MLAs, most of whom belong to the Kshatriya caste. The objective appeared to be to bring Kshatriya legislators from different parties together on one a few leaders from other communities reportedly attended, the majority were Kshatriyas, including about three dozen who are considered rebel MLAs from both the BJP and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party. The gathering, hosted by Kundarki MLA Ramveer Singh and Moradabad MLC Jaipal Singh Vyas, was described as a family get-together. Attending MLAs were given gifts, which included a picture of Lord Ram and a trident, sources observers noted the presence of rebel SP leaders such as Gauriganj MLA Rakesh Pratap Singh and Gosaiganj MLA Abhay Singh, both of whom have been active in Kshatriya community outreach. Sources indicated that the idea of such a meet had been in discussion for some time, as community leaders were looking to demonstrate unity and the organisers have insisted the event was purely social, the timing and scale of the meeting have led to speculation about a show of strength. Several MLAs, former MLAs, and ex-MLCs from opposition parties were also invited, but most prominent opposition leaders stayed the meet, the mood in the Assembly's Central Hall was light-hearted, with many leaders making jokes and passing comments about the gathering. Some MLAs involved in organising the event were teased by their colleagues, suggesting that the political implications had not gone their defence, organisers maintained there was no political agenda. "It was only a family event, nothing more," said one of the the Assembly session underway, the "Kutumba" meeting has become a talking point, particularly because it involved MLAs from multiple parties and came at a time when caste-based mobilisation remains a sensitive factor in state it leads to any coordinated political move remains to be seen, but the optics have already made an impact.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Uttar Pradesh
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Deshpande-led panel favours better management of govt.-run temples in Karnataka
The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA R.V. Deshpande, has proposed over 189 reforms in various departments, especially the establishment of a comprehensive framework for better management of the State's 34,500 temples. The commission has proposed the creation of a temple task force to handle crowd control, emergency responses, ticketing, and distribution of prasad during festivals and large special events at temples. Mr. Deshpande submitted the commission's eighth report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday and new recommendations, aimed at revitalising key sectors such as temple management, food and civil supplies, government recruitment, healthcare to bring in better governance, transparency, and accountability in the delivery of public services. The panel is in favour of delegating the power to sanction new staff posts to the Endowment Commissioner, bypassing the current dependency on Finance Department approval in order to increase efficiency in temple operations and transparency. The temple staff salaries are funded by temple income and not the State Budget. So, the recommendation is expected to speed up appointments without additional financial burden on the government. To ensure transparency and check corruption in recruitment, and enhance the integrity of exams conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), the commission stated the installation of CCTV surveillance, mobile jammers, secure storage of question papers and answer sheets were mandatory, and a two-tier exam system to reduce candidate volumes and enhance monitoring. For providing digital governance, the commission recommended modernisation of frontline offices such as gram panchayats, primary health centres, raitha seva kendras, and police stations. The report noted that many of these offices currently lack basic infrastructure such as adequate hardware, Internet connectivity, and furniture. It has proposed streamlining the process of issuing ration cards through the integration of State-run platforms such as Bhoomi, Aadhar, Kutumba and Seva Sindhu. After submitting the report, Mr. Deshpande told reporters that the commission had previously made 5,039 recommendations in its earlier seven reports and 30% of them were implemented.
