Cong out to win over Lingayats, to push for separate religion tag

DHNS
July 25, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 25: The ruling Congress appears to have decided to step up its efforts to woo the dominant Lingayat community: Five Lingayat ministers in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet will embark on a state-wide tour next month to campaign for declaring the Veerashaiva-Lingayat dharma as a separate religion.Basavaraj

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday, Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi said ministers — Sharanprakash Patil, Eshwar Khandre, Vinay Kulkarni, S S Mallikarjun and himself — will tour the state, meeting community leaders, Lingayat math heads, office-bearers of Ahkila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha among others to push for declaring the Veerashaiva-Lingayat dharma as a separate religion.

He said once the Lingayat-Veerashaiva dharma is declared an independent religion, the community will seek “minority” status. “What is wrong in that.... Veerashaivas are neither Hindus nor any sub-sect of the Hindus. They are groups that emerged following a movement against casteism, inequality, feudalism and gender discrimination in Hindu society. We must be declared a separate religion and given minority status,” Rayareddi said, replying to a volley of questions from reporters.

The move by the ministers, which comes close on the heels on the demand for an official status to the state flag, is seen as a well planned strategy by the Congress to politically take on the BJP ahead of next year’s elections. The Lingayat community, by and large, is considered to electorally back the BJP across the state. By playing the separate religion card, the Congress is keen to make inroads into the BJP support base, say political observers.

Last week, a section of the Lingayat community took out a rally in Bidar and revived the demand for the formation of a separate religion for the community. They submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who said he was ready to take it up with the Centre if there is unanimity among the community leaders.

However, Rayareddi denied that the move to seek a separate religion tag for Veerashaiva-Lingayat dharma was politically motivated. On the timing of the revival of the demand, the minister said it was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with the Assembly elections. He also denied that the Congress was playing the “Lingayat card” to take on the “Hindutva card” of the BJP and that the minority tag for Lingayat-Veerashaiva dharma will be used to bring the community into the Ahinda vote bank.

Rayareddi criticised BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa for stating that Veerashaivas are Hindus and that Siddaramaiah was trying to divide the community. “Yeddyurappa does not know anything about Lingayats. He follows the RSS ideology which has its foundations in Hindu philosophy,” Rayareddi said.

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iqtidar
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Tuesday, 25 Jul 2017

Innalillahi wa Inna Ilahi Rajiwun, may allah subhanawatala grant him jannatul firdaus

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News Network
February 3,2020

Feb 3: Shine Shetty, who was last seen essaying the character of 'Chandu' in the popular daily soap 'Lakshmi Baramma', made a grand comeback to the small screen with Bigg Boss Kannada season 7 as one of the contestants. The actor went emotional after his name was announced by Sudeep as the winner. He thanked the host, his family and friends and the viewers as well for continuous support.

During his stay in the house, the actor had the privilege to become the captain of the house twice. He is also the only candidate who has earned 'Kicchana Chappale' (applaud of appraisal) the maximum number of times.

Shine has been in the headlines for his equation with other housemates. His growing friendship with Deepika Das has been creating a lot of buzz ever since the launch of the show. Shine has always shown interest in Deepika. He has always admired Deepika and was seen complimenting her style statements.

Shine Shetty's journey inside the Bigg Boss house is worth a mention. From showcasing his talents to giving his best shot in the tasks and activities, the actor was always on the forefront.

His friendly nature and care of his inmates can also never be missed.

Bigg Boss Kannada 7 kick-started on October 13th 2019 with Kiccha Sudeepa continued to host the show. The show, which returned to the small screen with 'only-celeb' format consisted of 18 primary contestants, who entered the house during the grand premiere of the season.

Within a short span, two wild card entrants made a surprise entry into the house. The show was surely a roller coaster ride with unexpected twists and entertained the viewers to the fullest.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 30,2020

Mangaluru, May 30: Accusing the chief minister B S Yediyurappa led Karnataka government of ignoring frontline warriors against covid-19, Mangaluru MLA U T Khader has demanded immediate release of pending salaries of doctors, lab technicians and nurses hired under the National Health Mission.

Addressing a press conference in the city today, the former minister said that Congress would launch an agitation if the government fails to release the amount immediately.

The non-payment of salaries clearly shows that the government has no concern for the COVID-19 warriors who are serving on a contract basis for two months, he said.

Mr Khader said there are 23,000 personnel hired under the National Health Mission in Karnataka including 600 in Dakshina Kannada district alone.  All of them are waiting for their salaries for the last two months.

“Asha workers were also partially paid for the month of April. If the government had concern towards COVID-19 warriors, they would have paid extra for the doctors, nurses, and other workers who are working tirelessly in the fight against COVID-19 at the grassroots level,” he added.

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Agencies
June 30,2020

Washington, Jun 30: Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study published Monday in the US science journal PNAS.

Named G4, it is genetically descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009.

It possesses "all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans," say the authors, scientists at Chinese universities and China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers then carried out various experiments including on ferrets, which are widely used in flu studies because they experience similar symptoms to humans -- principally fever, coughing and sneezing. 

G4 was observed to be highly infectious, replicating in human cells and causing more serious symptoms in ferrets than other viruses.

Tests also showed that any immunity humans gain from exposure to seasonal flu does not provide protection from G4.

According to blood tests which showed up antibodies created by exposure to the virus, 10.4 percent of swine workers had already been infected.

The tests showed that as many as 4.4 percent of the general population also appeared to have been exposed.

The virus has therefore already passed from animals to humans but there is no evidence yet that it can be passed from human to human -- the scientists' main worry.

"It is of concern that human infection of G4 virus will further human adaptation and increase the risk of a human pandemic," the researchers wrote.

The authors called for urgent measures to monitor people working with pigs.

"The work comes as a salutary reminder that we are constantly at risk of new emergence of zoonotic pathogens and that farmed animals, with which humans have greater contact than with wildlife, may act as the source for important pandemic viruses," said James Wood, head of the department of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University.

A zoonotic infection is caused by a pathogen that has jumped from a non-human animal into a human.

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