The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : KPSC members being denied their rights, says BJP

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Sunday, Nov 05, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

KPSC members being denied their rights, says BJP

S. Rajendran

Bangalore: After the tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) over the appointment of new members to the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC), the BJP now says the new members are being denied their rights.

A day after three new members were inducted into the KPSC, the BJP has demanded that the members should be accorded due respect and be allowed to discharge their responsibilities. A complaint has been made to Governor T.N. Chaturvedi in this connection.

The three new members — S. Rudre Gowda, M. Nagaraj and Riaz Ahmed — were sworn in by KPSC Chairman H.N. Krishna on Friday. Today was their first day in office and they were busy acquainting themselves with various procedures governing the functioning of the KPSC.

Sources in the BJP told The Hindu that the new members, particularly Mr. Rudre Gowda and Mr. Nagaraj, who were recommended for appointment by the BJP, were not permitted to conduct interviews of candidates for some class one positions in government service. The argument was that after being sworn in, the new members had the right to participate in the selection process.

M.P. Renukacharya and K.S. Kiran Kumar, BJP MLAs, said it was improper on the part of the Chairman to have "denied the new members their rights. We will take up this matter seriously."

Asked for his reaction, the Chairman said the three new members were very much part of the commission.

Chairman's prerogative

Mr. Krishna said it was the prerogative of the chairman to constitute selection committees for interviews, and the rules were clear that there should be at least two members on every selection committee. Saturday's interviews were conducted by Venkataswamy and Dasaiah, two members of the commission.

The new members would be co-opted to the selection committees after November 13, he said.

Saturday's confusion was caused by some candidates attempting to use political clout. Much to the chagrin of the new KPSC members, some of the candidates made a beeline to BJP leaders in the belief that they could get a job with their support.

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