Hate speech: Police book suo-motu cases against Muthalik, other Hindutva leaders

Bengaluru, Jan 15: The on-going process to select a new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president is likely to drag on for few more days with former CM and opposition leader Siddaramaiah making a strong pitch for former minister MB Patil over DK Shivakumar for the post.

Siddaramaiah, who met AICC president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday, reportedly argued in favour of Patil, saying his elevation would help the party win Lingayats to the fold.

“Yediyurappa, the undisputed leader of the Lingayat community, is almost at the end of his career and it is an opportunity for the Congress to gain the confidence of the community. Being a leader from North Karnataka, Patil fits the bill perfectly,” Siddaramaiah reportedly told Sonia.

Siddaramaiah is said to be backing Patil over Shivakumar as he is worried about losing his hold over the state unit, given Shivakumar’s popularity. While Sonia did give the former CM a patient hearing, she is said to have told him that he should obey and cooperate with whatever decision high command takes.

The high command is looking to evolve consensus on the new state president. “Sonia’s meeting with Siddaramaiah is part of this exercise. She wants to keep everybody in the loop,” said a functionary.

Siddaramaiah also met senior leaders Ahmed Patel and AK Anthony. He is expected to meet former AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

However, some including Mallikarjun Kharge and Shamanur Shivashankarappa have expressed reservations against Patil’s elevation, pointing to his role in the controversial separate Lingayat religion issue which dented the Congress’ prospects in the 2018 assembly polls.

“He has a very bad name among Lingayats and making him president would prove counter-productive. Moreover, it is difficult to win back Lingayats as long as Yediyurappa is active in politics,” said a senior Congress leader.

Another functionary said a majority of state functionaries — and even some in the high command — favour Shivakumar as he is not only “resourceful”, but also has momentum. “With HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy losing popularity among Vokkaligas, the possibility of the community backing Shivakumar is high. This may land him the top job,” the functionary said.

Mangaluru/Udupi, Jul 25: Karnataka’s twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi recorded 400 new covid-19 cases and nine fatalities in past 24 hours. While DK’s death toll mounted to 115, Udupi’s toll mounted to 15.

Dakshina Kannada

Dakshina Kannada alone recorded 218 new covid cases and eight deaths. The total number of positive cases mounted to 4,612. Out of these, 2,370 cases are currently active. As many as 2,127 persons have recovered and been discharged.

Of the 218 who tested positive on Saturday, 46 are primary contacts, 87 have ILI symptoms, 15 have SARI symptoms, and contacts of 70 are being traced.

Among the eight deaths that occurred on Saturday, the first is of a 44-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to private hospital on July 23, and breathed his last on same day. He was suffering from sepsis with septic shock and viral infection. 

The second is 78-year-old man from Bhatkal. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 18, and passed away July 23. He suffered from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and secondary bacterial infection. 

The third is an 88-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 10, and passed away on July 23. He suffered from hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and renal failure. 

The fourth is a 68-year-old man from Bantwal. He was admitted to a private hospital on June 7, and passed away on July 23. He suffered from septic shock. 

The fifth is a 68-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 17, and passed away on July 23. He was suffering from ARDS and Acute coronary event. 

The sixth is a 75-year-old man from Mangaluru. She was admitted to private hospital on July 14 and passed away on July 24. He was suffering from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and respiratory distress. 

The seventh is a 76-year-old female from Mangaluru. She was admitted to private hospital on July 21 and passed away on July 24. She was suffering from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS, viral pneumonia, T2 DM and hypertension. 

The eighth is a 53-year-old female. She was admitted to private hospital on July 24 and passed away on July 24. She was suffering from sepsis with multi-organ dysfunction, cardiogenic shock, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and diabetic foot on right side LRTI.

Udupi

Udupi recorded 182 new covid cases in past 24 hours and the total reached 3,218. As many as 2,008 patients have been discharged so far including 79 on Saturday, and 1,199 cases are currently active. 

Among the new cases, 96 are in Udupi, 37 in Kundapur, and 49 in Karkala. They include 109 men and 68 women, and two boys and three girls. As many as 539 are under home isolation.

As many as 15 covid related deaths have occurred in the district so far including the one on Saturday. 

45-year-old man from Kollur was admitted to KMC Hospital, Manipal, as he was suffering from lung cancer. He was tested positive for coronavirus and then shifted to covid-19 hospital, where he breathed his last.

New Delhi, Jun 9: Elections to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council will be held on June 29, the poll panel announced on Tuesday.

The seven seats are falling vacant on June 30, according to an Election Commission statement.

Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will vote on June 29 to elect the seven new MLCs.

The Commission has directed the Karnataka chief secretary to depute a senior officer to ensure that the  instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with during the elections.

The counting of votes will be held on the evening of June 29 after completion of polls, as per practice.

The notification for the elections will be issued on June 11, the statement said.

MLCs are usually elected by four types of electors -- MLAs, Graduates, Teachers and members of local authorities.

On Monday, the Commission had deferred elections to four seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council -- two each from Teachers and Graduate constituencies -- falling vacant on June 30 due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

"If MLAs are electors, the size of the electorate is small and the assembly building is the only polling station. When the electorate is teachers or graduates, the number of those who can vote is higher.

Due to the virus, Commission only allowed polls to seats where MLAs are the electors to prevent large gatherings," explained a senior EC functionary.