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Bengaluru, Jan 15: The on-going process to select a new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president is likely to drag on for few more days with former CM and opposition leader Siddaramaiah making a strong pitch for former minister MB Patil over DK Shivakumar for the post.

Siddaramaiah, who met AICC president Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday, reportedly argued in favour of Patil, saying his elevation would help the party win Lingayats to the fold.

“Yediyurappa, the undisputed leader of the Lingayat community, is almost at the end of his career and it is an opportunity for the Congress to gain the confidence of the community. Being a leader from North Karnataka, Patil fits the bill perfectly,” Siddaramaiah reportedly told Sonia.

Siddaramaiah is said to be backing Patil over Shivakumar as he is worried about losing his hold over the state unit, given Shivakumar’s popularity. While Sonia did give the former CM a patient hearing, she is said to have told him that he should obey and cooperate with whatever decision high command takes.

The high command is looking to evolve consensus on the new state president. “Sonia’s meeting with Siddaramaiah is part of this exercise. She wants to keep everybody in the loop,” said a functionary.

Siddaramaiah also met senior leaders Ahmed Patel and AK Anthony. He is expected to meet former AICC president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

However, some including Mallikarjun Kharge and Shamanur Shivashankarappa have expressed reservations against Patil’s elevation, pointing to his role in the controversial separate Lingayat religion issue which dented the Congress’ prospects in the 2018 assembly polls.

“He has a very bad name among Lingayats and making him president would prove counter-productive. Moreover, it is difficult to win back Lingayats as long as Yediyurappa is active in politics,” said a senior Congress leader.

Another functionary said a majority of state functionaries — and even some in the high command — favour Shivakumar as he is not only “resourceful”, but also has momentum. “With HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy losing popularity among Vokkaligas, the possibility of the community backing Shivakumar is high. This may land him the top job,” the functionary said.

Bengaluru, May 26: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has been urged to cancel the proposed SSLC examinations in Karnataka and allow “mass-pass” for every student in the wake of covid-19 crisis. A group of intellectuals and educationists have put forth this demand.

In the letter released by educationist VP Niranjan Aradhya, said that they were listing the scientific reasons to the CM for cancellation of exams which are slated to be held from June 25 to July 4th.

In the letter, the intellectuals have elucidated a number of reasons for cancelling the upcoming exams. “There are close to 8.5 lakh students and 2.5 lakh staff involved. If we include parents who would drop their kids at the exam centre, around 30 lakh people will be involved in the process, making it a risky affair. Though the government has said that it will separate the students with fever or other ailments, will students admit to having fever? What if they consume paracetamol and come to write exams?” asks the letter. 

Added to this, the question papers have to be sent from the district and taluk centres and there may be chances of transmission.

“Even if we conduct exams, then what about the students who have failed? Every year, around 2.5 lakh students fail in the exam. Will the government conduct the supplementary exams again? The whole process of conducting exams comes at a huge cost of Rs 20 cr to Rs 25 crore. Hence, we are suggesting that the government cancels the exams and pass the entire group of student en masse,” said the letter.

Mangaluru, Jan 3: General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyatul Ulama, AP Aboobacker Musliyar Kanthapuram, visited the family members of Abdul Jaleel and Nousheen, expressed his condolences.

Jaleel, resident of Bundar Kandak and Nousheen, resident of Kudroli were killed in police firing that took place during the anti-CAA protest in the city on December 19.

Former President of the District Wakf Advisory Committee of Dakshina Kannada SM Rasheed Haji, Corporator Lateef Kandak, Congress leader N S Kareem and Ashraf Kinara, Samsuddin Kudroli were also present. 

DYFI delegation

Meanwhile, a central delegation of the Democratic Youth Federation of India also met the families of the both the victims and expressed solidarity with the kin of the deceased.

The delegation comprised of DYFI national president advocate Mohammad Riyaz, other leaders such as A A Raheem, S Satish, S K Sajeesh, legislator V K Sanoj and DYFI State present Muneer Katipalla.