Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) has urged the State government to cancel the appointment of M. Sudheendra Rao as chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, SPS founder-president S.R. Hiremath said that the appointment of Mr. Rao to KSPCB defies a Supreme Court order pertaining to appointments to State Pollution Control Boards.
In this particular case, the State government did not comply with the Supreme Court order of September 22, 2017 in Techi Tagi Tara vs Rajendra Singh Bhandari and others with regard to a National Green Tribunal Order of August 24, 2016 and a High Court of Karnataka order of September 23, 2019 in Anjaneya Reddy vs State of Karnataka and others. Interestingly, the High Court had set aside the appointment of MLA Sudhakar as KSPCB chairman by the previous Siddaramaiah government and had directed the State government to frame appropriate guidelines or recruitment rules within six months thereof. However, it has been more than two years and the State government has not come up with any rules.
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa and Chief Secretary Sandeep Dave should initiate steps to revoke the appointment of Mr. Rao and appoint a qualified person while complying with court orders. SPS would be compelled to approach court if the government failed to do so, he said.
Mr. Hiremath also condemned the incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi on January 5 and demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah tender his resignation owning responsibility.
If Mr. Shah refuses to resign from the post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him from the Union Council of Ministers, he said.
Mr. Hiremath also hailed the protest by students and youth against CAA. The non-violent protest of students against CAA has bewildered the BJP government, he said.
