Mangaluru: Modi welcome banner puts citizens in danger

Bengaluru, Jul 20: The Karnataka Congress on Monday slammed the State government's decision to distribute beds used by COVID-19 patients to Government-run hostels and called it as a "ridiculous" decision.

"It's ridiculous that the Govt plans to distribute beds used by COVID patients to Govt run hostels," read a tweet from the Karnataka Congress president DK Shivkumar.

He further said that the Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa should give these beds to his ministers, MLAs and officials.

He further went on to urge parents and students to speak "against this move" by the State government.

"Let CM @BSYBJP give these beds to his Ministers, MLAs & Officials! We are launching a movement against this Govt & appeal to parents, students & youths to speak against this move," Shivkumar's tweet read further.

Along with the tweet he also shared a video as well.

Karnataka reported 3,648 COVID-19 cases and 72 deaths on Monday, taking active cases to 42,216 and death toll to 1,403. Bengaluru recorded the highest number of cases and deaths today at 1,452 & 31, respectively, said the State Health Department.

New Delhi, Feb 6: BJP MP Tejaswi Surya said on Wednesday that the majority community has to remain vigilant or Mughal rule will return to the country, as he slammed the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh.

He was participating in the debate on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in Lok Sabha.

Referring to the ongoing protest at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act, he said, "Unless majority community remains vigilant, the days of Mughal Raj may not be far away."

Surya also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for resolving several critical issues which had been pending for several decades.

The CAA, he said, was aimed at resolving the issues emanating from Partition and added, "The new India cannot to built without healing the wounds of the past."

He said that the CAA was about giving citizenship to persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangaladesh and Afghanistan and not for taking away anyone's citizenship.

Under the leadership of Modi, Surya said, several issues of the past have seen closure. These include abrogation of Article 370, construction of Ram temple, Bodo problems and abolition of Triple Talaq.

K Sudhakaran (Cong) said that a time when the economy was going through its worst phase and unemployment was high, the President in his speech talked about making India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2024.

On the comments of the government functionaries that fundamentals of the economy are strong, he said the same expression was used by the then US President George Bush, days before the collapse of the America's iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers.

Not only that, Sudhakaran said even before the Great Depression, the then US President used to say that fundamentals of their economy were strong.

Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal) demanded that the government set up All India Judicial Services Commission to ensure representation of the backward community in the judiciary.

Khagen Murmu (BJP) regretted that West Bengal government was not implementing the welfare schemes of the Centre in the state.

Badruddin Ajmal (AIUDF) said that people of all communities have fought for freedom of the country and it would be incorrect to declare everyone opposing the government's policies as 'gaddar' (traitor).

He said that the government should talk to people protesting against the CAA at Shaheen Bagh and other places, and explain the provisions to them.

Shrirang Appa Barne (Shiv Sena) demanded that the ruling party fulfil all promises it had made to the people of the country.

He regretted that although the government promised to double the income of farmers by 2022, farmers were still committing suicide.

Bengaluru, Feb 6: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inducted 10 BJP MLAs to his Cabinet here on Thursday. They are among the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs who defected last year.

The much-delayed expansion came almost two-months after the MLAs won the bypolls held in December. During the period, the defectors camp exerted pressure on Yediyurappa to expand the Cabinet and include all the MLAs who contested the bypolls.

The new ministers sworn in are S T Somashekar, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Byrati Basavaraj, K Gopalaiah, B C Patil, Dr K Sudhakar, Shivaram Hebbar, Anand Singh, Narayana Gowda and Shrimanth Patil.

One of the 11 MLAs from the defectors camp, Mahesh Kumathalli was not inducted as he hailed from the same constituency as Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi. Three others, MTB Nagaraj, H Vishwanath and R Shankar are likely to be inducted in June.

Governor Vajubhai Bala administered oaths to the new ministers at Raj Bhavan, where hundreds of supporters came to witness the event. Authorities had also beefed up security arrangements outside Raj Bhavan for the ceremony.

Earlier, Yediyurappa was to induct 10 newly-elected MLAs and three old-timer BJP MLAs. But on Wednesday evening, the BJP's central leadership stepped in to decide that only 10 newly-elected MLAs should be inducted after disgruntlement surfaced among BJP MLAs over former minister C P Yogeeshwar's induction.

Several MLAs led by chief minister's political secretary MP Renukacharya had raised a hue and cry over allotting berths to those who lost Assembly polls. A group of 13 to 15 MLAs had also demanded adequate representation to Kalyana Karnataka region, alleging that the new Cabinet had excess representation from few districts of Karnataka, such as Bengaluru Urban and Belagavi.