BJP planning to bring Amit Shah to trouble-hit Bantwal in August?

Kalaburagi, Mar 11: A suspected coronavirus patient who had returned to Kalaburagi from Saudi Arabia on February 29 passed away today in hospital.

It is said he was admitted to the hospital on March 5 after he showed flu symptoms. But, the family members of the patient had shifted him to Hyderabad from GIMS on Tuesday against the advice of the doctors.

However, the district administration and District Health Officer (DHO) M A Jabbar are waiting for the final report of throat swab of the patient sent for lab test.

The DHO has directed Taluk Health Officer Sharanabasappa Kyatanal to supervise until the final rites of the suspect person were performed.

Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharat said the patient died on Tuesday night on his way back to Kalaburagi after the doctor stated that chances of his survival was bleak. "It is still a suspected coronavirus case. We are waiting for the report," he said.

Sharat said he developed severe respiratory problem coupled with cough, cold and fever. "As he was 76-year-old, he failed to respond to the treatment. It is yet to be confirmed if the cause of death was coronavirus," he said.

Bengaluru, Mar 5: Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal's wife Priya Bansal has filed a dowry harassment case against the entrepreneur at Kormangala police station in Bengaluru, sources said.

Priya alleged that ahead of their wedding, her father had spent Rs 50 lakh for the arrangements and given Rs 11 lakh in cash to Sachin instead of a car. Further, she has also alleged that Sachin has been pressurising her to transfer all the properties that were in her name to him. However, after refusing to do so her in-laws started harassing her.

A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against Sachin and three others at Kormangala police station in Bengaluru.

The police are investigating the matter.

Further details awaited.

Bengaluru, Jan 20: The suspense over chief minister BS Yediyurappa expanding his council of ministers is set to continue until after he returns from his trip to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Yediyurappa, who heads a 10-member delegation to the Swiss ski resort, left on Sunday. Prior to his departure, he told reporters cabinet expansion will happen only after his return on January 24. “I discussed the issue with [BJP] national president Amit Shah for 30 minutes or so. He has given a positive response and I will expand the cabinet within two days after my return,” Yediyurappa said.

But sources said Shah, during his visit to Hubballi on Saturday, had indicated the exercise is likely to be delayed further as the central leadership will be busy with the assembly elections in Delhi. “Indications are there is no possibility of expanding the cabinet until February 11 when the electoral process for the Delhi elections ends,” said a source.

The development has obviously left ministerial aspirants, especially defectors from Congress and JD(S) who were re-elected on BJP tickets last month, restive. Moreover, while Yediyurappa has promised ministerial berths to all MLAs who switched to the BJP from Congress and JD(S), sources say Shah is only in favour of inducting six defectors (11 of whom won MLA seats on saffron party tickets in the byelections) into the cabinet.

“Shah’s advice to Yediyurappa is to strike a balance between defectors and loyalists. His concern is loyalists should not be left disappointed, while justice should be served to the defectors as well,” said a BJP functionary.

Meanwhile, KS Eshwarappa, senior party functionary and minister for rural development, said the BJP would never let down the defectors. “The party is indebted to them and I am sure they will all be rewarded,” he said.

BC Patil, one of the defectors, said some of them had met Shah in one-on-one meetings in Hubballi. “It was more a courtesy call and the issue of cabinet expansion didn’t come up during the meeting,” he said.