Forget awards, Karnataka government still to ready Rajyotsava winners list

BENGALURU: The state government is at least a fortnight behind schedule this year in announcing the list of Rajyotsava Award winners for 2018. It now looks like it will take another week, even as applicants wait with bated breath, hoping to see their names on the list.
The announcement of Rajyotsava awards was initially delayed on account of the model code of conduct that came into effect following the announcement of byelections to three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies on November 3.
Subsequently, chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had announced that he would take swift action after the polls and release the final list of awardees by November 15. The selection panel under Kannada and culture minister Jayamala Ramachandra has already recommended a list of 126 names eligible for the Rajyotsava awards. The high-level committee headed by Kumaraswamy has to now finalise the names of 63 awardees.
But the chief minister’s three-day break on account of his health and the Tipu Jayanti controversy, followed by the untimely demise of Union minister HN Ananth Kumar and three-day mourning period, is expected to delay the announcement further.
“The high-level committee is yet to meet even once to finalise names,” sources said.
“With the CM scheduled to visit Bidar on November 15 for the launch of new schemes, the meeting is expected to be held after he returns to Bengaluru,” said an official in the chief minister’s office.
The high-level committee consists of water resources minister D K Shivakumar, law and parliamentary affairs minister Krishna Byre Gowda, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and the CM.
Sources in the Kannada and culture department said the list of awardees is expected to be announced only by the month-end, and awards may be bestowed in December, a first in the annals of Karnataka.