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BS Yediyurappa may drop some Lingayat ministers for caste balance

News Network
December 28, 2019

Bengaluru, Dec 28: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa is reportedly looking to rebalance caste equations in his cabinet by dropping some ministers, mostly from the Lingayat community, and bringing in new ones. The changes will be made when he expands his cabinet in January.

The move will help him give proportionate representation to different castes and regions, and also accommodate Congress-JD(S) turncoats who contested the recent bypolls on BJP tickets and won. The latter must be rewarded as they essentially paved the way for BJP to form the government.

There’s no official word on who may be asked to vacate cabinet spots, but some senior BJP functionaries said the names of deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, home minister Basavaraj Bommai, mines & geology minister CC Patil and women & child welfare minister Shashikala Jolle were being discussed.

Yediyurappa is reportedly also persuading the party bosses in Delhi to consider industries minister and former CM Jagadish Shettar for the governor’s role. About 12 states, including Karnataka, are due to get new governors.

Yediyurappa’s cabinet currently has 18 members. The sanctioned strength, including the chief minister, is 34. There is a crowded field of those looking to get in. These include the newly elected legislators. Disqualified MLA R Shankar is also eyeing a place, though he lost in the byelections.

With eight ministers, Lingayats are well represented in the cabinet. There are concerns that the community might get outsized representation if more members are inducted. If hopefuls Srimanth Patil, Mahesh Kumathalli, BC Patil and Umesh Katti are sworn in, the number will rise to 12. The BJP functionaries said Yediyurappa was seriously considering dropping at least two existing Lingayat ministers to make room for others.

“This possibility [12 Lingayat ministers] will create a caste imbalance and upset ministerial aspirants. Then there’s the issue of regions. Belagavi will have six ministers if Katti is inducted and Haveri will have three if Shankar is inducted without dropping anybody,” a senior BJP politician said. “The only way to ensure balance is to drop a few ministers.”

Jolle might get to stay on as she is the only female in the cabinet. Savadi, too, could escape unscathed as he is the party high command’s pick. There are some differences: CM wants to induct 11 new MLAs and Shankar, but the party wants to accommodate eight new legislators and give other spots to BJP loyalists.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Mangaluru Mar 30: The Mangaluru South Police has registered a criminal case against a man over a 'derogatory post' against the district administration. According to DC Sindhu B Rupesh, the man identified as Melwyn Pinto had sent a derogatory message on WhatsApp.

She warned on taking stringent action against miscreants who are spreading false information and rumours about district administration under DM Act provisions.

Meanwhile, City Commissioner of Police Dr P S Harsha said, "We have noticed people going around on merry rides without purpose either on two-wheelers or in cars during the lockdown period."

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News Network
July 27,2020

Chennai, July 27: Multi-lingual actress Vijayalakshmi, who attempted suicide yesterday, alleging harassment and bullying by followers of Naam Thamizhar party leader Seeman and Panankattu Padai’s Hari Nadar, is recuperating at a hospital in Chennai. 

Vijayalakshmi is known for films like Friends and Boss Engira Baskaran. She recently made headlines for speaking against Seeman and the torture she was allegedly facing from the actor-turned-politician and his party.

In the video which was uploaded on Sunday evening, Vijayalakshmi said, “This is my last video and I have been in tremendous stress in the last four months because of Seeman and his partymen. I tried my level best to survive all these days because of my mother and sister, but I have been humiliated in the media by Harinadar recently.”

She added, “I would like to tell fans who are watching the video just because I was born in Karnataka, Seeman has tortured me a lot. As a woman, I have put up with it to my highest capabilities. I won’t be able handle the pressure anymore. I am from the Pillai community, the same community LTTE leader Prabhakaran is part of. Prabhakaran is the only reason Seeman is who he is today, but now he has been harassing me on social media continuously. You slut shamed me to make me feel the pain and it is up to me to decide on what to do after facing such insults from you. I request my fans not to let Seeman get away from this case. He should never get anticipatory bail. My death should be a big eye-opener to everyone. I don’t want to be a slave to anybody.”

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News Network
February 26,2020

Feb 26: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday claimed that it prevented Karnataka from discussing the contentious Mekedatu reservoir issue at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting held in New Delhi.

Besides the representatives of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at the fifth meeting of CWMA, presided over by Central Water Commission Chairman R K Jain, officials of Kerala and Puducherry also participated.

CWMA member and TN PWD Secretary K Manivasan told reporters after the meeting that the state government prevented Karnataka from discussing the dam issue by pointing out the pending petitions in the Supreme Court against the project filed by the E Palaniswami government.

"We have told participants of the meeting that Mekedatu reservoir will be against the interests of Tamil Nadu and its farmers. Our consistent stand is that it should not be built at any cost. Finally the issue was not discussed in the meeting," Manivasan said.

The Mekedatu reservoir is proposed to be constructed by Karnataka across Cauvery river near Mekedatu, about 110 km from Bengaluru, in Kanakapura taluk.

It was first proposed along with Shivanasamudra hydro power project at Shimsa in 2003 with an intention to use the water for a hydro power station and supply drinking water to Bengaluru city. It was designed to store 67 tmc feet of water.

While Tamil Nadu is claiming that the construction of a balancing reservoir will disturb Cauvery water flow to the state affecting irrigation, Karnataka says the project is basically designed to take care of the drinking water needs of Bengaluru after releasing water to Tamil Nadu as per the quantum specified by the Cauvery water disputes tribunal.

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