Security tightened ahead of Datta Jayanti, Eid-Milad; prohibitory orders clamped

Mangaluru, Jan 12: Sudarshan Moodbidri and Robin Devaiah were today unanimous elected presidents of Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu district units of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Karnataka BJP vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana oversaw the election process of the two district units at the BJP’s party office here.

While Sanjeeva Matandoor, Puttur MLA and incumbent president of DK unit of the party welcomed his successor Sudarshan, it was the turn of BB Bharatheesh, president of Kodagu unit to welcome Robin.

K Uday Kumar Shetty, DK district election officer and Ravi Kalappa, Kodagu district assistant election officer conducted the election under the supervision of Surana in the presence of MLAs of the party from respective districts.

Sudarshan started out his career as taluk and then district convener of Bajrang Dal before taking up responsibility as seva pramukh of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

He formally joined the BJP as general secretary of Mulki-Moodbidri assembly unit of the party, moved on as convener of training cell of the party and was the general secretary of the district unit of the party before his elevation. A B.Com student of Dhavala College, Moodbidri, he is 44.

Robin, 50, who started out as a RSS volunteer as a student, too is incumbent general secretary of the Kodagu unit. Having been a member of ABVP for 8-years, he joined BJP formally in 1996 through Yuva Morcha and was its district treasurer, national executive member and state general secretary.

A product of Field Marshal K M Cariappa College, Kodagu, he served two terms as general secretary of the district unit prior to his elevation.

Bengaluru, Mar 9: The political crisis faced by Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh appears to have accentuated with 13 party MLAs and six ministers reported to be in Bengaluru.

The developments have come amid factional differences in the party unit and at a time the party has to finalise its Rajya Sabha candidates from the state.

Sources said the number of Congress MLAs who were in Bengaluru had gone up to 19 and one more MLA expected to reach Bengaluru by Monday night. They said the MLAs have come in batches and include six ministers from Madhya Pradesh.

The developments came on a day state chief Chief Minister Kamal Nath met party chief Sonia Gandhi and discussed the political situation in the state.

The sources said that MLAs are likely to be shifted to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

According to the sources, BJP Mahadevpura MLA Arvind Limbavali has been in touch with the Congress MLAs. They said 16 MLAs were brought at HAL airport Bengaluru by a special flight and were staying in a hotel at present.

The session of Madhya Pradesh assembly will begin on March 16 and the BJP may bring no-confidence motion against the Kamal Nath government.

Kamal Nath had said after his meeting with Gandhi that Congress MLAs who were reportedly missing have returned and had informed him that they were on 'tirth yatra'.

"Congress MLAs came back and said to me that they went on' tirth yatra (pilgrimage)".

The Congress has accused the BJP of trying to topple the party government. Party leader Digvijaya Singh had earlier alleged that BJP leaders Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Narottam Mishra were offering bribes of Rs 25-35 crore to Congress MLAs in order to bring down the Congress government in the state. The BJP had refuted the allegations.

In 2018 assembly elections, Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member Assembly and formed the government with the support of four Independent MLAs and two BSP MLAs and a legislator from the Samajwadi Party (SP). The BJP had secured 109 seats in the state assembly.

Last week,Madhya Pradesh Labour Minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia had warned that the state government will face a crisis if it "ignores or disrespects" party leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Scindia had said last month that he will not hesitate to hit the roads if promises made in a manifesto by Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh were not fulfilled.

Kamal Nath had responded to the remarks saying, "To utar jayein" (Let him hit the streets if he wants to).

Congress MLA Bisahulal Singh, who was "missing" for the past few days, returned to Bhopal on Sunday and said he had gone on a pilgrimage.

Independent MLA Surendra Singh said on Monday that he was hoping to become a minister in Madhya Pradesh government soon.

Chikkamagaluru, Feb 21: Alleged Bharatiya Janata Party supporters threw stones at Amulya Leona’s father’s house at Gullagadde near Koppa on Thursday night, after she was charged for making objectionable remarks at a public programme in Bengaluru.

Amulya Leona’s father Wazi said that the incident, which left window panes and doors damaged, took place at around 7.30 p.m. “They are all BJP supporters. They were in a group. I have complained to the police with the names of a few who led the group,” he said.

Three policemen have been deployed at his house since Thursday night.

Amulya Leona, a B.A. student, was charged with sedition after she raised pro-Pakistan slogans at a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in Bengaluru.

Mr. Wazi, who owns a two-acre areca plantation and runs a poultry farm, said he condemned the statement made by his daughter and he would not make any attempts to get her bail. “Let the law take its course. I cannot approve of her statement,” he said.

He said he had cautioned his daughter against getting involved in protests. “I told her to complete studies first and later she could fight for poor people. But what she said yesterday is not acceptable. I don’t know what made her so. I hope a probe would bring out who prompted her to make such statements,” he said.

Mr. Wazi said he has been politically active for several years, and had earlier worked for former education minister H.G. Govinde Gowda. He then shifted to the BJP and worked in support of D.N. Jeevaraj, who represented Sringeri constituency last time, and current Udupi-Chickmagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje. “I have worked for the BJP in the past. As Govinde Gowda’s son contested on JD(S) ticket for Sringeri seat, I supported him”, he said.

Meanwhile, a video clip that went viral on Thursday night showed a group of Bajrang Dal activists compelling Mr. Wazi to shout ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. “I have no hesitation in raising ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans,” said Mr. Wazi, adding that his statement was taken forcibly. “I am a patriot. Many writers, activists and politicians have come to my place over the years,” he said.