BJP will win 150 seats in next Karnataka Assembly polls: Shobha

Shivamogga, Jun 13: Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, K S Eshwarappa on Saturday opined that during the selection of candidates to the legislative council, the party needs to take into consideration those who helped the party in formation of government in the State.

Speaking to media persons on the sideline of a programme here, he said the party high command would give another surprise while issuing tickets during the MLC election.

Mr Eshwrappa said that party high command will take a call on selecting candidates, but priority should be given to the leader who won on Congress and Janata Dal and then jumped to BJP which helped to form govt under the leadership of B S Yediyurappa.

Bengaluru, Apr 17: Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, married Revathi, grand-niece of former Congress Minister for Housing, M Krishnappa, on Friday.

According to sources, more than 100 people participated in the marriage ceremony held at Kumaraswamy's farmhouse in Kethaganahally, Ramanagara.

There were around 50-60 members from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's family and more than 30 people participated from Revathi's family, sources added.

This comes in the middle of a nationwide lockdown which has been imposed to deal with the coronavirus threat.

Earlier, HD Kumaraswamy had said that the marriage ceremony would be held behind closed doors in the presence of family members.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who contested the Lok Sabha election from Mandya, is also the national youth wing president of Janata Dal-Secular.

Bengaluru/Kodagu, Feb 24: Three days after the sloganeering by 19-year-old college student Amulya Leona Norohna at an anti-CAA rally and her subsequent arrest on charges of sedition kicked up a storm, Karnataka minister BC Patil on Sunday advocated central legislation that enables authorities “to shoot at sight” those chanting pro-Pakistan slogans.

Responding to reporters’ queries on the ongoing fracas over the chants, Patil said he would appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring in a law so that anti-national elements are “killed on the spot”.

“The Centre must promulgate a law that enables authorities to shoot those who do anything that is seen as anti-national and chant pro-Pakistan slogans,” Patil said. “These elements must be killed on the spot. I am appealing to the PM, through the media now, to bring in such a law. I will also write to the PM.”

In Kodagu, Union minister for chemicals and fertilizer, DV Sadananda Gowda, echoed state home minister home minister Basavaraj Bommai’s line that stringent action will be taken against those indulging in anti-national activity, saying there will be “no mercy” for those taking a pro-Pakistan stance.

“The Union government will assist in the police investigation in Amulya,” he said. Gowda went on to claim that many anti-national organizations have been using CAA protests for political gain.

“We will curb such incidents forever. We will not allow such incidents to happen in future. Organisers of such rallies should be thoroughly questioned,” Gowda said.

Bommai on Saturday had also claimed the government will initiate action against educational institutions and hostels it they fail to act against students indulging in such activity.

“The government will discuss ways to prevent such incidents in colleges and hostels. We will instruct heads of educational institutions and hostel wardens to initiate action against such students. If they fail, the government will take action against them,” Bommai said, without defining what constitutes anti-national activity.

However, despite Congress saying there is no room for anti-national activity and stringent action must be taken against those indulging in such activity, former minister and senior functionary DK Shivakumar suggested he found nothing in Amulya’s background to suggest she is anti-national.

“Let me make it absolutely clear that the Congress party will not support any person or persons who hail another country and bring shame to India,” Shivakumar said. “However, I have seen the girl’s [Amulya’s] previous posts on social media and read her statements on various forums. She has been making statements on an ideological ground. Let us not jump the gun, but investigate exactly what she meant to say.”