Bangalore: The selection process of management committee members for temples in the city by the Muzrai department is fraudulent, alleges an RTI activist and one of the contenders for the post Vikram Simha.
Simha and his wife Bhanu had applied for committee members’ posts in Venkateshwara Temple near Bangalore Medical College and Ramalingeshwara Temple in Chamrajpet, respectively.
The couple, who are retired now, were confident that their profiles matched the eligibility criteria and constantly kept tabs on the status of their applications. But to their dismay, they found that both had not been shortlisted and the committee members were chosen at the behest of core members and not according to the standard selection procedure.
Vikram had asked one of his friends, an advocate, to file an RTI application to understand the selection process, but the information was denied. The state public information officer was penalised by the Karnataka Information Commission.
“I am not upset that I am not shortlisted, but there should be a valid reason for denying my candidature. I think the reason is that I am an RTI activist and the Endowments Department feels insecure about me getting into the panel,” said Simha.
The applications are scrutinised by both the police and district commissioners. The police verify criminal records and the DC, administrative records of the applicants. But what happens after the verification is not clear. It is not known on what basis the applications are short-listed, and how does the short-listed management committee members’ list emerges finally.
“I have a respectable profile, a believer, Hindu, teetotaler and fit all the criteria for becoming a committee member and was even confident about it. I still have no clue about what happened to my application. They should at least have acknowledged and intimated me about the status, which they failed to do,” said Bhanu, Vikram’s wife.
The Muzrai department when contacted was not forthcoming about details pertaining to this case, as the headquarters assistant in the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Department involved in this case had retired recently.
