BJP’s firebrand national spokesperson trivializes RTI activist Baliga’s murder; snubs victim’s sister

coastaldigest.com news network
April 29, 2018

Mangaluru, Apr 29: Meenakshi Lekhi, the national spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, who held chief minister Siddaramaiah government for all the murders in Karnataka, was taken aback when Harsha Baliga, the sister of RTI activist Vinayak Panduranga Baliga, who was murdered by saffron forces, broke her silence at a programme in the city yesterday.

•Slain RTI activist Vinayak Panduranga Baliga was also a BJP worker
•NaMo Birgade founder Naresh Shenoy is the prime accused in the murder

51-year-old Baliga was hacked to death near his house in Kodialbail on March 21, 2016 by a gang of miscreants belonging to saffron outfit. Naresh Shenoy, a prominent businessman in the city and founder of NaMo brigade is the prime accused in the brutal murder. Ironically Baliga was also a BJP worker.

Ms Lekhi, who is also a Member of Parliament from New Delhi constituency and lawyer of Supreme Court of India, apparently tried to shut the aggrieved woman’s mouth, saying the murder case of Baliga was too local to be discussed. The incident took place at an interaction programme ‘Karunada Mahila Jagrathi Samvada’, organized at an auditorium in PVS Circle.

After Lekhi spoke about women empowerment, safety, reservation, murders in the state and other issues, the Harsha Baliga, who was one among the audience, stood up and posed a question about her brother’s murder.

“I told her (Lekhi), that my brother Vinayak, a grassroots level BJP worker, was murdered for no fault of his. Yet party leaders did not give him justice, but supported the accused. Now they have given ticket to a person who was allegedly part of the murder plan. Why such double standards. The death of my brother has brought mental trauma on women like us, who entirely depended on him. Will you take appropriate action against them?” she questioned.

Harsha said Lekhi categorically denied to answer and said that it’s ‘too local an issue’ and also asked her to give the query in writing. “For an hour she (Lekhi) spoke about daughters of India and their problems, but why did she turn down a question asked by a distressed woman like me,” Harsha told reporters later.

Nalin Kumar, MP, who too was present at the venue, in order to avoid a possible embarrassment, quietly walked away from the stage when Baliga’s sister started her questions.

Comments

MR
 - 
Monday, 30 Apr 2018

Why Baliga  a hindu and BJP  worker eliminated by a hindu Naresh Shenoy a prime accused. Now they have given to a person who was part of elimination plan. Can one of you post the name of the guy who got the ticket? 

Please dont vote for the guy who planned the elimination of Vinayk

Give justice to Vinayk Baliga

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News Network
May 1,2020

Bengaluru, May 1: Karnataka government has assigned State Nodal Officers after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order regarding the inter-state movement of stranded migrant workers, tourists, pilgrims and students during the lockdown period.

The Nodal officers have also been appointed for coordination with 11 different states.

In an order issued on Thursday, Karnataka Government wrote, "To facilitate smooth and orderly movement of persons across State borders as per SOPs, the undersigned, in the exercise of powers conferred under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and in the capacity as Chairman, State Executive Committee, hereby appoint the following officers as Nodal officers to coordinate with Nodal Officers of States/Union Territories (UTs) mentioned against their names."

Dr Rajkumar Khatri, IAS and Arun Jeji Chakravarthy, IPS will be overall in charge of the movement of stranded people from outside States/UTs to Karnataka.

N Manjunatha Prasad, IAS and P S Sandhu, IPS will be overall in charge of the movement of stranded people from Karnataka to other States/UTs.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Belgaum: Canon, Epson and Nikon reside in a house named "Click" in Karnataka's Belgaum district.

The newly built house of photographer couple Ravi and Krupa Hongal, which resembles a giant DSLR camera, has not only enamoured locals but has become quite a sensation on social media.

The three-storied camera-shaped house located in Shastri Nagar is an expression of passion and love for the art of photography of the couple whose children- three boys- have all been named after the iconic camera brands.

Their names ''Canon'', ''Epson'' and ''Nikon'' feature prominently on the house whose exterior resembles a camera. Just like a camera, the building has a glass window shaped as a viewfinder and another as a lens. It sports a wide film strip, a flash and even a memory card.

The walls of the house walls and its interior have graphics related to photography.

"I have been photographing since 1986. Building this house is like a dream come true. We also named our 3 children-Canon, Nikon and Epson. These all are three camera names. I love the camera and hence named them on camera companies name. My family were opposed to it, but we remain adamant," photographer Ravi told media persons.

Karnataka: A photographer couple, Krupa Hongal&Ravi Hongal, has built a camera-shaped house in Belgaum. Krupa (pic3) says,"It's a dream come true. We also named our 3 children-Canon,Nikon&Epson." Ravi (pic4) says,"We borrowed money for it&also sold our previous house."(14.07.20) pic.twitter.com/8Mkh1JOUk1

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2020
The photographer says the couple had to borrow money from relatives and friend for constructing the house. "We also sold our previous house to build this house," he added.

Krupa said that it was their cherished dream to build a house like a camera.

"My husband is a photographer. It was our dream to build a house like a camera. We planned and built this house. We feel like we are living inside a different world, inside a camera. I am very proud of my husband," she said.

Canon, their elder child said, "My friends used to ask me whether it was my real name. Now, I tell them yes, photography is my father's passion and hence he named me Canon."

On social media, the picture of the unique shaped house has been shared widely.

"This is called love for the passion," said one user on Twitter.

Another user commented: "A camera-obsessed photographer from India builds a camera-shaped house! 49-year-old Ravi Hongal has spent over $95,000 building the 3-story house, which looks like a camera in the town of Belgaum in India."

The family seems to be indeed living a picture-perfect dream.

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Anusha Bhat | coastaldigest.com
July 24,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 24: Parents in Dakshina Kannada are urging the educational institutions to reduce fees at least by 75% as most of the infrastructure and resources are not being utilized due to online classes. 

“School campuses are now closed. Why we have to pay such a heavy fee when our children are not availing the facilities offered on campus?” asks a Sapna (name changed), a parent, whose two daughters study at a prestigious private school in Mangaluru.  

Even though some schools considered as small players have reduced fees, most of the “prestigious” institutions in the Mangaluru have so far refused to give any discount.

“Apart from paying school fees, now we have to invest in gadgets, internet connections and accessories required for online classes. School administration can use their infrastructure and facilities for other purposes as students are not utilizing them. Hence, they must give us maximum discount during this pandemic,” said another parent.  
 
On the other hand, many parents are facing a dire financial situation due to covid-19 lockdown – while some have suffered losses in their business some have lost their jobs.

Many parents have even approached the education department to ensure that they get a discount in fees from educational institutions, said Dakshina Kannada DDPI Malleswamy.

“We cannot do anything since a government circular has asked educational institutions not to hike fees, which they have not done, and reduce fees if possible, which will never happen. The department is acting against only those schools that forcefully collect fees,” the DDPI said.

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