Mahesh Joshi says he promised to review and rewrite the bye-laws in his manifesto
Dr Mahesh Joshi on Friday took over as the president of the Kannada Sahitya Parishad and announced that he would form a committee headed by a retired judge to “review and rewrite” the council’s by-laws as a whole. Dr. Joshi said, “We will take a report in three months so that the council can be revamped in such a way that it can be taken to the people.”
The announcement has turned a hornet’s nest amid concerns from a section of writers that Dr Joshi was backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Senior author K. Marulasiddappa said, “I want to change the bye-laws of the council immediately after getting elected, just like the BJP talks of changing the constitution after coming to power.” He also wrote two open letters before the council elections, condemning the introduction of “party politics” in the council elections.
However, Dr. Joshi said that he had promised to “review and rewrite” the bye-laws in his manifesto and was not going ahead with his brief. “We will open the committee for suggestions from the public and it will be done in a very transparent manner,” he said. “For example, we want to launch a membership drive with a target of one crore members, for which we need to halve the membership fee to Rs. Allow 250 more subscriptions, pay the fee on the mobile app. We need to amend the bye-laws to make room for these measures. The bye-laws are a century old and need to be rewritten with a cry,” he said.
Another senior writer SG Siddaramaiah appealed to all the newly elected district presidents to stand before the state president and ensure that the bye-laws are not rewritten. “The President’s term was extended from three years to five years after the previous President Manu Baligar was elected for a three-year term. Now Dr. Joshi wants to rewrite the entire by-laws. Just because there is no election wins, they should not be allowed to rewrite the bye-laws. It will only lead to capture of the institution. We will oppose this tooth and nail,” he said.