‘FIR on Vishweshwar Bhat amounts to abuse of power, should be withdrawn’: SM Krishna

Agencies
May 29, 2019

Bengaluru, May 29: Condemning the intolerance of the Karnataka government towards the media, BJP leader S.M. Krishna on Wednesday urged Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to withdraw the FIR filed against a Kannada editor over an article criticizing the Chief Minister's son Nikhil.

"The FIR against 'Vishwavani' editor Vishweshwar Bhat should be withdrawn as it amounts to abuse of power and interference in the freedom of press," Krishna said in a statement in Bengaluru.

The FIR was booked on Monday after Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) General Secretary Pradeep Kumar filed a complaint at a police station against Bhat for reporting on May 25 that Nikhil blamed former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda for his defeat in the Lok Sabha election.

"I don't understand the need for a Chief Minister to make his crony file a complaint and order the police to book a case against the editor of a leading Kannada daily instead of refuting the news story and clarifying what actually transpired between his son (Nikhil) and his father (Gowda) on the phone," said Krishna in the statement.

According to the article, which Bhat claimed was based on reliable sources, an inebriated Nikhil had shouted at Gowda senior at the latter's residence for not ensuring his victory from Mandya and failing to prevent Congress leaders from campaigning for the Independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh) and voting in favour of her.

Multilingual South Indian actress Sumalatha won the high-profile Mandya seat by a margin of 1,25,876 votes in the otherwise JD-S bastion, about 100 km southwest of Bengaluru in the old Mysuru region.

Noting that the authoritarian act of the police at the behest of the Chief Minster was a sign of frustration over the ignominious defeat, Krishna said the "undemocratic and dictatorial attitude" was dangerous to the independent functioning of the media.

Krishna, 87, who hails from Maddur in Mandya district, joined the BJP in March 2018 after quitting the Congress in January 2018. He campaigned for Sumalatha.

Nikhil was a joint candidate in Mandya where the politically powerful Vokkaliga community to which the Gowda clan belongs is a dominant force.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, a resurgent BJP won 25 while the JD-S and Congress won only one each to retain Bangalore Rural and Hassan, where Nikhil's cousin brother Prajwal Revanna defeated BJP's A Manju.

Comments

Hasan Zain
 - 
Thursday, 30 May 2019

Why is Mr SM Krishna so uncomfortable. He was a chief minister of the state. If the accused has committed any crime then Law of the land will take its course. If SM krishna think the accused has commited some crime and government wants to pordon him then SM Krishna is encouraging crime which is dengerous for our state. 

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News Network
February 29,2020

Kochi, Feb 29: A 36-year-old man admitted to a government hospital here died early on Saturday due to high fever, health officials said.

The test results of blood samples of the man admitted to the isolation ward of the Coronavirus patients at Kalamassery Medical College hospital had confirmed that he was not infected with the deadly virus, doctors said.

He had been suffering from pneumonia for last five days, they said.

He was a diabetic too. His end came at 12.30 am due to multi organ failure, they said.

Medical authorities said his samples have been sent for detailed examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha and awaiting the results.

The man from Kannur district had returned from Malaysia on Friday with high fever and breathing problem.

He was referred to the hospital after he was diagnosed with serious health issues during a thermal screening for Coronavirus at the international airport here upon his arrival from Malaysia, they said.

Doctors had said the health condition of the patient was not satisfactory.

Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas had visited the patient at the hospital on Friday, officials said.

Kerala had reported India's three Coronavirus cases but all three had been discharged from the hospitals marking their recovery of all three cases of infection in India reported from Kerala.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 20: A ruckus erupted in Padarayanapura on Sunday allegedly over shifting of suspected COVID-19 persons to quarantine facility by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials.

The incident occurred in the late evening at Padarayanapura which is recognized as a 'Red Zone' when BBMP officials went to bring 15 secondary contacts of corona positive patients.

However, some people and youth created ruckus and broke the barricade and removed police post which was stalled in the area.

Soon after receiving the information, Bengaluru South Deputy Commissioner of Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

"Lockdown continues, please remain indoors.Tomorrow will be as it was till today. We Understand your situation and appreciate your cooperation," tweeted Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, Bhaskar Rao.

In Karnataka, 384 people have detected positive for COVID-19, of which 14 people have succumbed to the infection, as per the Union Health Ministry.

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News Network
March 8,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 8: The economic slowdown in the country had a cascading effect on Karnataka, as its growth rate for outgoing fiscal 2019-20 is projected to be 6.8 per cent against 7.8 per cent in the last fiscal (2018-19), a senior official said on Saturday.

"The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated to be 1 per cent less at 6.8 per cent for this fiscal from 7.8 per cent in the last fiscal due to slowdown in manufacturing (industry) and services sectors," an official of the state finance department told media.

Though the agriculture sector has revived from 1.6 per dent in the drought-hit last fiscal (2018-19) to register 3.9 per cent this fiscal, growth rates of industries and services will be 4.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent for 2019-20 against 5.6 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively in 2018-19.

"The GSDP is projected to grow at 6.3 per cent in the ensuing fiscal of 2020-21 due to continued slowdown in the national economy," the official hinted.

According to the state's economic survey for 2019-20, the farm sector grew more than double to 3.9 per cent from 1.6 per cent a year ago due to increase in the production of foodgrains, dairy products and fish catch.

Foodgrain production across the state rose to 136 lakh tonnes from 128 lakh tonnes a year ago, the survey revealed.

"In line with the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate decline, Karnataka's GSDP has declined from a high of 13.3 per cent in 2016-17 to a low of 6.8 per cent in 2019-20.

"The GSDP has declined from a double-digit growth of 10.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 7.8 per cent in 2018-19 and 6.8 per cent in 2019-20," the survey pointed out.

The survey has adopted the all-India growth rate for the services sector growth in the state, which reflects the impact of slowdown in the key sector.

At current prices, the southern state's GSDP is expected to be Rs 16,99,115 crore (budget estimates) with a 10 per cent growth rate in the next fiscal (2020-21).

"Real estate, professional services and ownership of dwellings contributed 35.31 per cent to the GSDP in 2019-20, followed by manufacturing with 15.32 per cent, trade and repair services 9.51 per cent and crops 7.44 per cent," said the survey findings.

Per capital income in the state at current prices is estimated to be Rs 2,31,246 in 2019-20, an increase of 8.8 per cent from Rs 2,12,477 in 2018-19.

"The per capita income in the state is 58.4 per cent more than that of all-India rate at Rs 1,35,050 in this fiscal," the survey added.

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