23 Sangh Parivar, 8 DYFI activists arrested over post I-Day violence

Bengaluru, Jun 8: Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday filed his nomination as the party's candidate for the June 19 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.

The former union minister filed his nomination in the presence of KPCC President D K Shivakumar, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and other senior party leaders at the office of Legislative Assembly Secretary M K Vishalakshi, who is the returning officer for the polls.

Ahead of filing of nomination, the Congress Legislature Party meeting was held under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, after which Shivakumar issued "B-form" to Kharge.

The Congress high command on June 5 had announced Kharge as the party's candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.

The election is scheduled on June 19 to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka represented by Rajeev Gowda and BK Hariprasad of the Congress, Prabhakar Kore of the BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of the JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement.

June 9 is the last date for filing nominations.

Congress with 68 MLAs in the assembly can win one of the four seats easily on its own, so Kharge's victory is said to be certain.

This will be the first stint in Rajya Sabha for Kharge, who has always got elected directly by the people in his political career spanning over four decades.

The leader, earlier popularly known as "solillada Saradara", (a leader without defeat), faced his first electoral loss in his political life against BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by a margin of 95,452 votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

A nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member, he had served as Congress floor leader in the previous Lok Sabha, and also as Union Railway and Labour Minister during the UPA government.

Kharge, who is 77-years-old, has also served as minister during several Congress governments in the state, and as KPCC President and Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly in the past.

His son, Priyank Kharge, is currently MLA representing Chittapur constituency and had served as minister during the previous Congress and coalition governments.

JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda is the JD(S) candidate.

The regional party that has 34 seats in the assembly is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own, and will need the support from the Congress with its surplus votes.

A minimum of 44 votes are required for candidates to win.

BJP with 117 members in the assembly (including Speaker), can ensure easy victory in two seats.

The BJP's central leadership on Monday sprang a surprise by fielding Eranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election ignoring the recommendations of the state BJP unit.

Mangaluru, Jan 26: A 55-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly attacking his sister-in-law and her daughter with acid used to make rubber sheets in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, police said on Saturday.

The victim, a 35-year-old widow with three daughters, has been admitted to the government Wenlock Hospital here with severe burns. Her daughter, who suffered minor injuries, is also hospitalised.

In her complaint, the woman said her late husband's elder brother came to her house on Thursday, abused her in foul language before opening an acid bottle and throwing its contents at her through the window.

The woman suffered burn injuries on her face, neck and shoulders and her daughter on her legs and hands.

The victim's husband had taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh from a cooperative bank but died in 2018 after paying only two instalments and the woman could not repay it further.

The bank's notices kept coming to the elder sibling's address, which infuriated him. There was also a long-pending land dispute between the two, sources said.

Based on the woman's complaint, a case was registered on Friday and the man arrested soon after. Kadaba sub-inspector police Rukma Naik visited Wenlock

Hospital to record the woman's statement, police added.

Mangaluru, Jul 12: The Expert Committee set up by the District authorities to inquire into death due to Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada district declared that the death was due to patients late reporting to the hospitals and severe co-morbidities.

''Many were scared to visit the hospitals for treatment. Any patient suffering from fever, cold should stop self-medication and seek the advice of doctors. From what we have observed, the mortality was among patients who reported late to hospitals. Many had ignored symptoms assuming it to be a common cold,'' Expert Committee members Dr Hansraj Alva and Dr Muralidhar Yadiyal told mediapersons on Saturday night.

Wenlock Hospital Superintendent Dr Sadashiv said of the 38 deaths reported in the District, the expert committee had analysed 35 deaths. 9 persons who died are below 50 years old, 10 are in the age group of 50 to 60 years, 11 in the age group of 60 to 70 and five in the age group of above 70 years.