Painting exhibition as tribute to artist B G Mohammad held

Bengaluru, May 19: Karnataka on Tuesday recorded the highest single-day rise in the COVID-19 cases in the state as a whooping 149 people tested positive for the virus. With the spike in new cases, the overall tally has risen to 1,395.

This is for the first time the state recorded 100 plus cases in a single day. So far, 40 people have also succumbed to the virus including three deaths today. 

The new deaths consist of a 61-year-old male patient, a resident of Ballari; a 65-year-old male patient, a resident of Vijayapura; and a 54-year-old male patient from Bengaluru.

Among the new cases, a maximum of 71 are reported from Mandya, followed by 22 in Davanagere, 10 in Shivamogga, 13 in Kalaburgi, six in Bengaluru Urban, four each in Udupi and Uttara Kannada, five in Chikkamagaluru, three in Hassan and one each in Yadagiri, Chitradurga, Vijayapura, Gadag.

Most of the new cases are of the people who traveled to Mumbai in Maharashtra, Solapur, Ahmedabad, and Kerala.

The remaining are those who came in contact with the people who had tested positive earlier.

At present, 811 people are actively taking treatment, while 543 have been discharged after recovery.

Bengaluru, Feb 21: Amulya Leona, a college student, who raised to pro-Pakistan slogans to embarrass organisers of a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) here on Thursday evening, has been charged with sedition.

The student-activist, who was allowed to talk on stage, suddenly raised pro-Pakistan slogans. She was arrested by police after All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi snatched her mike.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ramesh Bannoth confirmed the girl has been charged with sedition, provoking enmity between groups, and intentional insult to provoke breach of peace.

It was just after Mr. Owaisi’s arrival on the stage at Freedom Park here that the 19-year-old student was asked to speak. After preliminary remarks, she suddenly shouted “Pakistan zindabad” thrice, leaving the crowd and organisers stunned.

Some of the organisers rushed to her and tried to take the mike away and stop her from speaking further. Mr. Owaisi too joined in and snatched the mike. Holding on to the mike, the girl then went on to shout “Hindustan zindabad” twice, before a posse of police personnel and organisers whisked her away from the stage

Soon after the student was taken away, a visibly upset Mr. Owaisi told the crowd: “Whatever has been spoken [by the girl] is wrong. Neither my party nor I has any connection with it. As long as we are alive, we will be raising Bharat zindabad slogans. Never had we any relationship with Pakistan nor will we have anything in future,” he announced.

He further stated: “This is condemnable. The organisers should not have invited such people to this place. If I had known that these kind of things would be said here, I would not have come here.”

It is unfortunate that the organisers have invited such people and a wrong message is going out, he said. “Now, BJP has got an opportunity and will blame me,” he added.

Every speaker, who took the podium after the incident, condemned the pro-Pakistan slogans raised by Amulya.

Janata Dal (S) councillor representing Gurappanapalya, Imran Pasha, one of the organisers of the protest under “Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isayi Federation”, claimed that they had not invited the “activist” and were not aware that she would be speaking from the stage. Mr. Pasha said that such statements were “a deliberate attempt to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims”.

Meanwhile, the BJP State unit tweeted, “Truth is that protests against CAA are a joint venture between Pakistan and anti-National forces led by INC India.” In a press release, BJP State unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel termed this as an “anti-national act” and urged the police to take action.

Hubballi, Jan 28: Charting that the Bharatiya Janata party’s Central leaders have not given a free-hand to the Chief minister B S Yediyurappa on the issue of expansion of Cabinet, former Chief minister and the Congress leader Siddaramaiah had opined that 'it has hampered the State’s development'.

Speaking to newsmen here on Tuesday, the Congress leader, alleged that 'by not giving permission to Yediyurappa to expand his ministry, it was evident that there is no any internal democracy in the Saffron Party'.