'Gau rakshaks' are victims not tyrants, says VHP

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.

Lucknow, Feb 24: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Monday accepted the five acres of land provided for construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.

The Board also decided to form a trust to oversee the construction of the mosque.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Board's Chairman Zufar Faruqui.

Apart from this, the trust will also construct a charitable hospital, public library and a centre showcasing the heritage of Indo-Islamic civilisation which will also serve as a research and study centre for the same, according to a press release by the board.

The appointment of members to the trust will be announced following its creation, the release added.

The Supreme Court had on November 9 last year directed the Central government to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same.

The apex court had further directed the government to allocate an alternative five acres of land at a prominent location in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque to the Sunni Waqf Board.

Mangaluru, June 21: A gang of miscreants intercepted a goods auto-rickshaw which was legally transporting beef from an abattoir to market and attacked its driver in heart of the city this morning. 

The attack comes exactly a week after a gang of Bajrang Dal miscreants thrashed a cattle trader at Urwa while legally transporting four buffalos to Kudroli abattoir on June 13.

Today, a person identified as Abdul Rasheed was transporting around 200 kilograms of beef from Kudroli abattoir to Kankanady market.

Meanwhile, miscreants began to chase beef laden vehicle and managed to waylay it near Highland Hospital. They thrashed Abdul Rasheed and poured kerosene on the beef besides damaging the vehicle. 

The miscreants fled in their car and motorbikes after passersby began to gather.