Karnataka govt withdraws appointments to 21 trusts, foundations

In an embarrassment, the Karnataka government Thursday withdrew the appointment of chairpersons and members to 21 literary and cultural trusts and foundations after some refused to take up the roles and one person on the list died last year.

On Wednesday, the Kannada & Culture department issued a notification for the new appointments which were withdrawn in less than 24 hours following criticism.

The notification listed writer Rajeshwari Poornachandra Tejaswi as a member of a foundation named after her husband KP Poornachandra Tejaswi. But, Rajeshwari died in December last year.

Not just that, writer Narendra Rai Derla refused to chair the KP Poornachandra Tejaswi Foundation citing personal reasons. Apparently, Derla was not contacted by anybody from the government. Such embarrassment can be prevented if only the government can seek prior approval of the people it wants to appoint to such bodies, Derla is said to have conveyed to the government.

Similarly, Hindutva ideologue Chakravarthy Sulibele refused to become the chairperson of the Galaganatha and NS Rajpurohit Foundation at Haveri. “I have immense respect for Galaganatha and this appointment is surprising and joyful. Because I don’t have time to devote to this, I’m humbly giving back this respect,” Sulibele wrote on Facebook.

The government also faced criticism for identifying some of the members by their caste.

Plus, sources said there was opposition from within the BJP, especially a lawmaker from north Karnataka who was unhappy with the appointments.