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Furore in Rajya Sabha over AK Hegde’s remarks against constitution, secularism

Agencies
December 27, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 27: A united Opposition on Wednesday disrupted proceedings in the Rajya Sabha protesting against controversial comments reportedly made by Union Minister Anant kumar Hegde on changing the Constitution and secularism.

Congress, SP and BSP members trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans seeking Hegde's removal and forcing Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the proceedings till 12 pm.

The trouble started during the laying of the official papers on the table of the House as opposition members shouted "shame, shame" when Hegde, who is Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, rose to lay the papers listed against his name.

Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad sought a clarification from the mnister as he could leave the House soon after laying papers.

True to this, Hegde sat in the House for a while listening to Opposition protests against his controversial statement that the BJP would change the Constitution by excluding secularism from the preamble. Soon thereafter, he left the House.

Azad asked if a minister does not believe in the Constitution, does he has a right to remain as a minister.

"A minister who has no faith in the Constitution has no right to be a minister. He has no right to be a Member of Parliament," he said.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of the TMC said secularism is inscribed in the preamble of the Constitution and asked if a minister is allowed to denounce the same preamble in public.

Naresh Agarwal of the SP said the Constitution is the Ramayana and Gita of democracy and any minister who abuses it and its founder Baba Saheb Ambedkar should be removed.

At this, Naidu interjected to ask members to refrain from bringing Babasaheb Ambedkar into the controversy.

But the Opposition members remained unrelenting and trooped into the Well raising slogans.

Naidu asked members not to raise slogans and ordered that nothing they were saying would go on record.

He then allowed Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and Republican Party of India founder Ramdas Athawale to speak.

Athawale praised the prime minister for honouring the memory of Ambedkar with a fitting memorial and said it was Congress which had insulted Ambedkar.

"Don't create a ruckus. You are going to be defeated in general elections in 2019 and 2024," Athawale told the Opposition.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy claimed Ambedkar did not include the word secularism in the Constitution.

Naidu tried to restore order but all his efforts went in vain. "How much should I tolerate. This is not acceptable. This is not done," he said as slogan shouting continued unabated.

As Opposition members continued their noisy protest and demanded a discussion on the issue, Naidu said no discussion can take place without a proper notice.

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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
February 19,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 19: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Karnataka High Court, seeking a stay on Anand Singh functioning as Minister of Forests, Environment and Ecology contending that there are criminal cases filed against him by the Ministry.

"A stay be granted prohibiting Anand Singh from functioning as the Cabinet Minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology. Any other order that the Honourable Court may deem fit in the interest of justice and equity," the PIL prays.

The petition, filed by advocate Vijay Kumar, said that the Chief Minister has allocated the portfolio of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology to Singh without considering the fact that there are several criminal faces filed against him by the Ministry.

It said that the allocation of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology portfolio to Singh is in the conflict of interest.

"The holding of the post of Cabinet minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology is against public interest and completely in conflict of interest as he has business for which the subject Ministry is the overseeing authority and further he will also have access to the case files which again is in conflict of interest," the PIL said.

PIL adds that "it is pertinent and absolutely necessary" to deny the incumbent from accessing files related to his cases and from taking any decisions which may provide him with pecuniary benefits through his businesses.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 28: A CRPF jawan has been arrested in Karnataka for allegedly defying the COVID-19 lockdown norms with the paramilitary force taking strong exception to his 'ill treatment', following which an inquiry has been ordered by the state police.

State DGP Praveen Sood has ordered inquiry into the incident, which has triggered a row after a video of it went viral.

In the clip, some police constables are purportedly seen hitting CRPF soldier Sachin Sawant with sticks in Belagavi.

According to the information shared on social media, Sawant was washing his bike when a police team reached the spot and started beating him up for not wearing a mask during the lockdown.

Taking a serious view of the 'ill-treatment' meted out to its Cobra Commando, the CRPF has written a letter to the Karnataka police demanding an investigation into the matter.

In a letter to the DGP of Karnataka, the additional Director general of police of CRPF Sanjay Arora said Sawant was cleaning his bike when a skirmish happened between him and the police over not wearing the mask.

Arora wrote, "Sawant was manhandled and ill-treated, before his family members and paraded to the police station barefoot, where he was kept in chains and handcuff.

From the scrutiny of a viral video on social media, it is apparent that the conduct of police personnel was not citizen centric."

The CRPF ADGP also said the 'unpleasant' situation could have been avoided if the Karnataka police had taken CRPF hierarchy into confidence before making the arrest.

In response, Sood ordered an inquiry into the matter.

He tweeted that IGP Belagavi has been asked to conduct a probe into the incident involving CRPF constable. Action will be taken against guilty after receipt of report, he said.

According to sources, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has directed the state police chief to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.

Denouncing the arrest, Karnataka Irrigation Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has sought the release of the CRPF jawan.

"It was wrong on the part of the constables to ill treat CRPF jawan and an inquiry be conducted against the erring policemen," said jarkiholi in a press release.

However, Superintendent of Police of Belagavi district, Laxman Nimbargi defended the arrest of Sawant.

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