Despite defeated by Sonia in Ballari, Sushma strengthened BJP in Karnataka

coastaldigest.com web desk
August 7, 2019

Newsroom, Aug 7: Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart and former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who passed away last night, had a strong Karnataka connection. She had played a key role in the rise of the saffron party in this south Indian state. 

It all started in 1999, when Sonia Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha election. She filed her nomination from two constituencies—Ballari in Karnataka, and the Gandhi family seat of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP fielded Swaraj, the in-house orator and poster child for the “adarsh bharatiya nari"—an ideal Indian woman. The contest was a fiery one and soon became a battle between the ‘swadeshi beti’ and ‘videshi bahu’ thanks to the media.

Even though Swara miserably lost the battle, her rigorous campaign helped the saffron party to strengthen presence in Karnataka. 

Sushma’s campaign laid the foundation for a tectonic shift as the BJP breached the Congress citadel in 2004. Her campaign was managed by the three Reddy brothers. 

For nearly 15 years since 1999, Sushma had made it a point to celebrate Varamahalakshmi festival every year in Ballari. When BJP came to power in Karnataka, she became the political mother of Reddy brothers of Ballari. However, this relationship did not last long.

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News Network
August 5,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 4: Deputy Chief Minister Dr.CN Ashwathnarayan instructed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad to set up a separate high-level committee to ascertain the exact cause of coronavirus-related deaths in the state.

He spoke to reporters after a meeting with Prasad on Tuesday.

"The committee, headed by senior officials will audit the reason for the increase in death cases. Has there been a death due to treatment delay? Or are there any shortcomings in the treatment process?" the deputy chief minister said.

He pointed out that based on the report, the committee should try to correct the deficiency and reduce the death rate.

"How many beds are in which hospital? How many patients are on a ventilator? How many have gone home from the hospital? Etc. All information needs to be updated online at the moment. He suggested that this information should be made available to the public online," Ashwaththanarayana said.

Stating that some hospitals are not giving details about the number of beds correctly, he instructed the commissioners to take legal action if differences in their data are found.

He said that there is a shortage of ASHA workers in the city and it needs to be hired immediately.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 74,477 active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka and the death toll in the state is at 2,594. 

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News Network
April 15,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 15: For the convenience of the public during the lockdown period, the Department of Posts has been providing essential services to the public at its various branch offices which are functioning from 1000 hrs to 1400 hrs.

Medicines and other essential items can be sent via parcel from any town to any place in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.

Arrangements are also being made to extend this facility to nearby districts. In case of sending medicines and other essentials to other states from Mangaluru, the transportation has to be done via Bengaluru and can be expedited if a request for urgency is made, says a press release from the Senior Superintendent of Posts of Mangaluru Division on Wednesday.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 7: Karnataka on Friday announced that there are no positive cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 in the state till date.

"To date, 717 persons have been identified for observation, of them, 236 persons have completed 28 days of observation and 469 persons are continuing under home quarantine. 8 persons are admitted to selected isolation hospitals, " the state government said in a release today.

"Around 343 samples of symptomatic persons are sent for testing and 296 samples are reported as negative. No positive cases of Coronavirus in the state to date," it said.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa earlier in the week assured people in state about the preparedness to tackle coronavirus.

He said, "We have issued instructions to all hospitals. We have made all the arrangements. People in Karnataka should not worry."

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan earlier today held a review meeting with states over preparedness for coronavirus. State governments have been asked to keep the testing and quarantine facilities, isolation wards and labs in active readiness.

The country's total number of positive cases of coronavirus touched 31 today. COVID-19 has so far killed more than 3200 people globally.

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