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Intolerance on the rise in Modi, Trump regimes, says Martin Luther King III

News Network
July 22, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 22: A day after the BJP sent a strong political message by ensuring an emphatic victory for Ram Nath Kovind in presidential elections, a three-day conference in Congress-ruled Karnataka on Dalit icon BR Ambedkar triggered a parallel narrative on the state of Dalits in the country.

In his inaugural address at the symposium on Friday, human rights activist and social reformer Martin Luther King III drew a parallel between India and the US, saying both countries are now ruled by people who have “little regard” for the poor, and where there is no respect for the rule of law.

King III said both India and the US are seeing a rise in hate crimes — a sweeping indictment of the Modi and Trump governments.

"A California State University research says there have been over 1,000 hate crimes in the US since the 2016 election. And here (in India), cow vigilantes kill Muslims and Dalits as the police stand by," King III, the son of acclaimed civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, said.

He was addressing 2,000 delegates at the conference, including Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

“If my father were here, he would have stood by the Dalit demonstrations that the country is seeing in different places,” King III added, drawing parallels between the values espoused by Ambedkar and King Jr.

The conference is being hosted by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a time when the Congress is trying to retain power in a state that has a majority population of Dalits and OBCs.

The state is headed to polls in April 2018.

The conference is also symbolic of the nation-wide turf war for a larger contest in the offing for Dalit votes which has traditionally been with the Congress since Independence. The BJP, in the last three years, has made a concerted attempt to impinge on this constituency.

Siddaramaiah, who will be seeking a fresh mandate in the coming months, hit out at the central government.

"Today we are told that being a good Indian means we have to ignore the inequality and exploitation in our midst. I reject such majoritarianism. It is opposed to the spirit of the Constitution,” he said.

The three-day conference would conclude with a 'Bangalore Declaration' that outlines specific constitutional and institutional ways to respond to attacks on social justice.

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Pulimunchi
 - 
Monday, 24 Jul 2017

Thank God! He did not bite something else!

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News Network
April 21,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 21: The group who had attacked police and healthcare workers at the minority-dominated Padarayanapura in the city on Sunday night had raised slogans ''kill police'' when the team went to quarantine some people, the police alleged in an FIR.

Around 100 to 120 people rushed out onto the road targeting the police and health workers who wanted to pick up primary and secondary contacts of coronavirus patients.

Cases have been registered against the miscreants based on the complaint of police officers.

In one of the FIRs, police sub-inspector Raman Gowda complained that when he went to quarantine 43 people with the healthcare officers, around 120 people rushed out and attacked them.

"The group of people holding sticks and stones rushed from Arafat Nagar," Mr Gowda said.

When he was trying to stop them from destroying a CCTV camera, the mob attacked him shouting slogans ''Kill the police. Don't spare them," he alleged in the FIR.

"They wanted to kill us with stones and sticks and some of our staff sustained injuries," the officer said.

According to police, 59 people have been arrested including A woman who had allegedly masterminded the attack.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 3,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 3: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa tweeted late Sunday night that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 

In a brief post on Twitter, Mr Yediyurappa said that he was fine but had been hospitalised on the advice of doctors. While his daughter Padmavathi has also tested positive for the virus, the Chief Minister's son, Vijayendra, has tested negative.

The Chief Minister's media team has said he has been admitted to Manipal Hospital. Mr Yediyurappa, 77, also requested those who had come in contact with him to be wary of Covid symptoms and self-isolate.

"I have tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst I am fine, I am being hospitalised as a precaution on recommendation of doctors. I request those who have come in contact with me recently to be observant and exercise self-quarantine," the Chief Minister's tweet read.

The testing of the Chief Minister was done as part of the routine weekly tests he undergoes along with his staff. The results of Mr Yediyurappa's gunmen and security staff, around 50 of them, are expected today.

Staff members at Mr Yediyurappa's home office, Krishna, had tested positive early last month. 

At that time Mr Yediyurappa said: "I am going to discharge my duties from home from today for the next few days in view of some of the staff in the office-cum-residence Krishna testing positive".

Mr Yediyurappa had also met Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala in Bengaluru on Friday. State Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai was also present at the meeting.

The Chief Minister is the second high-profile political leader to confirm testing positive for COVID-19 today; hours earlier Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted similar news.

Mr Shah, 55, too said he was "fine" and that he had been hospitalised on the "advice of doctors".

The minister also asked all those who had been in contact with him over the last few days to "please isolate yourself and get your tests done".

The Home Minister was at a cabinet meet last week, at which top colleagues, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were present.

All Covid norms, including social distancing, were followed at that meeting, sources said.

Last month Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tested positive for the virus as well. He has been in hospital since then and tweeted today to say that he was well and, minutes after Mr Yediyurappa tweeted his Covid positive status, he posted a get-well-soon message.

"I pray to God for your speedy recovery, Yediyurappaji," Mr Chouhan wrote.

Mr Chouhan had tweeted a message for Mr Shah too. "Home Minister Amit Shah, may God help you recover soon, so you can serve the nation with full energy. Our best wishes are with you," his tweet read.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also tweeted, saying: "I wish BS Yediyurappa a speedy recovery and to return with good health to continue his work for the people".

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit also tested positive today, Chennai's Kauvery Hospital, where he has been admitted, said. He is asymptomatic and clinically stable.

On Sunday morning the virus claimed the life of a UP minister - Kamal Rani Varun, 62, died at Lucknow's Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences.

Over the last 24 hours, 54,735 cases were reported, taking the total number of cases to 17,50,723, data from the Health Ministry showed.

The continuing spike in cases over the past weeks comes as India gradually re-opens its economy after more than four months of the world's strictest lockdown. Unlock3, the third phase of easing of restrictions, came into effect on Saturday.

It took just 185 days for India to cross the 17-lakh mark after the first case was reported in Kerala in January; it took 110 days to record the first 1 lakh cases. More than 60 per cent of total cases in the country and over 50 per cent of total deaths have been recorded in July.

Also Read: Karnataka CM is in clinically stable condition: Manipal Hospital

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 18,2020

Mangaluru, July 18: The Dakshina Kannada district administration is likely to earmark a common burial ground in the wake of growing resistance from residents of various localities in Mangaluru against burial of Covid-19 victims in their vicinity.

Recently, following protests by residents on Bolar, the body of a Covid-19 victim remained in the ambulance for hours together. The residents refused to allow the victim to be laid to rest at a burial ground attached to a mosque. The victim, who had been a resident of Idya in Surathkal, was subsequently laid to rest after DC’s intervention.

In a bid to avoid such instances in the future, the district administration has identified a burial ground on the outskirts of Mangaluru. 

Former minister and incumbent Mangaluru MLA UT Khader said that he had discussed the problem at length with the officials of the Dakshina Kannada district administration, and had suggested they look for a relatively isolated space on the outskirts of Mangaluru city in order to avoid confrontation with the public.

“A parcel of land at Badaga Yekkuru, some 20km from the city has been identified as being suitable for the burial ground, but the district administration is yet to take a final decision,” Khader said.

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