Muslim parties' foolishness helps BJP in Karnataka, CPIM in Kerala

[email protected] (Ashfaq Ahmed, Riyadh)
May 17, 2014
Mangalore, May 17: The petty politics and foolishness on part of minor parties led by Muslims have once again given adverse results in many Lok Sabha constituencies including Mysore and Bidar in Karnataka and Kasaragod in Kerala.

The political awareness created by Muslim dominant parties like Social Democratic Party of India and Welfare Party of India has proved to be beneficial only for communal forces so far in the region.

sdpiIn Kerala, Popular Front of India and its political arm Social Democratic Party of India always consider the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) as their biggest rival. However, this time PFI and SDPI played a major role in the hat-trick victory of CPIM MP P Karunakaran in Kasaragod constituency.

Congress party's Muslim candidate and former Youth Congress president T Siddique, who secured 3,78,043 votes in Kasaragod was defeated by the CPIM candidate with a slight margin of 6,921 votes.

Had SDPI refrained from fielding its candidate N U Abdul Salam in Kasaragod constituency, a Muslim candidate would have easily defeated Mr Karunakaran. Division of Muslim votes played a crucial role in CPIM's victory.

In Karnataka's prestigious Mysore constituency too SDPI's foolishness and alliance with JD(S) resulted in the thumping victory of BJP candidate Pratap Simha, who had dedicated his journalistic career to promote Moditva and demonize Muslims in Karnataka. Mr. Simha polled 5,03,908 votes against 4,72,300 for Mr. Vishwanath and won by a margin of 31,608 votes. Chandrashekaraiah of the Janata Dal (Secular) polled 1,38,587 votes and finished third. SDPI had openly campaigned for the JD(S) candidate and had given a call to defeat Mr Vishwanath. On the other hand several JD(S) leaders, who were sure about their candidate's defeat had backed BJP candidate to defeat chief minister Siddaramaiah's closest ally.

On the other hand frustration of Muslim organizations in Bidar, where number of Muslim voters exceeds five lakhs, resulted in the victory of BJP candidate and political greenhorn Basvantrao Khuba against former chief minister N Dharam Singh of Congress.

The Karnataka Muslim Muttahida Mahaz (KMMM), an umbrella body of Muslims in Karnataka, had earlier demanded Congress to field a Muslim candidate in Bidar. However, when Congress refused to fulfill their demand many Muslims lost interest in polls. Moreover Welfare Party of India fielded its own candidate. The lack of collective decision among Muslims in Bidar ultimately helped BJP candidate.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 17: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Mayor, M Goutham Kumar on Friday called for an extension of lockdown in the city for one more week due to rise in the COVID-19 cases.

"It will be better if we get more time to tackle COVID-19 cases, we wish for the extension of lockdown for one more week. We have given the proposal to the government," said M Goutham Kumar, BBMP Mayor.

"After the number of cases increased in Bengaluru, BBMP started antigen test in containment and hotspot zones of Bengaluru to tackle the cases which have crossed 2,000 mark," he added.

Along with Mayor, BBMP Commissioner Anil Kumar has also proposed the state government to extend lockdown in Bengaluru for one more week.

"The number of cases in Bengaluru increasing in Bengaluru rapidly. BBMP has inaugurated more than 200 vehicles in Bengaluru for the use of the antigen test," said Anil Kumar, Commissioner BBMP.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 51,422 COVID-19 cases in the state.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 8,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 8: As visuals of the Air India Express flight crash at Kozhikode international airport emerge, one cannot help but be reminded of an eerily similar and unfortunate accident that occurred a decade ago. The August 7, 2020 tragedy brought back memories of the 2010 crash.

It was on May 22, 2010 that an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 flight from Dubai to Mangaluru over shot the runway while landing at Bajpe airport and fell into a cliff. Of the 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board, 158 were killed (all crew members and 152 passengers) and only 8 survived.

Even back then, the plane had split into two. The crash has been termed as one of India's worst aviation disasters.

The final conversations between Air traffic control (ATC) and the pilot prior to the landing showed no indication of any distress.

Like the Mangaluru accident, Karipur crash too happened when the flight was attempting to land.

The captain of the aircraft which crashed at Mangaluru, Z Glucia, was an experienced pilot with 10,000 hours of flying experience and had 19 landings at the Mangalore airport. Co-pilot S S Ahluwalia, with 3,000 hours of flying experience had as many as 66 landings at this airport. Both the pilot and co-pilot were among the victims.

An investigation into the accident later found that the cause of the accident was the captain’s failure to discontinue an ‘unstabilised approach’ and his persistence to continue with the landing, despite three calls from the First Officer to ‘go-around’.

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News Network
February 17,2020

New Delhi, Feb 17: The Congress high command is likely to announce the party’s key troubleshooter in Karnataka, DK Shivakumar as the next state unit president with MB Patil as the working president, according to party leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity, in what could be a delicate balancing act between competing caste claims in the state..

Former CM S Siddaramaiah is likely to continue as the Congress Legislature Party leader, the leaders added.

The KPCC presidentship has been vacant ever since the incumbent Dinesh Gundu Rao resigned following the defeat in the bypolls, in which the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) won 12 of the 15 seats, ensuring a majority for itself in the state assembly.

The state leadership issue became contentious following that, with Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, lobbying to ensure that his role as party’s main go-to man during difficult times be rewarded, the leaders cited above said. Patil, a former home minister and a Lingayat leader, was the favoured choice of Siddaramaiah, they added.

A former minister in the Siddaramiah cabinet told HT on condition of anonymity the appointment was now “just a formality”.

“How long could the current uncertainty continue? Shivakumar is a go-getter who can also help generate funds for the party. For instance, on the Bidar school sedition issue, we were late and started an agitation only after the accused got bail. With Shivakumar at the helm, we will be more aggressive and able to put the BJP government on a mat by highlighting all their omissions and commissions,” the former minister added.

The decision to appoint Shivakumar -- a seven-term MLA who served in the cabinets of former CMs S Bangarappa, SM Krishna, Siddaramiah and HD Kumaraswamy -- is likely to be a controversial one. He faces ongoing income tax and Enforcement Directorate (ED) probes, is currently on bail after being jailed by the ED in a money laundering case. He

In his 2018 poll affidavit, Shivakumar declared assets worth Rs 840 crore, making him one of the richest politicians in the state. His brother DK Suresh is a two term parliamentarian and is the sitting MP from the Bangalore Rural constituency.

Shivakumar’s latest move to build the world’s largest Christ statue in his constituency in Kanakapura has also come in for severe attack from Sangh Parivar outfits, who claim the land he donated was government-owned and illegally usurped by him.

Political analyst Manjunath said that Shivakumar, if appointed, is likely to inject a great degree of dynamism into the functioning of the party.

“He sees himself as a future Chief Minister and is very ambitious. If the appointments are confirmed, it will only vindicate the fact that the party high command has tried to balance caste interests by having a Vokkilga, a Lingayat and a Kuruba – the three leading castes in the state - heading different parts of the party. Also since the BJP is making a concerted effort to break into the Vokkaliga votebank, nominating Shivakumar would be a smart move to consolidate the community behind the party,” he said.

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