NEW DELHI, Feb 18 (UNI) The Congress today alleged that the NDA government was out to subvert the constitutional provisions by dissolving the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (NCSCST) without allowing the members to complete tenures.
The party charged that the government's recent decision to dissolve the commission, which had been bifurcated through a constitutional amendment, was illegal and an attempt to recruit 'stooges' in the reconstituted bodies.
AICC spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said even-though an amendment to Article 338 of the constitution was made, paving way for setting up a separate National Commission for Scheduled Tribes out of the parent commission,the existing rules did not permit removal of the members before completion of their terms for three years.
"This is a crass and crude politics of the government which often gives perverse interpretation of law and seeks to replace constitutional bodies with yes men", he said.
Meanwhile, demanding the president's intervention, four of the five members of the commission have also alleged that the government's move was unconstitutional, objectionable and irrational.
"The present National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the chairman, vice-chairman and the members therein are appointed for a fixed term of three years.
It is, therefore, in the interest of justice and fairness that the present commission should be allowed to complete its full term", they said.
The members also pointed out that the bill for bifurcation of the commission, passed in parliament in September last, was not for its dissolution.
Early polls to save Rs 1000 crore for exchequer: minister BANGALORE, Feb 18 (UNI) The Karnataka government's decision to conduct early polls in the state was to save a sum of Rs 1,000 crore for the government exchequer, Karnataka urban development minister DK Shivakumar said today.
"Conducting state elections separately would involve an additional expenditure of at least Rs 1,000 crore and the state government wanted to avoid this," he claimed, while addressing the All India Conference of the Canara Bank Officers' Congress.
Recalling Karnataka's pre-eminent position in the banking industry, Shivakumar pointed out that many banks, including Canara Bank, were founded in the state and having their head offices in the state.
The minister lauded the service rendered by the bank employees to the society and the role of bank employee unions in protecting the interests of its member-employees.
Referring to the plea for allotment of a site for Canara Bank Officers' Congress to house its office in the city, he said "your request came at the fag end of the present government." Expressing hope that the Congress government would return to power in the state, he claimed that the state government would be too happy to consider the demand.
State primary and secondary education minister BK Chandrasekhar and corportion mayor PR Ramash also participated.
Spirit of cricket should be retained: Sinha HYDERABAD, Feb 18 (UNI) Stating that the coming Indo-Pak cricket series should be viewed as a pure sporting event, rather than a political or diplomatic exercise, external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha today hoped that the series would nevertheless help build people-to-people contact.
Addressing a press conference here, he said "to that extent that our cricketers will be playing in Pakistan and since many of our countrymen will also be travelling to witness the matches, the series will act as a diplomatic or Confidence Building Measure." Even Pakistan had promised to relax visa regulations to facilitate Indians to travel there for the series.
"But, it is still a game and let's play cricket in the spirit of sportsmanship," was Sinha's message.
