NDA's Prez pick: Nitish happy, Mayawati positive; Cong calls it 'unilateral decision'

TNN
June 19, 2017

New Delhi, Jun 19: The BJP's pick for Presidential nominee seems to have left the opposition divided with at least two prominent leaders welcoming decision to nominate Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's candidate for President's post.ram-nath

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday expressed happiness over Ram Nath Kovind's candidature for the President's post while BSP chief Mayawati making it clear that her party's stand will be positive provided opposition does not field any dalit for the top post.

"Kovind has discharged his duties in an unbiased manner as the Bihar Governor. He has worked as per the Constitution and upheld the dignity of the Governor's post. His was an ideal relation with the state government," Nitish Kumar said after meeting Kovind at Raj Bhavan.

Nitish congratulated Kovind, a dalit leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party, on his nomination as the National Democratic Alliance candidate, and added that "I am personally glad he is the presidential candidate".

However, Nitish did not commit on his party's support for the NDA nominee.

"It is difficult to say at this point of time. I had talks with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on this issue. We will discuss the issue later and decide," Nitish said.

The Congress, however, spurned the BJP's appeal for consensus on its choice for President and said the opposition would take a call on contesting the election after a meeting on June 22.

The BJP has taken a "unilateral decision", Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said soon after the announcement of Ram Nath Kovind as the NDA's candidate for President's post.

"Congress does not want to comment on this issue as we want to take a unanimous decision with all other opposition parties on the presidential elections. The final call will be taken in a meeting of all opposition parties on June 22," Azad told reporters here.

Terming the BJP's efforts to reach out to the opposition through its senior leaders as a "formality and a PR exercise", Azad said the ruling party should have built consensus before announcing the candidate.

"But they informed us after announcing this decision so there is no scope for consensus now... we were not expecting this from the ruling party. But it is their will, they are free to take a one-sided unilateral decision," Azad added.

No names were discussed when senior BJP leaders M Venkaiah Naidu and Rajnath Singh met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week, the Congress leader said.

What the farmers want is best price for crop: Shivraj Chouhan
Asked to comment on the BJP fielding a Dalit candidate for the top constitutional post, Azad said, "...I don't want to comment on this...I don't want to comment on the merits and demerits of the candidate."

He added that minorities, backwards and dalits were not priorities for the BJP-led government. Atrocities on Dalits in Saharanpur were a clear example of this.

Discussing whether Nitish Kumar would attend the June 22 meeting, Azad said he had himself called the Bihar chief minister who had assured him that there would be somebody from his Janata Dal-United.

Comments

Shankar
 - 
Monday, 19 Jun 2017

This was a shakuni move by BJP.
Amidst all the anti-dalit atrocities, nominating a dalit candidate would have been an obvious strategy by the opposition. But the NDA foresaw it and played the move themselves.
The opposition is now left with either agreeing to this or nominating a muslim candidate (depending on support from others in the alliance).

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 2,2020

Bengaluru, June 2: A television anchor allegedly committed suicide after her boyfriend refused to marry her.

29-year-old Chandana V K made a selfie video before taking the extreme step, in which she blamed her boyfriend Dinesh for her decision.

The Suddaguntepalya police have taken up a case of abetment to suicide against Dinesh and his family, including his father Lokappa Gowda, mother Gayatri, sister Shyla and uncle Swamy alias Dayananda. The police have formed a team to nab the accused who are absconding.

Chandana, who used to also appear in real estate advertisements, was a resident of Krishnamurthy Layout in Tavarekere. She hailed from Belur in Hassan district.

According to a preliminary investigation, Chandana consumed poison after making the video.

In the video clip addressed to Dinesh, she says: "You said if I die, it is good for you. So, I am ending my life and you are the reason for it, Dinesh." She sent the clip to Dinesh, his parents, her parents and friends around 2.30 pm on May 28.

On seeing the video, Chandana's parents alerted her neighbours and asked them to go check on her. They took her to a private hospital where she died while undergoing treatment around 12.30 am on May 30.

In his police complaint, Chandana’s father said his daughter and Dinesh were in a relationship for the past five years. Dinesh had promised to marry her and both the families were aware of the relationship.

Dinesh had borrowed Rs 5 lakh from Chandana. But for the past few months, he began avoiding her and even refused to marry her. His family members told Chandana that they would get him married to someone else, the complaint said. The police said action would be initiated taken against Dinesh and his family.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 5: Amulya Leona, the 19-year-old woman who captured a nation’s attention by shouting full-throated slogans, allegedly in support of Pakistan, at a rally in Bengaluru, has reportedly held her composure under grilling by the Special Investigating Team (SIT).

The woman was arrested after her speech to an audience of protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act on February 19, and was slapped with sedition charges.

Sources in the police said Amulya Leona seemed to be absolutely normal during interrogation by senior cops, unlike most other persons in such circumstances.

Not once throughout the grilling nor in judicial custody did she break down.

Amulya is said to have defended herself on charges that she shouted pro-Pakistan slogans. She made it clear that by speaking out at the rally at Freedom House, she did not mean to support the enemy country and that she was not against India.

Lower-rung officers said Amulya Leona seemed to be considerably influenced by the late firebrand activist Gowri Lankesh, who was shot dead in 2017.

In fact, the policewomen to whose charge she was entrusted right after she was arrested are said to have heaved a sigh of relief when she handed over to custody of prison staff.

An urban legend going around in lower-rung police circles is that Amulya Leona attended the funeral of Gowri Lankesh and fainted near where the late activist was buried. “It’s impossible for a 19-year-old to show such grit. We have seen hardcore criminals breaking down in custody. Forget about breaking down, Amulya Leona is becoming stronger,” they explain.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Bengaluru, May 8: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said his government is clear in its stand on extending every possible help to the farmers. The Chief Minister spoke to the farmer-leaders of the state, who wanted their concerns to be heard and addressed, with regard to the problems the agrarian community has been facing in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"We will soon make our position clear on supporting the farmers. We will not allow any hindrance to come in the way of agriculture activities," Yediyurappa told the farmer- leaders.

The Chief Minister told the delegation that the pre-monsoon activities are in full swing in the state.

The government has also set up help centres and been providing agriculture equipment on rent, the Chief Minister said. In most of the places, at least 80 per cent of the standing crops have been harvested.

Arrangements have been made to bring equipment from neighbouring states to harvest the standing crop, he said.

Yediyurappa said fertilisers and seeds are available in abundance in the state.

He informed the farmer-leaders about the arrangements made to transport flowers, vegetables and fruits to other states.

Similarly, the market has been developed for the farmers to sell their products, said the Chief Minister.

He said the government is working out a compensation for farmers who lost their crops due to hailstorm in Raichur, Koppal and Ballari. Agriculture Minister B C Patil, Horticulture Minister Narayana Gowda, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar and Development Commissioner Vandita Sharma were also present in the meeting.

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