---
layout: default
title: "Move over Kolaveri di, Here Comes Gowda"
description: "A dailybhaskar.com article on Karnataka CM D V Sadananda Gowda's webcam transparency plan, referencing Sunil Abraham's earlier remarks to The New York Times on Oommen Chandy's office webcam."
categories: [Media mentions]
date: 2011-11-28
source: "Daily Bhaskar"
permalink: /media/move-over-kolaveri-di-here-comes-gowda-daily-bhaskar/
created: 2026-05-01
---

**Move over Kolaveri di, Here Comes Gowda** is a *Daily Bhaskar* article published on 28 November 2011. The report covers Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda's plan to install webcams in his office and broadcast the footage live on YouTube, following the precedent set by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The article references remarks made by [Sunil Abraham](/sunil/), then Executive Director of the [Centre for Internet and Society](/cis/) (CIS), to *The New York Times*, in which he described Chandy's webcam initiative as a useful form of transparency tokenism.

## Contents

1. [Article Details](#article-details)
2. [Full Text](#full-text)
3. [Context and Background](#context-and-background)

## Article Details

<dl class="media-details">
  <dt>📰 Published in:</dt>
  <dd><em>Daily Bhaskar</em></dd>

  <dt>📅 Date:</dt>
  <dd>28 November 2011</dd>

  <dt>📄 Type:</dt>
  <dd>News Report</dd>

  <dt>📰 Newspaper Link:</dt>
  <dd>Not available</dd>
</dl>

## Full Text

<div class="highlighted-text" id="fulltext">

<p>Transparency is the buzzword in governance and chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda is eager to set a new benchmark. You could soon watch what the chief minister is doing at office, live on YouTube.</p>

<p>Cameras are being installed at the chief minister's office in Vidhana Soudha and his home office, Krishna. The live footage will be uploaded to YouTube. "I always wanted to maintain transparency in my functioning. Very soon, I will put it to work, when people can watch me live at what I am doing when in office. Let the people see who come to meet me, what I do and how I work. This will set a new example, but there will be no compulsion for my colleagues to emulate me. It is entirely up to them whether to follow me or not," said Gowda on Sunday.</p>

<p>Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy has already set a precedent by installing cameras in his office. On July 1 this year, the day Chandy's experiment went 'live', one lakh visitors logged in. Talking to The New York Times earlier this year, Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, said "He applauded Chandy's webcams, even if the effort amounted to no more than tokenism." "This type of tokenism is also quite useful," The NYT reported Abraham as saying.</p>

<p>In Karnataka, the much-hyped Citizens' Charter would be implemented after the state legislature, which begins on December 6, ends. The cabinet had already cleared the proposal and the bill on time-bound delivery of public services would be introduced in the session, added Gowda.</p>

<p>The proposed bill will make it mandatory for officials in government offices to deliver public services within stipulated period of time and failure to do so would make them liable for penal action and fine to be computed for every day of delay.</p>

<p>Already, Bescom chief P Manivannan has installed a webcam in his office. The NYT earlier reported Manivannan as saying that "he was installing a 'hemispheric' camera that would capture the goings-on in his entire office rather than just show his visitors."</p>

</div>

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## Context and Background

The article appeared a few months after *The New York Times* published its report on Oommen Chandy's office webcam initiative, which had itself drawn on Abraham's remarks. The Daily Bhaskar piece drew a direct line from Chandy's experiment to Gowda's announced plan, using Sunil Abraham's NYT quote to frame the wider discussion about transparency in governance through technology.

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