Congress, JDS try to woo rebels by offering ministerial berths

TNN
July 8, 2019

Bengaluru, Jul 8: In a last-ditch bid to save the coalition government in Karnataka, which is floundering after the resignation of 10 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs, leaders of both the parties made frantic efforts to reach out to the rebels on Sunday, offering to make most of them ministers and promising “generous funds” to their constituencies. The rebels, however, rejected the offer.

Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who returned to Bengaluru on Sunday evening from a personal trip to the US, is all set to call an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday where he is expected to seek the resignation of a few ministers to make way for the rebels. Water resources minister and Congress strongman DK Shivakumar declared himself the first volunteer: “I am ready to resign if that will save this government.”

Ten of the disgruntled MLAs, who have checked into a luxury hotel in Mumbai since Saturday evening, rejected the offer outright. They said the remaining three MLAs too would join them on Monday and there was no question of going back on their decision. One of the rebels, Prathap Gouda Patil, said the future course “was clear”, all 13 MLAs would join BJP.

With Speaker KR Ramesh scheduled to take up the resignations on Tuesday, Congress moved to lay down the legal line. Siddaramaiah has convened a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Tuesday at 9.30 am and a whip is likely to be issued to all MLAs, including the rebels. The move was to trap the rebels legally so their defiance would have consequences, a Congress MLA said. “Strict action will be taken against MLAs who do not attend the meeting,” Siddaramaiah warned in a letter sent to all party MLAs. JD(S) is also likely to call a legislature party meeting soon.

Both parties are expected to pack off their MLAs to resorts after the meetings to prevent poaching attempt by BJP. The saffron party, on the other hand, is calling its legislature party meeting at 5 pm on Monday at a five-star hotel near Yelahanka. BJP is believed to have booked 30 rooms for its 105 MLAs, who might be asked to stay put there for a few days to ward off any “counter-poaching” attempts.

BJP, however, maintained that it had no role to play in the current crisis. “We are not going to meet the governor. We will wait for the speaker’s decision on Tuesday,” state party president BS Yeddyurappa said.

Dismissing BJP’s claims, senior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Most of the rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs have not gone to Mumbai of their own free will. Some of them are in touch with our MLAs and they will come back.” Accusing BJP of employing similar tactics in 10 other states, he said, “But for BJP, how could the rebel MLAs have arranged for a special flight to Mumbai? Do our rebels have so much money?”

Kharge, AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal and party leaders Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and MB Patil were huddled in a series of meetings on Sunday and decided to offer ministries to as many rebels as possible. They were also in constant touch with JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda. Kumaraswamy, who landed in the city around 8.30 pm, walked into a meeting with Congress leaders immediately thereafter.

Sources said more than persuading all the rebel MLAs camping in Mumbai, the coalition partners were focusing on winning back the four Bengaluru MLAs — ST Somashekar, Byrathi Basavaraju, N Munirathna and Ramalinga Reddy — since their resignations were triggered by a grouse with deputy CM and Bengaluru development minister G Parameshwara. It was felt these MLAs were unlikely to walk into the BJP fold, sources added.

“The aim is to get the four MLAs to withdraw their resignations by Tuesday before the Speaker takes them up for consideration,” a senior Congress MLA said, adding that if that happened, the government would get some breathing space to shore up its numbers.

In Mumbai, rebel MLA BC Patil said, “We have come a long way and returning from here is not possible. Let them keep their ministerial berths with them.” “Since we have submitted our resignations, there is no question of attending the CLP meeting. We are 13 MLAs and we are all together. There is no question of going back on our decision,” said Somashekar.

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Well Wisher
 - 
Monday, 8 Jul 2019

Secular Voters (Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Christians, Hindus) must learn from these disputes. These greedy candidates they only want their benefits/success. At least in future elections we should be more careful. We should vote for those candidate who work for people. Bright future ahead for SDPI.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Vijayapura, Mar 4: Despite strict measures to prevent any kind of embarrassing incidents during II PU board exams, the first three pages of Physics question paper was doing rounds on social media within an hour of commencement.

According to sources, “after removing the question papers from the sealed paper envelope, one of the supervisors is suspected to have taken photographs of it and circulated to the various social networking sites and Whatsapp. In an hour it spread across the district and the incident is said to be happened at Shanteshwar Pre-University College at Indi town.”

As many as 27,359 students were enrolled for the PU Board exams and among them 7,984 students have registered for Science. On the first-day, Physics for Science and History for Arts examinations were held in 41 centres of the district.

Confirming the question papers are being circulated over social networking applications, Deputy Commissioner YS Patil told TNIE that: “According to the Karnataka Education Act 24 (a) it cannot be considered as the question paper leak.”

“Even we have contacted the head office of the PU Board they also collecting the primary details denied to claim it as question paper leak. However, a committee will investigate and will also visit the college in the earliest. If any of the supervisors found guilty an action will be initiated against them. It is not a question paper leak instead it might be lapse of duty from the supervisors and investigation will be made,” stated DC Patil.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 30: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, has directed the Bengaluru City Police to return all the vehicles, which were seized during the Coronavirus Lockdown period, for having flouted rules.

The City Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, informed that it was decided to return the seized vehicles to the owners, after verifying documents.

He said that the vehicles had been seized while enforcing strict guidelines, issued to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, in the city.

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News Network
July 12,2020

Bosnia, Jul 12: Bosnians commemorated on Saturday the massacre of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, marking the 25th anniversary of killings that shocked the world and have stood out as Europe's only atrocity since World War Two constituting genocide.

Nine newly identified victims were buried at a flower-shaped cemetery near the town, where tall white tombstones mark the graves of 6,643 other victims.

"After 25 years we succeeded in finding his mortal remains, so they can be laid to their final rest," said Fikret Pezic, who buried his father Hasan.

The remains of some 1,000 victims of the massacre in the eastern town during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war are still missing.

Ifeta Hasanovic decided to bury incomplete remains of her husband, saying: "We were aware they cannot be complete after 25 years, at least there are some, I did not want to make any new delays."

World leaders addressed the ceremony by video link, unable to attend because of coronavirus epidemic. Instead of the tens of thousands visitors who typically attend the commemoration each year, only a few thousand came after organisers banned organised visits.

During the Bosnian war, Bosnian Serb forces pushed non-Serbs out of territories they sought for their Serb statelet. Fleeing Muslims took shelter in several eastern towns, including Srebrenica, that were designated as United Nations "safe zones".

On July 11, 1995, the Serb forces commanded by General Ratko Mladic overran Srebrenica, which was protected by lightly armed Dutch peacekeepers.

They sent women and children away and captured and executed the men and boys they found. The bodies were dumped into mass graves and later exhumed by U.N. investigators and used as evidence in war crimes trials of Bosnian Serb leaders.

"We grieve with the families that tirelessly seek justice for the 8,000 innocent lives lost, all these years later," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Washington brokered Bosnia's peace deal months after the massacre.

Most people at the commemoration were Muslim Bosniaks, reflecting conflicting narratives about the bloodshed - which hinders reconciliation nearly 25 years after the end of war in which about 100,000 people were killed.

The U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Mladic and his political chief Radovan Karadzic over Srebrenica genocide but they remained heroes for Serbs, many of whom deny that genocide happened.

On Saturday, the Serbs in the nearby town of Bratunac organised an event marking July 11 as the "Srebrenica Liberation Day".

Sefik Dzaferovic, the Bosniak chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, called for legislation that would ban denial of genocide.

"There can be no trust as long as we witness attacks on the truth, denial of genocide and glorification and celebration of executors," Dzaferovic told the commemoration gathering.

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