I am being punished for speaking the truth: Roshan Baig on suspension

Agencies
June 21, 2019

Bengaluru, Jun 21: Reaffirming his loyalty to party president Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Congress legislator Roshan Baig on Thursday said he was suspended from the party for speaking the truth on the party's dismal show in the recent Lok Sabha elections due to the failure of the party's state leadership.

"As a loyal and dedicated member of the party, I spoke the truth on why the Congress won only one parliamentary seat and lost in 20 seats it contested in alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). I will explain my views to the leadership soon," Baig told IANS here.

The party's state unit, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on Wednesday suspended Baig after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) approved its recommendation for action against him on the basis of an enquiry into his anti-party activities.

"Blaming the party's state leadership, especially Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, cannot be termed anti-party when they were responsible for the party's rout in the general election," said Baig.

Baig, 67, a former Congress minister, is an eight-time legislator from the Shivajinagar Assembly segment in the heart of Bengaluru. Upset by Baig's open criticism of the party's state leadership, the KPCC on May 21 served notice on him, seeking explanation for his attack on AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, Siddaramaiah and Rao for the party's worst performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the southern state.

"Pointing out that the party fared badly in the assembly segments (Badami and Gandhinagar) of the parliamentary seats (Bagalkot and Bangalore Central), represented by Siddaramaiah and Rao, cannot be construed as anti-party activity when the party took lead in my assembly seat (Shivajinagar). I was only stating the facts," reiterated Baig.

The JD-S also won only one seat though it contested in 7, while the BJP bagged 25 of the 27 seats it contested and supported an Independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh) who wrested the Mandya seat from the JD-S.

Commenting on the May 19 exit polls on May 20, that projected Congress performing poorly in the general elections, Baig lashed out at Venugopal, Siddaramaiah and Rao.

"Venugopal is a buffoon. What does he know about the party in our state as he is from Kerala? Due to Siddaramaiah's arrogance, the party lost in the May 2018 Assembly elections and Rao's immaturity is responsible for the dismal state of affairs currently," Baig told reporters at his residence here.

Baig also blamed party leaders in Mandya for the defeat of the allies' joint candidate Nikhil as they openly campaigned for Sumalatha and ensured her victory.

"Why was no action taken against the party leaders in Mandya who campaigned for an Independent (Sumalatha), supported by the BJP? Is it not an anti-party activity?" asked Baig. Nikhil is the son of state Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

Similarly, no action was taken against party leaders like former MLA Rajanna in Tumkur where JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda lost as a joint candidate, as they did not actively campaign for him.

"No notice or explanation was sought from the party leaders in Tumkur by the KPCC. Why target me only for speaking the truth?" asked Baig. Congress retained Bangalore Rural seat and JD-S Hassan seat.

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News Network
January 3,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called on young scientists of India to "Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper," and said these four steps would lead our country towards faster development. The Prime Minister also stressed on the need to transform the landscape of Indian science, technology and innovation.

"The growth story of India depends on its success in the science and technology sector. There is a need to transform the landscape of Indian science, technology and innovation," Modi said.

Speaking after inaugurating the 107th Session of Indian Science Congress, he said, "My motto for the young scientists in this country is -Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper. These four steps will lead our country towards faster development."

"If we innovate we will patent and that in turn will make our production smoother and when we take these products to the people of our country, I'm sure they will prosper," he said, adding that innovation for the people and by the people is the direction of our new India. The Prime Minister also said he was happy to learn that India's ranking has improved in the Global Innovation Index to 52.

"Our programmes have created more technology business incubators in the last five years than in the previous 50 years. I congratulate our scientists for this achievement," he added.

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News Network
April 4,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 4: The mother and grandmother of the 10-month-old baby boy, under treatment at a private hospital in Deralakatte here for COVID-19 infection, tested negative.

Doctors at the hospital said the condition of the infant, who was admitted with an acute respiratory infection, was stable and there had been a good response to the treatment being given in isolation.

The child, hailing from Sajipanadu Village in Bantwal Taluk was admitted to a hospital at Deralakatte in Mangaluru for treatment on March 23 as it had developed respiratory problems. 

On March 24, the child’s condition worsened and hence his throat swabs was sent for COVID-19 testing. On March 27, reports of the tests confirmed that the child was infected with COVID-19.

Health authorities are of the view that the baby might have contracted the disease when the family travelled recently to Kasaragod in Kerala, a district identified as a hotspot for Coronavirus.

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News Network
April 18,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 18: Virtually defending the Gowda family for conducting a marriage reportedly defying lockdown restrictions, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said it was performed in a simple manner and well within their limits, "for which they are to be congratulated."

"All the necessary permissions were given and the marriage was performed in a simple manner. There is no need to discuss about it. They had done it well within their limits for which I congratulate them," Yediyurappa said to a query from reporters during the post-COVID-19 briefing.

Scores of people had thronged a farmhouse on Friday to get a glimpse of the wedding of former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda's grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy, ignoring appeals not to visit the venue in view of the ongoing lockdown to check the COVID-19 outbreak. Nikhil, son of former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, tied the nuptial knot with Revathi, the grand-niece of former Karnataka housing minister M Krishnappa.

The marriage was solemnised at Kumaraswamy's Kethaganahalli farmhouse at Bidadi in the neighbouring Ramanagara district, a JD(S) stronghold. Kumaraswamy had taken to Twitter after the marriage, thanking his party MLAs, leaders and workers for staying away from the event and blessing his son from their houses. In a series of tweets, he had said social distancing was maintained and all precautionary measures were taken throughout the event.

BJP had hit out at the JD(S) first family for flouting the norms, alleging that at least 150 to 200 vehicles were given permission to attend the event, that too at at time when social workers wanting to serve the badly affected poor people were not being allowed to ply any form of transport JD(S) leader N H Konareddi and MLC T A Sharavanna had denied the charges, saying the union government guidelines had been followed and that social distancing was maintained.

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