cm vows not to cry

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has taken a solemn vow to put an end to his frequent bouts of crying over political issues.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has taken a solemn vow to put an end to his frequent bouts of crying over political issues. Never shy to shed a tear since becoming the first BJP Chief Minister in South India in 2008,Yeddyurappa cried over having to throw out his close aide Shobha Karandlaje from his ministry after his own seat was threatened by the Reddy brothers of Bellary in November last year. This year he was back to his crying ways at the second anniversary of his government saying that he was upset over his inability to improve the lot of farmers in the state. Now he has promised not to cry again but to focus on wiping away the tears of the common man. With the Reddy brothers down on the mat over the illegal mining issue,there should be fewer reasons for Yeddyurappa to cry. Drama is,however,the Chief Ministers forte.

Minister chats with don

A prison visit for states Health Minister B Sreeramulu to check on health facilities landed him in a soup recently after reports emerged that the minister from Bellary,a close associate of the Reddy brothers,spent more time talking to notorious,undertrial rowdies rather than checking the medical facilities at the prison hospital. Sreeramulu,38,who has a criminal history in Bellary,chatted with gangsters like Cycle Ravi,Kavala and Bethanagere Shankar out of the earshot of prison officials. Members of the Opposition Congress have alleged that the minister was conspiring against them. Sreeramulu has admitted that he spoke to undertrials,but added that he had only enquired about the general upkeep at the prison,including the health facilities.

Who made the House unholy?

The consumption of mutton and chicken by legislators who were on a live-in protest in the state legislature for five days demanding a CBI probe into the role of BJP ministers in the illegal trade of iron ore from Bellary district raised the hackles of several members of the ruling BJP. Transport Minister R Ashok accused the Opposition members of polluting the legislature. While the highly religious and superstitious JDS leader H D Revanna offered to purify the House with some holy water,the more agnostic Congress leader Siddaramaiah quipped that it was not the eating of meat by the Opposition members that made the House unholy but the illegal consumption of iron ore by the ruling BJPs ministers.

No space for new staff

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Limited has declared that it has no more space to accommodate new employees on its existing Bangalore campus. While 36,000 employees are projected to be hired for the current year in the 1.14 lakh employee company,the new employees will be accommodated in Infosys facilities with available space like the ones at Mysore,Mangalore,Chennai and Pune. The company,however,recently got a new parcel of land registered in the Sarjapura area of Bangalore for creation of a new campus. The company hopes to begin construction by the end of the current year,says member of Infosys board T V Mohandas Pai.