After being forced to put up with a government for the last five years which saw politicians indulging in acts ranging from widespread corruption to watching porn in the Assembly, which saw three chief ministers at work and one of them deserting a national party to form his own regional outfit, what do the people of Karnataka expect from their new chief minister? Does he have it in him to address the people's concerns? KN Shanth Kumar, editor in-chief, Prajavani, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Will the Lingayat and Volikayas lobbies in Congress allow former JD(S) leader now Congressmen to function effectively? Asked by: Vinny
A. Both the 'lobbies' you mention have tacitly supported Siddaramaiah as CM. Neither of those groups had a serious contender.
Q. Considering the LS election, which can happen anytime soon in near future, what do you think Congress's strategy will be in Karnataka? Congress has always been known for vote bank politics and so called minorities appeasement (Proof is infront of everyone of us - new announcement from new CM) so don't you think considering the financial situation of Karnataka, urban area development will be ignored and will remain in mess for next 1 year? Bangalore specially has lost the global brand name thanks to the uncontrolled growth and mismanagement and Congress has not really managed any other state than Delhi very well as far as the urban development is concern. Asked by: Nikhil
A. There is no doubt that the Karnataka government will function with an eye on the 2014 polls. That will mean concentrating both money and efforts where the votes are. But I don't think Bangalore will be ignored. But, at the same time, one has to understand that solving Bangalore's problems in one is an unrealistic expectation. It is also unfair to blame just the Congress party for Bangalore;s mess. The Congress party has been in power in Karnataka for less than half the time in last 2 decades.
Q. What measures will be in place to strictly control environmental hazards like Illegal mining, sand mafia, water body encouragement, heavy traffic, deforestation etc which are primary things to save our future and our children's. Asked by: Raj From Bangalore
A. If by 'measures' you mean laws and policy, then they are already in place, in fact they have been in place for a long time. What is lacking is the political will and integrity to enforce them.
Q. What can non-minority, non-SC/ST, non-OBC, non-dalit, middle class citizens expect from this govt? Asked by: SS
A. It has been a long time since Karnataka has had a CM who is from a backward community. Siddaramaiah's largesse to backward classes and dalits on the day he took office should be seen in that light. I dont think he can ignore the rest of the people as he settles in.
Q. With so many builders in his party, how is he going to reduce corruption in real estate ? Will he be allowed to complete 5 years. Asked by: kp vidyashankar
A. Why only corruption in real estate. The question is whether he will be able provide clean governance all around. How long he will remain CM ? - your guess is as good as mine.
Q. Will Siddaramiah be able to take other Senior Congress leaders along with him as many consider him an outsider in Congress. ? Will the Cabinet be decided on merit and younger leaders from Congress be given Cabinet berths or will it be just another attempt to pacify particular communities by allotting their leaders Cabinet berths ? Asked by: Suhas
A. You must remember that Siddaramaiah was the leader of the opposition all this time. So it is very unconvincing for someone in the party to suddenly stand up and call him an outsider. But the fact is there are a few strong contenders for the CM position, and they will continue to be hopeful. caste and region will, unfortunately, be important factors that will be taken into account while selecting ministers.
Q. Don't you think Congress CM now needs concentrate on good governance and focus on improving basic needs instead of populist measures. Asked by: Nagarajan
A. Absolutely. Hopefully he will begin to do just that. Let us hope the initial burst of populist measures remains just that, and ends there.
Q. In Bangalore south, why u think independents could not make much inroads inspite of the so called educated voters? Asked by: Naresh
A. You seem to think that educated citizens vote for independents. Is there any thing to back this theory. I have not come across any facts of figures that suggest your theory is true.
Q. Except subsidy of rs 4/- to Milk producers, rest all his announcements were to appease people for '14 Lok Sabha Elections - Whats your take? Asked by: Basavaprabhu
A. Not entirely. I think it is more a statement made by a CM who comes from a backward community.
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