Guj Congress dispatches 44 MLAs to Karnataka to avert poaching attempts

News Network
July 29, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 29: With three more of its MLAs resigning from the Gujarat assembly, and threat of more desertions looming large, a rattled Congress dispatched a plane-load of its MLAs to party-ruled Karnataka, to fend off more poaching attempts.Guj

Sources in Bengaluru said that 46 party MLAs landed at Kempegowda airport late on Friday evening and were spirited to a nearby resort by Karnataka minister D K Shiva Kumar who has handled similar situations for Congress in the past.

Party circles in Ahmedabad, however, put the number of MLAs ensconced in the Karnataka capital at 40.

The panic response was triggered by the resignations of three more party MLAs, taking the number of MLAs who have quit the party in the last 24 hours to six.

Sources said that more MLAs had seemed set to resign, setting off alarm bells and leading the party managers to herd them to Bengaluru. Sources said they will return to Gandhinagar only on the eve of polling on August 8. Sources indicated that senior MLAs like Shaktisinh Gohil and Shailesh Parmar stayed put in Ahmedabad.

The three who resigned on Friday are Chhanabhai Choudhary, Mansinh Chauhan and Ramsinh Parmar. Parmar is the chairman of Amul Dairy

Congress strength in Gujarat House drops from 57 to 51

Sources in Ahmedabad said that the three MLAs had planned to resign on Saturday, and more resignations would have followed, the daily routine of desertions jeopardising the chances of party nominee Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, in the Rajya Sabha polls.

The battle had assumed importance because of Patel's proximity to the Congress chief and because a setback for him in the RS polls may not augur well for the morale of the party when it is heading for assembly elections due by year-end.

The party had 57 MLAs in the 182-man assembly till the exodus began on Thursday. A spate of resignations has reduced the strength to 51.

The mobile phones of at least a dozen party MLAs were switched off and attempts by the leadership to get in touch with them proved futile, leading the party managers to pen the stock.

If all the 182 MLAs (BJP has 121) were to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections, any candidate getting 46 votes stands to win. However, with the spate of resignations, this magical figure is likely to come down, creating an opening for BJP to bag the third seat too.

The party, after ensuring that the required number of votes are cast in favour of Amit Shah and Smriti Irani, can transfer surplus votes to its third nominee, Congress rebel Balwantsinh Rajput, besides giving him second-preference votes in ballots which are cast in favour of Shah and Irani.

Congress's hopes of the support of two NCP MLAs remain intact, but the lone JD (U) MLA, Chhotu Vasava, looks doubtful, given the sudden development in Bihar.

Jitters in Congress over the threat of defections led it to attack BJP in Parliament and outside. The Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar as Congress MPs forced repeated adjournments of the House alleging that the Gujarat police had "abducted" an MLA in the state.

The House was adjourned four times in the morning session as Congress members trooped into the well, raising anti-government slogans and charging the BJP with "stealing" MLAs to help its candidates bag berths in the Upper House.

Crying foul, Congress leaders in Ahmedabad alleged that bribes of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore were being offered to each MLA to cross over.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 12: Chief Justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde on Saturday hinted at the possibility of Artificial Intelligence being developed for the court system while making it clear that it will never replace human discretion.

Speaking at an event here, Bobde said, "We have a possibility of developing Artificial Intelligence for the court system. Only for the purpose of ensuring that the undue delay in justice is prevented."

"I must make it clear at the outset as there are times when even judges have asked this. AI is not going to replace human judges or human discretion", he added.

Sharing more details of his vision, he stated, "It is only the repetitive, mathematical and mechanical parts of the judgments for which help can be taken from the system...we are exploring the possibility of implementing it."

Bobde stressed on the requirement of developing AI for judiciary while outlining the number of pending cases in different courts.

"Some people are in jail for 10-15 years and we are not in position to deal with their appeals. The high court's and Supreme Court take so long and ultimately the courts feel that it is just to release them on bail", he said.

Bobde also endorsed employing every talent and skill to ensure delivery of justice in a reasonable time.

"We must employ every talent, every skill we possess to ensure that justice is received within reasonable time. Delay in justice can't be a reason for anybody to take law into their hands. But it's very important for us as courts to ensure there's no undue delay in justice", he said.

CJI Bobde also highlighted the need for pre-litigation mediation and said, "Pre-litigation mediation is the need of the hour especially in the backdrop of a significant pendency that the courts are tackling with. There are innumerable areas where pre-litigation mediation could solve the problem."

He also stressed that the position of a judge is very unique under the constitution and they have to deal with a variety of problems.

"The foundation of civilisation rests on the law. Judicial officers have to deal with a variety of problems...Judges without adequate knowledge, skills and experience may cause distortion, delay and miscarriage of justice", he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Justice of India Bobde inaugurated the phase-1 of the new building of the Karnataka Judicial Academy on Crescent Road in Bengaluru.

The new building has three floors, besides, the ground floor and two basement floors.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 18,2020

Bengaluru, May 18: Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa today announced lockdown relaxations from tomorrow (May 19) across the state. As per new guidelines public transport services will start operations outside COVID-19 containment zones in the state. 

 “To facilitate easy movements of citizens, services of the BMTC, KSRTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC will start from Tuesday morning, except in containment zones. Even private buses can ply,” Yediyurappa said, after discussing the Centre's Lockdown 4.0 guidelines with his Cabinet colleagues and officials. 

“The only condition is that only 30 people should travel in one bus so as to ensure social distancing,” the CM said. 

He also clarified that bus fares will not be hiked. “I know there will be losses incurred. The government will bear the losses,” he said. 

Auto rickshaws, taxis and maxi cabs (six-passenger vehicles) will also be allowed to operate. “Auto rickshaws and taxis will have a driver and two passengers. Maxi cabs will have a driver and three passengers,” Yediyurappa said. 

All parks in the state will be open 7 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 7 pm. 

Starting Tuesday, all shops except malls and theatres can open. “This includes salons,” the CM said. 

All relaxation will cease to exist every Sunday, the CM said. “Every Sunday will be a complete lockdown. There’ll be no shops and the movement of people. It’ll be a complete rest day,” he said. 

The existing curfew from 7 pm to 7 am will continue on all days, which means public transport services will not be allowed during this time. 

Trains will run within the state, but interstate trains will not be allowed till May 31, the CM said. 

It is mandatory for citizens to wear masks in public. “Not wearing a mask will be penalised,” Yediyurappa said. 

On the classification of zones, Yediyurappa said the government's main focus was containment zones. “We're particular about containment zones. In the Karwar district, for example, Bhatkal will be a containment zone and no other taluk will have restrictions,” he said. 

However, the government will review the relaxation based on how things pan out. “States have been given the freedom, so we can withdraw or modify as necessary,” he said.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 30: The Karnataka government on Thursday decided to allow migrant workers, tourists, students and others stranded in different parts of the state due to the ongoing lockdown to return to their native places, a day after the Centre issued guidelines for the process.

This will be a one-time movement and the government would arrange buses for those in need but they should bear the expenses, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said. He also said people willing to return to the state would have to undergo tests for COVID-19. The decision was taken at the state cabinet meet and it might come into effect from Friday as the Chief Secretary will have to issue an official order, he said.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken decision on movement of people and the Centre had issued a circular in this regard. Following this we have decided to permit interstate and inter-district movement," he told reporters here.

Travel expenses should be borne by those willing to return and if they want the government can provide buses from the state transport corporations. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued orders allowing migrant workers, tourists, students and other people stranded in different parts of the country to move to their respective destinations with certain conditions, giving a big relief to the distressed people. Decision on opening of salons and liquor shops will be taken after May 3, he said.

Madhuswamy said permission would be given for one-time movement of labourers and others who want to go from one district to other for work or any other purpose. Those operating industry or establishment and want to move from place to place for management purpose will be given passes with strict scrutiny and through checks.

Responding to a question, the minister said, "we don't know yet how many are willing to go, where they will go, if some one asks for permission, we will permit." "One family or two or three people want to go, they can use taxi. If too many people want to go, we will provide facility through transport corporation buses," he said.

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