Karnataka polls: Rahul asks party cadres to prepare 'people's manifesto'

Agencies
January 27, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 27: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has asked party leaders from poll-bound Karnataka to prepare "people's manifesto" and undertake mass outreach programmes, taking a cue from similar exercise during the party's recent electoral outing in Gujarat.

Karnataka goes to polls this year.

"The exercise has already been undertaken by a team headed by senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily and it is expected to come out with an 'all-encompassing manifesto' much ahead of polling in the state," a senior party leader said.

"The party president has asked leaders to come out with a manifesto that truly reflects the expectations of the people of Karnataka. The Congress will seek feedback from all stakeholders," AICC secretary in-charge for Karnataka, Madhu Goud Yaskhi said.

In a similar exercise, telecom entrepreneur Sam Pitroda had interacted with residents of five cities of Gujarat, namely Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surat, ahead of the two-phased assembly elections there last year.

The manifesto prepared thus focused on education, health, small and medium enterprises, employment generation and environmental protection.

"That 'good' practice helped us know what people wanted. It is better than leaders sitting in their offices and drafting manifestoes," another party leader said.

He said in Karnataka, the party unit will focus on socio-economic aspects relating to development.

The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has performed well and listed its pro-people schemes like Ksheer Bhagya, Anna Bhagya, Krishi Bhagya, Indira Vastra Bhagya, Indira Canteen and others, the Congress leader said.

While the schedule for the 224-member state assembly poll is yet to be announced, campaign for the high voltage election has already begun with leaders of both the Congress and BJP exchanging barbs at each other.

The southern state is expected to witness a triangular contest with the H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) being the third dominant player.

Comments

Unknown
 - 
Saturday, 27 Jan 2018

Top in the list
Release all prisoners

PK
 - 
Saturday, 27 Jan 2018

If Congies had followed all the manifestos they have written since independence in the LS elections and state elections, we would have been the most advanced country in the world, perhaps even would have beaten China by now if not earlier....

Prabhakar
 - 
Saturday, 27 Jan 2018

There major manifesto is to release all convicts of Muslim, Muslim - Hindhu rioters & also release some other Muslim Criminals also, for the sake of Votes, here also Conning-ress is following their earlier bosses, Britishers policies to Divide & rule by never getting more than 44% votes

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News Network
February 27,2020

Benagluru, Feb 27: The sudden hike in bus fares by the state-run transport corporation has triggered a public outrage and protests by the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in Karnataka.

Terming the hike as anti-people and inflationary, the Congress urged the ruling BJP to withdraw it forthwith and spare the commuters from the additional burden.

"KSRTC and its affiliates should not further burden the people when the cost of living has gone up and its bus service is used by the majority in the absence of trains in many regions of the state," said Ravi Gowda of the Congress.

In a surprise announcement on Tuesday night, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and its two affiliates -- North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKSRTC )and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKSRTC) -- increased bus fares by 12% with effect from Wednesday, drawing the ire of commuters and opposition parties alike.

Condemning the fare hike, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy urged the KSRTC to roll back the revised fares and give relief to the common man reeling under price rise due to CGST, SGST and food inflation.

"The BJP government has deliberately increased the bus fare ahead of the state budget for 2020-21 fiscal on March 2, catching people unawares. Though student passes have been spared from the hike, regular passengers are forced to pay Rs 5-32 more instead of getting better efficiency, management and productivity," Kumaraswamy said in a statement in Bengaluru.

It's an additional burden on us, said Bengaluru resident K. Venkatesh, while adding,

"The 12 percent hike in bus fares by the KSRTC and its north-east and north-west affiliates from Wednesday will hit passengers hard and make commuting costly.”

"The fare hike will negate the state government's efforts to encourage public transport service and force passengers to travel on the train, which is cheaper, faster and safer," asserted Venugopal Gupta, a cloth merchant in the city.

Justifying the hike, KSRTC Managing Director Shivayogi Kalasad told media that the hike was inevitable due to the steady increase in diesel price, dearness allowance in staff salary and overall cost of operations.

"Since the last fare revision came in May 2014, the operational cost has gone up substantially due to Rs 11.27 per litre hike in diesel price, increase in DA to employees and repairing, maintenance and fleet management costs," Kalasad said.

The financial burden due to fuel price hike is Rs 261 crore, DA Rs 341 crore and operational cost Rs 601 crore per annum for KSRTC alone, he said.

"For the benefit of rural passengers, fares have been reduced to Rs 5 from Rs 7 for the first 3 km. There is no increase in fares for the first 12 km and up to first 6 km in express service," Kalasad added.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Bengaluru, May 26: Unknown miscreants have set ablaze 30-40 migrant labourers hutments in Bengaluru east, prompting police to take suo motu cognizance, an official said on Tuesday.

"As many as 30-40 migrant labourers' hutments have been set ablaze by unknown miscreants at Kacharakanahallin in KG Halli, we have taken suo motu cognizance of the crime," said a police official to media.

Police are investigating the arson invoking IPC Sections 143, 147, 188, 436, 123, 504, 506 and others.

"There was no loss of life in the arson as the migrant labourers were away at their hometowns because of COVID lockdown," said the official.

The labourers came from different parts of Karnataka to eke out a living and were living in those huts near the Rama Temple in KG Halli.

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News Network
February 18,2020

Kasaragod, Feb 18: Police have seized counterfeit notes of Rs 45 lakh from a resident here on Tuesday.

The accused Muhammed, a native of Perla, has been taken into custody for carrying the prohibited currency and the police is investigating the crime.

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