The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Create a pressure group to help State get its due’

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Tuesday, Jul 08, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Create a pressure group to help State get its due’

Special Correspondent

Poor lobbying at Centre has cost State dear: Yeddyurappa

BANGALORE: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Monday said that officials from Karnataka, who are working at the Centre, should function as a “pressure group” to ensure that the State did not get short shrift.

Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have been able to get huge assistance from the Centre, mainly because of lobbying by officials from these States, who are in large numbers at the Centre, Mr. Yeddyurappa said at a function organised by JSS Training Institute for Competitive Examinations (JSSTICE) to felicitate its students who have cleared the civil services examinations of the Centre and the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

As officials from Karnataka have not been able to create a pressure group, the State had been deprived of various benefits, he added. On certain occasions, this had also resulted in the Centre adopting a step-motherly attitude towards the State.

“In a federal system, the Centre is powerful. To ensure flow of resources to the State, lobbying by bureaucrats is essential,” Mr. Yeddyurappa remarked.

The Chief Minister said that during his recent visit to New Delhi, he held a three-hour-long meeting with officials from Karnataka working at the Centre and told them to put in special efforts to get various Central projects sanctioned for the State.

For several years, Karnataka had not been properly represented in all-India services, as its candidates had not performed well in the UPSC examinations. However, there had been some improvement in the past decade. Though there was abundant talent in rural Karnataka, civil service aspirants could not afford the expensive coaching, he said. JSSTICE should set up training centres at the district level, and the State Government would provide assistance, the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa felicitated eight students of JSSTICE who have made it to the Central services and 13 who have been selected for the State services.

Responding to the Chief Minister’s suggestion to set up training centres in the districts, Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji of the Suttur Math advised MP Prabhakar B. Kore, who presided over the function, to take the lead in this regard.

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