Hate speech: Non-Bailable Warrant against Nalin Kumar Kateel

Bengaluru, Apr 27: Janata Dal-Secular leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday said that the government should work towards lowering the cost of living as the spending power of the consumer has weakened, and it should impose COVID cess on the ultra-rich.

"The economy won't bounce back within a very short period. It is important to lower the cost of living as the spending power of the consumer has depleted. The government must cut the petrol/diesel prices. The loss of revenue may be offset partially by imposing COVID cess on the ultra-rich," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

"According to RBI and international economic assessment agencies, the GDP growth rate of the country is expected to fall to a historic low. Such a dire situation calls for citizen-centric measures like full or partial waivers of EMIs, rents, school fees, and other levies," he added.

Kumaraswamy further said that the government must announce schemes to save the livelihoods of people, especially those in the unorganised sector.

"It is high time the government announced schemes to save livelihoods of people, especially those in the unorganised sector. The government must provide immediate relief to farmers, construction workers, cab and auto drivers, garment workers, etc," the former Karnataka CM tweeted.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had said on April 23 that India's economic growth is likely to hover between zero and 1.5 per cent in the current financial year as the extended COVID-19 lockdown slows down activity across most sectors.

India is under a nation-wide lockdown which was imposed on March 25 and later extended on April 14 to May 3 to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Mangalore, Jan 21: Former city councillor and social activists Naveenchandra and social activist Vidya Dinker have been invited to participate in two-day National Level Consultation on Urban Governance which will take place on January 22 and 23 at Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Urban governance stakeholders of 20 states and one union territory will be participating in this national level consultative seminar. The participants will include elected representatives, NGO representatives and urban planning experts. The seminar is being organised by Mumbai based Prajna Foundation, which has undertaken an in-depth study of the governance of the 20 states and one union territories.

Having served several terms as a corporator of Mangaluru City Corporation, Naveenchandra is knowledgeable in matters relating to urban governance. He is very popular in his constituency. Vidya Dinker is a well known city based social activist. She is the Coordinator, Citizens Forum for Mangalore Development.

Lucknow, Feb 4: Even as anti-NRC protests continue to rage across the country, the Lucknow University has queered the pitch by demanding citizenship proof from RTI applicants.

The Lucknow University (LU) refused to provide the information sought by the people who filed the Right to Information (RTI) unless they furnished the proof that they were Indian citizens.

Alok Chantia, one of the RTI applicants who was refused information by the varsity, said that he had lodged a complaint with the vice-chancellor of the varsity but even then he could not get the desired information.

"It is shocking how the university has twisted the RTI law as per its whims and fancy. It does not have any authority to do so," said the RTI applicant.

Chantia, also a faculty member at a degree college here, had sought details of appointment of teachers for self-financed courses and their pay scale.

"It is possible that some applicants who may not be familiar with the provisions of the RTI, may have furnished proof of their citizenship to the varsity to get the information but that cannot become a rule," he pointed out.

When contacted, university officials admitted that such a practice had been going on in the varsity for the past few years.

"This practice started during the tenure of the former vice-chancellor S.P. Singh and still continues," said a senior varsity official.