Corporate tycoons decide Union budget'

March 7, 2011

Mangalore, March 7: It is the corporate tycoons who run the government and decide the strategies and allocation of funds in the budget in India, said Deepankar Mukharjee, All India Secretary of CITU and Member of Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

He was speaking at District Convention of Karnataka State Provident Fund Pensioners Association (PFPA) on Monday at Town Hall here.

The Union government has allotted a meager amount of Rs 1600 crores in the recently announced budget for the social security fund for the labourers, while Rs 5 crores tax exemption has been made for the corporate tycoons or industrialists, he said, adding that a total of Rs 11,000 crores of direct tax has been exempted for these tycoons.

The pension is supposed to be social security scheme in this civilized world. However, it is disheartening that the government allots a pittance amount to the pensioners neglecting the interest of 46 crores labourers out of 120 crores population. The government is contributing only 1.16 paisa to the fund of pensioners, he said.

“Government should contribute at least 6.42 paisa for every 100 rupees for the fund of pensioners,” he added.

In his presidential address B Madhava, President of All India Beedi Workers Federation demanded the Union government to amend Provident Fund Act, 1952, based on which pension scheme 1995 (EPS-1995) has been formulated. There are more than 28 lakh EPF pensioners under this scheme, some of whom receive pensions of Rs 7 to 10 per month.

He said that the EPS-1995 pension scheme has proved to be a curse for the more than 28 lakh labourers covered under the scheme. There has been no revision in their pension for the last decade and returns of capital and commutation benefits too have been withdrawn in 2008.

S Prasanna Kumar, General Secretary, CITU State Committee, K Pavithran, President, Kerala State PFPA and other leaders of various labourers' organization were present.

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Campus politics: DKS pushes to restore student elections in Karnataka banned since 1989

News Network

November 26,2025

Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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