BJP IT cell secretary arrested for spreading fake video to create communal tension

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday launched the ruling BJP's outreach campaign in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Bengaluru.

"The CAA came into being after its amendment bill was passed in Parliament during its winter session with the support of major political parties. It is meant to give shelter and protection to Hindu minorities facing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It does not take away any rights of Indians," Yediyurappa told residents on a door-to-door campaign in the city.

Accusing the opposition Congress of misleading the people on the CAA and inciting its protesters to indulge in violence, the chief minister said the Act does not cause any problem to all sections of Indians.

"There is no question of taking away anyone's citizenship, including that of Muslims, as the Act only facilitates the return of the Hindus persecuted in the neighbouring countries in the sub-continent," he asserted.

State deputy chief minister H.C. Ashwath Narayana and party's Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha member P.C. Mohan accompanied the chief minister on his outreach programme in some residential and commercial areas of the city.

As part of the nationwide campaign in favour the CAA, the party's state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel and the state's dozen cabinet ministers led the campaign in other cities across the southern state.

"An awareness campaign will be peacefully held daily till January 15 across the state to counter the protests against it by students and other people at the behest of the Congress and Left parties," Kateel told reporters at Mangaluru, 350km southwest of Bengaluru.

Kateel is a BJP Lok Sabha member from the state's Dakshina Kannada seat.

Besides contacting the people directly at their doorstep through the party's leaders, cadres and supporters, the BJP is reaching all sections of society through social media and by holding pro-CAA rallies in all the 30-district headquarters across the state over the next 10 days.

"About 300 leaders and cadres of the party have fanned out in cities and towns across the state to explain the provisions of the CAA to the people and clarify their doubts, as the protesters were misleading them with wrong information about it," reiterated Kateel.

The CAA came into being after the President enacted the a law to give citizenship rights to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians who have been allegedly persecuted as minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan over the last seven decades.

"A deliberate misinformation campaign has been carried out against the CAA by vested interests, misguiding a section of college/university students, their faculty, activists and members of the minority community on its provisions so as to create unrest and trigger violence in the country," Ravikumar claimed.

The ruling party also held rallies and public meetings in major cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi, Bellary and Kalaburagi across the state and enlightened the people on the benefits of the CAA.

"As social media is all-pervasive with greater reach and better impact, we are also reaching about one crore people of all ages through Kannada, Hindi and English script, messages and audio/video clips in the state during the fortnight campaign," added Kateel.

Palakkad, Jun 1: An 11-month-old boy, whose parents are placed under COVID-19 quarantine, drowned in a bucket of water in Chalissery at Palakkad district.

The toddler Muhammed Nisan was the son of Muhammad Sadiq. The parents of the child are under home quarantine after Sadiq's brother, who is living in the same home was tested positive of COVID-19.

The child was found dead in a bucket of water kept in the bathroom on Saturday around 10 pm.

Chalissery police said that ''further actions will be taken only after the test result comes out. We have filed an unnatural death case on this.''

Since the family has been quarantined, the body of the baby has been shifted to the Thrissur Medical College for COVID-19 testing.

Bengaluru, May 11: As many as 343 Indians returned to Bengaluru from London by a special Air India flight on the fifth day of 'Vande Bharat Mission' on Monday. They arrived at the Kempegowda international airport at 4.40 am.

All passengers were found to be asymptomatic on arrival except one 27-year-old woman who had had an incomplete abortion and had vomiting on arrival. She has been shifted to KC General Hospital in Malleshwaram.

Dr Prabhu Dev Gowda, an officer on duty for COVID-19 screening at Kempegowda International Airport, said, "A 27-year-old woman has had an incomplete abortion of her three-month-old foetus before taking the flight from London. She was vomiting on arrival. She was shifted to Aster CMI Hospital for emergency care.”

“Thereafter, she and her husband were shifted to KC General Hospital in Malleshwaram. They will be in isolation there. Since there is nobody to look after her, we have to let the husband accompany her to the hospital where they will be in quarantine."

The patient was famished and was provided a few idlis on arrival, he added.

After she recovers at the hospital, the couple will be shifted to a hotel. As per protocol, their throat swabs were taken for COVID-19 testing too. All passengers whether symptomatic or not are being tested for COVID-19.

Dr Manjula Devi, District Health Officer, Bengaluru Rural district said that all passengers were found to be asymptomatic on arrival except this woman who is being treated as a non-COVID-19 emergency.

Ajith Rai, Devanahalli Tehsildar told DH, "All passengers have chosen to go to hotels over government hostels. We're yet to tabulate how many have chosen budget hotels, three-star and five-star hotels. Twenty of them are still here. The process is on."