Bangalore, Karnataka News Highlights: The Karnataka government has notified the Karnataka Protection of Freedom of Religion Act, 2022. The anti-conversion law was passed by the state legislature during the recently held monsoon session.
In other news, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday began the 21-day Karnataka leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra and is set to travel by foot 511 kilometres in seven districts of the state before entering Telangana. The Congress state unit will look to make full use of the yatra to galvanise its members and gather support among the public ahead of the Legislative Assembly election.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court Friday quashed government notification for OBC and women reservations for Bengaluru city council BBMP polls on grounds that it was not done scientifically and does not comply with the triple test norm prescribed by Supreme Court. Orders fresh notification to be issued by November 30 and BBMP polls to be held by December 31. BBMP polls are due from 2020 September.
An electric car caught fire at Kengal on the Bangalore-Mysore highway on Friday. No casualities were reported.
Social activist Gireesh Achar has filed a complaint before the southern zone of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) against former IAS officers Madan Gopal and T M Vijaya Bhaskar for de-notifying 9,934.02 acres of forest land in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district between 2015-2017.
In his complaint filed on September 29, the Shivamogga-based activist said that though the Forest Conservation Act makes it mandatory for the state government to seek the Union government’s approval before de-notifying or converting forest areas, the same did not happen in this case. Achar has requested the MoEF&CC to direct the authorities to withdraw all the de-notification orders and initiate an enquiry against the former IAS officers. Achar also raised the issue before the Karnataka Lokayukta on September 1, seeking action against the two former IAS officers. Aksheev Thakur reports
Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary (DP), Ministry of Defence, inaugurated HAL-Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) Indigenisation Conclave on ‘Make in India for Defence and Aerospace’ held in hybrid mode at HAL Management Academy campus in Bengaluru today. Around 60 items to be indigenised were kept on display at the venue.
In his keynote address, Jaju called up the industries to blend indigenisation activities with innovative means to get the strategic edge and emerge as market leaders. “Defence Unicorns should be our target and it is possible to achieve this through renewed energy and self-belief. Ideas will not face dearth of funds”, he added.
C B Ananthakrishnan, CMD HAL said the Company is collaborating with different stake-holders, including the private industries to indigenise to a maximum extent and is focusing on design stage indigenisation as well. “We have allotted 3% of our PAT to set up an indigenisation fund. Of the 1,000 items listed for indigenization in the Srijan Portal, 405 items will be indigenized by HAL”, he added.
Apart from HAL, the organisations such as CEMILAC, DGAQA, CII and other stakeholders participated in the conclave and deliberated at length on new opportunities and challenges and on how to strengthen self-reliance in aerospace and defence.
Justice P B Varale has been elevated as the the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court by the Supreme Court collegium.
Karnataka government notifies the controversial The Karnataka Protection of Freedom of Religion Act, 2022.
The Bill was tabled during the winter session in December 2021. It was promulgated as an ordinance before it was finally passed by the state legislature during the recently held monsoon session.
A software engineer and his associate, who were accused by the Bengaluru traffic police of allegedly hitting a policeman and booked for drunken driving in the city in April 2017, were let off by the Karnataka high court as the police failed to follow the prescribed norms for registering drunken driving cases and collecting fines. The court order came on September 6.
Techie Priyamshu Kumar and Alok Kumar, both residents of Bihar, were booked for preventing a public servant from discharging his duty and a case was registered by the Mahadevapura police in the Whitefield region of Bengaluru.
On the night of April 9, 2017, Alok Kumar, who was on a motorcycle, was stopped by the police for a breath analyser test. According to the police, the youth did not cooperate and did not want to go to the police station but instead called his friend Priyamshu Kumar, a software engineer, who allegedly slapped a policeman. Read the full report here
Few spells of moderate rain and thundershowers with generally cloudy skies are very likely in Bengaluru and neighbouring areas, according to an evening forecast by IMD. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 26 and 20 degrees Celsius respectively.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday appointed Dr Vidyashankar S the vice-chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, for a period of three years.
Vidyashankar was the vice-chancellor of Karnataka State Open University, Mysuru, and was among the three candidates shortlisted by a search committee constituted by VTU to replace Dr Karisidappa, who was relieved of his charge as VTU VC on September 23. Anand Deshpande and Gopal Mugeray were the two other shortlisted candidates.
Controversy has marred the VC selection process with former VCs, academicians and critics accusing the university of ‘favouritism’ and alleging that all three candidates were facing criminal charges. Read more
A new study by Bengaluru-based think tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) Friday released the roots for embedding artificial intelligence (AI) in India’s climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
The study examined AI’s potential for strengthening climate action in India with a focus on transport and water management. The study stated that the use of AI in the transport sector has the potential to significantly limit GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, and can, therefore, be instrumental in mitigating the impacts of climate change.
“One such high-impact application is in planning the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure — a crucial factor for large-scale EV uptake and another is in flood prediction and warning, which can enable efficient, targeted emergency responses. The study acknowledges AI as a powerful tool to boost and speed up our response to climate change. Recognising that the manner in which AI is deployed in the near future will determine India’s progress towards achieving its climate action goals, the report furnishes a comprehensive roadmap to guide the way forward,” the CSTEP said in its report. Aksheev Thakur reports
A meeting of leaders of the Veerashaiva Lingayat community held on Thursday to decide on the leadership of the 400-year-old Murugarajendra Mutt in the Chitradurga district of Karnataka has resolved to seek the ouster of the incumbent seer of the Mutt, Shivamurthy Muruga Sharanaru, after his arrest in a case related to the sexual abuse of two minors.
The meeting held under the leadership of the former MLA H Ekanthaiah resolved to seek the appointment of a new seer and the exit of the incarcerated head pontiff. Following the meeting, the former MLA said it was “unfortunate” that the seer had not offered to step down on his own after his arrest on September 1. (Read more)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Thursday lauded Karnataka’s efforts in advocating and encouraging Sanskrit in educational institutions.
While addressing the pre-graduate convocation ceremony and Samskrit Week celebrations of Karnataka Samskrit University in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said that it was very invigorating to see so many girl students learning Sanskrit, and “it is a matter of pride for Karnataka to promote and encourage Sanskrit education this way”. (Read more)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that the corruption in the state BJP government will be among the key issues discussed during the Karnataka leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Speaking at the launch of the Karnataka leg of the foot march at the border town of Gundlupet in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district, Rahul said the yatra was the “voice of the nation” and that “entire India was sharing its pain with the yatra”. People were sharing concerns about unemployment, inflation, harassment of farmers, privatisation of PSUs etc, Rahul added.
All constitutional institutions, media and other agencies have shut their doors to the Opposition, Rahul said. “Entire control is lying with the (Central) government. If we speak in Parliament, they shut our microphones,” Rahul said, insisting that the foot march was the only path left. “Nobody can stop this foot march,” he added. (Read more)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday alleged that Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah is seeking a ban on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to hide the fact that the previous Congress government led by him had withdrawn cases against the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
He said demanding a ban on a patriotic organisation like the RSS is really "unfortunate". (PTI)
Karnataka HC quashes government notification for OBC and women reservations for Bengaluru city council BBMP polls on grounds that it was not done scientifically and does not comply with the triple test norm prescribed by Supreme Court. Orders fresh notification to be issued by November 30 and BBMP polls to be held by December 31. BBMP polls are due from 2020 September.
The Karnataka government reserved 33 percent of 243 constituencies in the Bengaluru city council for backward classes and 13 percent for scheduled castes and tribes in a notification issued on August 3.
The HC has ordered that the quota for women should be decided on the basis of the population of women in a ward. The reservations were opposed by Congress and JDS leaders on the charge that the majority of constituencies reserved for women fell in assembly constituencies represented by the opposition MLAs as opposed to constituencies represented by MLAs of the ruling BJP government.
Bengaluru city is likely to see a maximum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, according to a 9 am update from the Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru.
A generally cloudy sky with a few spells of light to moderate rain and thundershowers are very likely.
After posters and flexes put up to welcome Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra were seen torn in Karnataka’s Gundlupet area Thursday, the Congress and the BJP exchanged heated words.
Rahul Gandhi will begin the 21-day Karnataka leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra Friday and is set to travel by foot 511 kilometres in seven districts of the state.
The Congress alleged that BJP workers were tearing flexes and hoardings related to Bharat Jodo Yatra. Congress national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “The 40% Commission Bommai Govt is already getting the jitters. BJP’s “Bharat Todo Team” of paid goons has been pressed into service to destruct, destroy and tear up posters. They’ll never be able to stop the war cry against Price Rise, Unemployment, Disparity & Divisiveness.” (Read more)
With an order for the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) to shift electric poles from the storm-water drains and lakes in Anekal taluk and nearby areas yet be complied with even after a year, a citizens’ collective is planning to knock on court doors.
Captain Santhosh Kumar (retired), founder of the Anekal Environment Protection Federation, said the poles posed a threat to workers and cattle, and would hamper the efforts to restore the lakes and storm-water drains.
“We have faced harrowing time in getting the electric poles removed from the lakes and rajakaluves (storm-water drains). Despite the order from the urban deputy commissioner’s office, the poles are still not removed. Unless they are removed, restoration cannot proceed since they pose a threat to the workers and cattle. The storm-water drain network, which is broken because of either encroachment or other reasons, is being re-established by the government and residents together. So the removal of these poles is vital for the restoration,” he said. (Read more)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Kerala-Karnataka border early Friday to begin the 511-km Karnataka leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Days after the headmaster of a government high school in Karnataka was heckled by activists of Sri Rama Sene for holding an essay competition on Prophet Muhammed, the state government suspended the headmaster on Thursday.
Abdul Munafar Bijapur, headmaster of Government High School in Nagavi village in Gadag district, was suspended by the department of public instruction. Additional Commissioner, department of public instruction, Sidramappa S Biradara issued the suspension order for holding the essay competition without any direction from the department or any government agency.
Bijapur, who has 28 years of experience in teaching, had been working in the school for the last three years. (Read more)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Pre-Graduate convocation and Samskrit week celebrations 2022 at the Gayana Samaja, Bengaluru organised by Karnataka Samskrit University. Also inaugurated the Karnataka Samskrit University website.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurating the 105th Annual General Meeting of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), also seen are CA IS Prasad, President, FKCCI and others, in Bengaluru.
Days after the headmaster of a government high school in Karnataka was heckled by activists of Sri Rama Sene for holding an essay competition on Prophet Muhammed, the state government suspended the headmaster on Thursday.
Abdul Munafar Bijapur, headmaster of Government High School in Nagavi village in Gadag district, was suspended by the department of public instruction. Additional Commissioner, department of public instruction, Sidramappa S Biradara issued the suspension order for holding the essay competition without any direction from the department or any government agency. Read More
Observing World Heart Day on September 29, the doctors from hospitals across Karnataka’s Bengaluru city say there is an increase in the cases of heart ailments.
The doctors at BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital said their hospital data for 2022 (post-pandemic) suggests that nearly 31 per cent of the patients, who have had a heart attack, have been below the age of 40. Continue...
Preparations for the Bharat Jodo rally at Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar district. Bharat Jodo Yatra is set to enter Karnataka tomorrow.
Karnataka government has issued an order appointing BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru's wife Nutan Kumari as a Group 'C' employee at the Chief Minister's office.
Praveen Nettaru was murdered on July 26 and NIA is investigating the case.
Employment of Nutan will be on a contract basis.
With an order for the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) to shift electric poles from the storm-water drains and lakes in Anekal taluk and nearby areas yet be complied with even after a year, a citizens’ collective is planning to knock on court doors.
Captain Santhosh Kumar (retired), founder of the Anekal Environment Protection Federation, said the poles posed a threat to workers and cattle, and would hamper the efforts to restore the lakes and storm-water drains. Aksheev Thakur reported
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will begin the 21-day Karnataka leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra Friday and is set to travel by foot 511 kilometres in seven districts of the state before entering Telangana. The Congress state unit will look to make full use of the yatra to galvanise its members and gather support among the public ahead of the Legislative Assembly election.
The yatra will enter Gundlupet in the Chamarajanagar district Friday and will march through Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Ballari and Raichur districts. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to take part in a massive rally in Ballari while All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi will likely interact with women in the Mandya district. Know More
After a National Green Tribunal (NGT) team found excessive nitrates, ammonia and sulphate in borewells in Karnataka’s Bengaluru Urban district, water samples have been collected from 524 borewells in four urban local bodies for testing.
The samples were collected from the Hebbagodi city municipal council and the town municipal councils of Chandapura, Jigani and Bommasandra, which houses several industries, between August 15 and September 20, an official said. Read More
KPCC president DK Shivakumar filed a complaint at Gundlupet police station seeking action against the miscreants who tore posters put up by the party ahead of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra
Come November, the famous Cubbon Park in the heart of Karnataka’s Bengaluru will flaunt a new look. Several works taken up at a total cost of Rs 34 crore to develop the park in the heart of the city spanning around 100 acres are now closing completion.
During the course of the project, the authorities have taken up the initiative of mapping and geo-tagging 9,000 plus trees in one of the main lung spaces in the city. Additionally, 3,000 saplings are also planted to increase the green cover of the park set up 150 years ago. Click Here
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has organised a massive cleanliness drive under 'United India for Swachhta' campaign as part of the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations at the Gommateshwara temple site, Shravanabelagola.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board is conducting a phone-in program on Oct 1, Saturday from 9 am to 10.30 am with its chairman N Jayaram, and has requested public participation to discuss the grievances concerning water billing, manhole overflowing, meter reading issues, improper water supply and sanitary issues, etc.
The public can contact through the phone number:080-22945119. Customers are to give their RR number details before raising a complaint.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala Thursday accused BJP of destroying posters of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Karnataka.
The Belagavi district police have arrested Kahajasab Babasab Mujawar for allegedly attempting to steal money from a Canara bank ATM kiosk in Raibag police station limits. The incident took place in February.
Three out of the four murders of BJP-Sangh workers in Karnataka that the Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned while banning the Popular Front of India on Tuesday were part of a communal tit-for-tat murder cycle in the state’s coastal region and Kodagu district.
While one of the cases has ended in the acquittal of all the accused, two cases are under trial and one is under investigation by the National Investigation Agency, court documents reveal. (Read more)
Senior Indian Space Research Organisation scientist A K Anil Kumar has been elected as the Vice- President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), according to ISRO.
Anil Kumar is currently working as Associate Director, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.
Founded in 1951, IAF is world's leading space advocacy body with 433 members in 72 nations.
IAF actively encourages the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes and supports the dissemination of scientific and technical information related to space, the national space agency noted. (PTI)
Bengaluru city is likely to see a maximum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, according to a 9 am update from the Meteorological Centre in Bengaluru.
A generally cloudy sky has been predicted. A few spells of light to moderate rain are very likely.
Olympian Sakshi Malik will be the chief guest for the Dasara Wrestling Competitions 2022 which will be held in Mysuru on Thursday.
Here's a list of special express trains that will be run in Karnataka in anticipation of the Dussera crowd.
1. Train No. 07306 SSS Hubballi – Yesvantpur One-way Special Express
Train No. 07306 SSS Hubballi – Yesvantpur One-way Special Express will depart from SSS Hubballi on Sept 30 (Friday) at 11.30 am and arrive Yesvantpur at 7.30 pm the same day.
The train will have stoppages at Harihar, Davangere, Arsikere and Tumakuru.
The train will have a composition of 1 - AC-2 tier, 1 - AC-3 tier, 8 – Second Class Sleeper, 4-General Second-Class and 2- Second Class Luggage cum Brake-Van/ Divyangjan Coaches (Total 16 Coaches).
2. Train No. 08633 / 08634 Hatia – Hosur - Hatia Special Express (01-Trip)
Train No. 08633 Hatia – Hosur Special Express which is departed from Hatia at 12 pm today i.e., on Sept 27 (Tuesday) and this train will arrive Hosur at 3.30 am on Sept 29 (Thursday).
In the return direction Train No. 08634 Hosur – Hatia Special Express will depart from Hosur at 12 pm on Sept 30 (Friday) and arrive Hatia at 4.30 am on Oct 2 (Sunday).
The train will have stoppages at Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Duvvada, Vijyawada, Gudur, Renigunta, Katpadi, Jolarpettai and Bengaluru Cantonment.
The train will have a composition of 17- Second Class Sleeper and 2- Second Class Luggage cum Brake-Van with Divyangjan Coaches (Total 19 Coaches).
Three out of the four murders of BJP-Sangh workers in Karnataka that the Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned while banning the Popular Front of India on Tuesday were part of a communal tit-for-tat murder cycle in the state’s coastal region and Kodagu district.
While one of the cases has ended in the acquittal of all the accused, two cases are under trial and one is under investigation by the National Investigation Agency, court documents reveal. Read More.
Apart from the PFI, its affiliate organisations Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala, have also been banned.
Read More on PFI-affiliated organisations.
The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to submit an affidavit on how many days it would require to redo the OBC, ST/ST reservation for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), if in case the August 3 notification is set aside.
The reservation list was announced on August 3 by the government and it reserves 81 seats for backward classes, 28 for SCs and 4 for STs out of the total of 243. The total number of seats has been enhanced from 198 to 243 following an amendment to the BBMP Act.
The reservation list has been challenged in a number of petitions which the court is hearing. The primary challenge to the reservation list is about it not following the Justice Bhaktavatsala Commission report, which reserves 33 percent seats for OBCs. (PTI)
The government of Odisha, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), hosted the Odisha Investors’ Meet in Bengaluru on September 28. The idea behind the meet is to showcase the diverse business-friendly ecosystem of Odisha to potential investors who could invest in the state.
A senior government delegation led by Naveen Patnaik, chief minister of Odisha, reached Bengaluru Tuesday to participate in an investors’ meet on Wednesday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Wednesday visited Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar’s properties at his native in Ramanagara district and verified the documents related to them, his office said.
CBI had filed an FIR against Shivakumar in a disproportionate assets case.
“CBI officials visited D K Shivakumar’s house, land and other places at Kanakapura, Doddalahalli, Sante Kodihalli on Wednesday and verified his properties and documents related to them,” the KPCC chief’s office said in a statement. Read More.
CBI officials with the help of Karnataka police reviewed the documents of various properties owned by KPCC president DK Shivakumar. They inspected properties at Kanakapura, Doddaaladahalli and other places.
The development comes two days ahead of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka. Earlier this month, Shivakumar was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
The Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) Wednesday said the announcement of the revised rankings of the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2022, which was drawn as per the high court order, has been postponed to October 1.
On September 23, the Karnataka High Court upheld the recommendations of the expert committee which proposed a normalisation process to evaluate the repeaters. Subsequently, the government announced that the revised CET rankings will be announced on September 29 and the first round of counselling sessions for students will begin from October 3.
“Although the date to announce the revised rankings has been changed, the counselling dates will remain the same,” said KEA director Ramya S. Read More.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Rishikesh, have developed an algorithm that can help decode brain scans to identify the occurrence and type of epilepsy. The announcement regarding the collaboration was made Wednesday.
In its study, the team reported a novel algorithm that can sift through EEG data and identify signatures of epilepsy from the electrical signal patterns. Read More.
The All India Democratic Students Organisation on Wednesday said it would send to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai nearly 35 lakh signatures that it had collected as part of a drive to demand the scrapping of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
At a convention held at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park, the organisation also opposed four-year degree courses and the plan to allow students to pursue two degrees simultaneously, saying such policies would further commercialise education. Read More.
A Bengaluru man kidnapped his former employer’s son for a Rs 15-lakh ransom and made away with his car with the help of a friend, police said as they arrested the duo 18 days after the crime.
Around 4am on September 2, M Sunil Raj (23) and Y V Nagesh (22) allegedly barged into the 14-year-old boy’s bedroom, gagged him and took his father’s SUV and fled the spot. When the boy’s mother came to check on him, she found the room empty and dialled his phone number. The accused answered the call and demanded Rs 15 lakh to release the boy and threatened to kill him if they would not pay the ransom. Read More.
Once described by the poet Kannada Kuvempu as Sarva Jangadha Shaantiya Thota, (a garden in which all people co-exist in harmony), Karnataka’s image has undergone drastic change in recent times. Over the last year, it has been affected by large-scale saffronisation of politics. The root cause is simple: The replacement of veteran BJP leader and Lingayat strongman, BS Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai as the state’s chief minister.
Bommai, also a Lingayat, lacks popular support even from his own community – one of the state’s most influential when it comes to electoral politics. The new CM has resorted to polarisation in a bid to cling on to power.
Saffronisation of the state’s politics has taken several forms – rising vigilantism, the passing of “anti-conversion” Bills in both Houses, the hijab issue and the subsequent economic boycott of Muslim traders, the halal controversy, the rewriting of the school curriculum, and the resurrection of the Baba Budangiri Dargah conflict. Read More.
The Kalaburagi bench of the Karnataka high court on Tuesday granted bail to Jnana Jyothi Education Society president Rajesh Hagaragi in connection with the police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment examination scam.
Rajesh is the husband of BJP worker Divya Hagaragi, a prime accused in the case, and was arrested on April 7 for allegedly helping her to flee from the house when the police went there to arrest her.
Judge M G Uma, in her order, observed that bail could not be denied just because Rajesh is Divya’s husband and there was no serious evidence against him regarding harbouring the prime accused. Read More.
Hitting out at the Congress for the 'PayCM' campaign, BJP nation General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh on Wednesday said it was an insult to Basavaraj Bommai, who is a "common man CM" and demanded that the opposition party apologise to the people of the state.
Addressing reporters here, Singh said, "This is the small mind of Congress. Our CM Bommai is working for farmers, putting money into their accounts, has given scholarships to their children, and has given special packages to SC/ST. He is a common man and is working for the common people." He was responding to a question on PayCM campaign. (PTI)
The festival of Navratri is celebrated predominantly by the Hindu community in India and all over the world, but in different styles.
While Garba and Dandiya are famous dance forms in Gujarat that are performed by revellers on all nine nights, the Bengali community participates in Durga Puja festivities in the last four days of the festival, wherein there is a lot of fasting and feasting, dhunuchi dance and other cultural programmes.
In the southern part of the country, there is a different kind of festive feel and extravaganza during Navratri, and it involves dolls and deities — the more the merrier. Read More.
Express Photo by Jithendra M
As preparation for BBMP polls, the civic body announces voter list for 243 wards. Total voters are 79,19,563. Male voters number 41,14,383, women 38,03,747 and others 1,433.
A day after union home ministry banned PFI, Mangaluru city police on Wednesday raided offices of PFI in the coastal town. According to police sources, they have carried out search operations in three places.
More details are awaited.
The Congress’s campaign to highlight alleged corruption of the ruling BJP government in Karnataka by using QR-coded images of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai along with a “Pay CM” logo has unleashed a war of words between the two parties. While Bommai termed the campaign “dirty politics,” his close associate and health minister K Sudhakar saw the Congress’s move as targeting the Lingayat community to which Bommai belongs.
“This is the dirty politics of the Congress party. This is a systematic campaign to not only tarnish the state’s image but also my image,” Bommai said after the campaign began, adding: “Even we know how to do such baseless campaigns. The government will make efforts to put an end to any attempts to tarnish the image of Karnataka.” Read More.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday welcomed the Union government's decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) for its alleged terror activities, and said the move sends a message to all "anti-national groups" that they will not survive in this country. He said all that is necessary would be done to stop PFI's activities in the state.
Chief Minister Bommai also added, when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, cases related to PFI were withdrawn. He said: "Do you need more evidence for it?"
"Those who function against the law, disturb peace in the society, if action is taken against them, we are not opposed to it. In the same way, RSS is also disturbing peace in the society, so action should be taken against them too," Siddaramaiah said. (PTI)