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Larger opinion getting shaped against Modi govt for ignoring flood survivors: Deve Gowda

Agencies
October 4, 2019

Bengaluru, Oct 4: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Friday said JD(S) will corner the BJP government both inside and outside the assembly over flood relief and "delay" in securing funds from the centre.

The JD(S) patriarch claimed a larger opinion was getting shaped against the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, with even staunch BJP and RSS supporters expressing strong displeasure over its "conduct" and "inaction" on the part of party MPs from the state, over the delay in central relief.

Pointing out that he has come through struggle in his long political career, he said JD(S) would take out a padayatra on the flood relief issue here on October 10, in which party leaders, including himself and former MLAs, zilla and panchayat members, would take part.

"It will be a peaceful protest," he told reporters. Gowda said party MLAs and Kumaraswamy would raise the issue in the assembly.

"We don't have any problem in passing of any bills (budget related), but issues should be discussed." BJP governments at the Centre and the state have been facing flak from Congress and JD(S) over "delay" in grant of central funds, despite Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and the Inter-ministerial central team visiting the affected regions.

The Opposition has accused the Modi government of showing "apathy" towards Karnataka, despite the state sending 25 BJP MPs to the Lok Sabha. Gowda said expectations that the union cabinet meeting on Thursday would result in some announcement for the flood ravaged state had proved in vain.

He said the discontentment has reached such a level that some staunch RSS and BJP supporters themselves have charged their party MPs from the state of not doing their duty. "Is there anything more for me to say?" he asked.

Gowda claimed that the general opinion of the people and even in the media was that the Central government was not cooperating with the state.

Citing media reports that the Centre has sent back a report on flood and rain related damage, stating that it was not proper, Gowda said this has happened for the first time. "If the report was not okay, at least the interim relief should have been announced...what is the trouble in that?" Karnataka has sent a flood damage estimate of Rs 35,160.81 crore to the centre and is awaiting the relief.

As many as 103 taluks in 22 districts were affected due to floods in August, in which over 80 people were killed. Around seven lakh people were shifted to safe areas and thousands of houses were damaged. Gowda also made it clear that he would not meet the Prime Minister over release of central funds for flood relief as he has not received any reply to earlier letters, seeking Rs 5,000 crore as immediate relief.

"Parliament session is coming up in November... I will write another detailed letter, seeking funds...I too know the financial situation is not fine...but people in distress need help," he added. Pointing out that most states, from Bihar to Kerala, have been affected by floods, Gowda regretted that Modi has not carried out an aerial survey.

"PM is busy, I can understand. I don't want to speak on the Prime Minister's visit to foreign countries and his visits to poll-bound states... but most parts of the country are affected," he said.

Gowda pointed out that the Modi government came to power with a huge mandate and with a lot of support from the youth.

"But what happened? Were jobs generated? HAL employees are protesting, BSNL situation is also bad... "I think they (BJP central leaders) think that whatever they do, people are with them. Opposition parties are also not strong," he said, adding people of this country were mature and would teach them a lesson "at the right time."

Pointing out that the three-day assembly session has been convenedfrom October 10 for budget related business, he asked why the government was not extending it to discuss various issues.

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News Network
August 4,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 4: Police barricades, yellow banners, walls with a fresh coat of paint and the sounds of bhajan mark parts of Ayodhya as the city awaits its big day Wednesday, when the first brick will be laid for the Ram temple.

Ayodhya is decked up for the bhoomi pujan that will be attended at the Ram Janmabhoomi by 175 people, who figure in a select guest list of seers and politicians topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Concerned over the spread of coronavirus, the authorities are encouraging others not to come to the temple town, asking them to mark the occasion by celebrating at their homes. The groundbreaking ceremony will be telecast live.

Roads leading to Ayodhya display hoardings with the picture of the proposed Ram temple and of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, the deity now housed in a makeshift temple.

Around the town’s Hanumangarhi area – named after a well-known temple which Modi will visit on Wednesday – both police sirens and ‘bhajans’ in praise of Ram are heard.

Most of the shops in the locality wear a new look, with their fronts painted in bright yellow. A large number of policemen were deployed there on Tuesday. Some sat in the sweet shops, waiting for their next instructions.

Roads leading into the area are barricaded. Yards of yellow cloth and marigold garlands were being hung on poles.

Even on the day before the event, security checks on vehicles heading to Ayodhya begin from adjoining Barabanki district itself on the Lucknow-Ayodhya road. Policemen take down details, including mobile numbers of the travellers.

Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said the focus of the force is on maintaining the Covid-19 protocol.

“So we are not going to allow any outsider to enter Ayodhya city,” he said. Prohibitory orders are also in force and not more than four people will be allowed to gather.

“The markets and shops will remain open but with strict adherence to the Covid protocol,” he said. Outsiders will be stopped from entering the city, but Ayodhya residents will be allowed in if they produce any identification document.

“We are also carrying out random checks on people living in Ayodhya to ensure that no outsiders are staying here,” he said.

The city’s temples and mosques will remain open, but no other religious event – except for the bhoomi pujan – will take place on Wednesday.

Pickets have been set up at sensitive points in the city.

Sub-inspector Ram Chandra Yadav and constables Avnish Kumar and Ankit Chaudhary man the Terhi Bazar Chauraha picket near the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

"We are here for the past some days, and were on duty on the Rakshabandhan day. Duty comes first and only after that come other things in life, like festivals," Yadav said.

Mayank Gupta, who runs a restaurant, was handing out food packets to policemen, his customers.

"For the last two months, I have been providing tiffin to them twice a day. There are around 100 policemen to whom I supply tiffin," Gupta said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 21,2020

Bengaluru, May 21: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa today slammed Law Minister JC Madhuswamy for yelling at a woman farmer in Kolar, an incident that attracted widespread criticism. 

The incident happened on Wednesday when Madhuswamy, who is also the minor irrigation minister, was inspecting the Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) Valley project, under which Bengaluru’s sewage is treated and pumped into lakes in Kolar. 

During his visit, farmer Nalini Gowda questioned Madhuswamy on the encroachment of the 1,022-acre S Agrahara lake. At one point, Madhuswamy lost his cool and yelled, “Aye! Shut your mouth, rascal,” and asked the police to take her away. Before this, Madhuswamy told her, “Make a request. I’m a very bad man. You can only air your grievance. Don’t command us.” 

A video of this exchange was aired by news channels. 

“What (Madhuswamy) said is not right. I have warned him. None can forgive such an explicit manner of talking with a woman. That, too, behaving like that being a minister doesn’t bode well. I will talk to that woman also and I’ll ensure this doesn’t happen again,” Yediyurappa told reporters.

The incident has come as a shot in the arm to the Opposition Congress, which is already attacking the Yediyurappa administration on the COVID-19 crisis. Condemning Madhuswamy’s behaviour, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah demanded an apology and asked Yediyurappa to sack him from the Cabinet. 

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar said it was unbecoming of Madhuswamy to behave like that being a senior minister. “People will ask us questions and express their problems, naturally. What’s important is how we handle ourselves. Be it a woman or anyone, they come to us because we’re into public service. Calling them ‘rascal’ and things is not right. Maybe there was some irritation, but I agree with (Siddaramaiah) that he should be dropped from the Cabinet,” he said.

On his part, Madhuswamy said he felt intimidated. “If I have hurt the feelings of any woman, I will certainly apologise,” he said. “But citizens should realise, we go to their villages to ask about their problems. If they start abusing us publicly, how can we work? My secretary and I heard her for five minutes and then told her that we know our responsibility. We asked her to close the issue. She didn’t stop and I got tempted (sic),” the minister said.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 28: Historian S. Shettar, 85, breathed his last early on February 28 in Bengaluru. He was suffering from respiratory problems and was hospitalised for over a week.

Shettar was known for his multi-disciplinary work, encompassing linguistics, epigraphy, anthropology, the study of religions and art history. He had extensively worked on the Jain practice of ritual death in Karnataka and Asoka edicts. He had studied and compiled early edicts in Kannada and worked extensively on the growth of Kannada language down the ages.

Born in 1935 at Hampasagara, Ballari district, he went on to study at Cambridge University and started his career as a Professor of History at Karnatak University, Dharwad, his alma mater. He later headed the National Museum Institute of the History of Art, Conservation and Museology in 1978 and Indian Council for Historical Research in 1996. He was also a visiting professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

He was a bilingual historian who wrote in English for most of his career, but started writing in Kannada in later years. In the last two decades, he developed a keen interest in linguistics and wrote multiple books on classical Kannada and Prakrit. His 2007 book “Shangam Tamilagam” is considered a seminal work in the study of the early period of Dravidian languages. It won him Bhasha Samman from Central Sahitya Akademi. He later wrote two works on Halegannada, classical Kannada. His most recent work was “Prakrita Jagadvalaya” in 2018.

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