BJP's southern foray: Tale of scams and compromises

March 19, 2012

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Bangalore, March 19:The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) maiden rule in Karnataka is set to end as a sordid tale of scandals and compromises.

Two days ahead of the budget presentation, more than half the party’s 23 ministers are holed up in a resort on the outskirts of Bangalore, devising a strategy to get rid of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda. The assembly session starts Tuesday. The budget presentation is scheduled the next day.

Giving them company are scores of party legislators, all wanting the return of B.S. Yeddyurappa as chief minister though he still faces nearly a dozen corruption and illegal land deal cases.

He has been summoned by a Supreme Court appointed panel to appear before it in person or send a representative Tuesday to answer charges of making several hundred crore rupees by favouring iron ore mining companies.

The panel, the Central Empower Committee appointed by the apex court to study illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, is to decide whether the charges against Yeddyurappa need to be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

However grave these issues may appear to the people, for Yeddyurappa, largely credited with bringing BJP into power for the first time in south India in May 2008, they are of no consequence as his sole aim is to be chief minister.

This unbridled hankering after power has been given a boost by the reported division of opinion among the national leaders on reinstating him.

It is generally believed that BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and a few other central leaders do not mind Yeddyurappa coming back as chief minister.

But his return is said to be strongly opposed by senior leader L.K. Advani, who fears this will further damage the party’s image and take the sting out of its campaign against the scandals of the Congress-led central government.

Yeddyurappa claims he was asked by the national leaders to quit July 31, 2011 with the promise that he will be brought back if a court clears him of charges of taking money from mining companies in return for favours.

Then Lokayukta (ombudsman) N. Santosh Hegde had July 27 recommended Yeddyurappa’s trial on the ground that his family members had received Rs.30 crore from two mining companies. This amounted to corruption.

The high court on March 7 quashed the Lokayukta findings and also the case against Yeddyurappa, which he has seized to demand that party national leaders honour their word.

The national leaders appear to be paying for the compromise formula they devised to make Yedddyurappa quit, though by that time he was already facing six cases of corruption and illegal land deals filed by two Bangalore advocates.

Both he and the party dismiss these cases as politically motivated.

Yeddyurappa’s lucky -- the institution of the Lokayukta in Karnataka, the first state to set it up, has been headless since September and there is no one to decide whether to challenge the high court ruling in the Supreme Court.

There are two Upa Lokayuktas (deputy ombudsmen) S.B. Majage and Chandrashekaraiah (only one name). While Chandrashekaraiah has said the high court verdict should be challenged, Majage is silent.

BJP’s rule in Karnataka began with several compromises - over ministry formation and giving all five independents who helped the party gain majority in the assembly cabinet berths.

Then followed rebellion, twice, by mining baron Reddys against Yeddyurappa.

At least 20 of BJP's 120 legislators have been involved in scams - from rape to porn viewing to illegal land deals.

As BJP enters last year of its first term in office, it is Yeddyurappa’s turn to don the mantle of the rebel.

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Agencies
May 19,2020

Lucknow, May 19: The administration of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) has ordered a probe into the cardiac procedure conducted on a corona positive patient in the hospital.

The patient underwent a cardiac procedure without being tested for corona before the surgery. He later tested positive for COVID-19, leading to panic among the staff and other patients.

The medical staff that came in contact with the patient were quarantined on Monday while the area was sanitized.

As per orders from the State Medical Education Department, even in emergency cases, patients are to be screened for Covid-19 before procedures are done.

According to the SGPGI administration, the incident took place late on Sunday night.

In an official statement, director, Prof R.K. Dhiman said, "The 63-year-old patient was a case of complete cardiac blockage and needed an urgent temporary pacemaker. The patient was admitted to the holding area of the institute and later shifted to the MICU for permanent pace making."

He said that when the patient's corona status was found to be positive on the Hospital Information System, she was shifted to the Rajdhani COVID Hospital.

The Director said, "Though the involved areas have been sanitized and healthcare workers were quarantined as per protocol, a probe has been ordered to investigate the lapses."

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News Network
March 3,2020

New Delhi, Mar 3: A day after two new cases of novel coronavirus that included one from Delhi were reported, the Health Ministry on Tuesday said six cases with "high-viral load" were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation. The six people had come in contact with a 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday, and they include his family members.

According to government sources, the man, who is a resident of Mayur Vihar, had visited them in Agra.

The six have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and their samples are being sent to NIV, Pune for confirmation.

Contact tracing of the people who came in contact with the six is simultaneously being done through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) network, the ministry said in a statement.

Sources said the patient from Mayur Vihar was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

His other family members have been asked to stay alert and look out for symptoms. One accountant, who came in contact with the man and some of his family members, was also quarantined, they said.

India on Monday reported two new cases of the novel coronavirus, one from Delhi and another one from Hyderabad. The government has stepped up its efforts to detect and check the infection which has killed 2,912 people in China.

On Monday, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had said that an Italian tourist tested positive for coronavirus in Jaipur.

The first sample collected from him on February 29 tested negative but his condition deteriorated, so a second sample was collected which tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding, "Since there is a variation in the reports, the samples have been sent to the NIV, Pune for testing".

India had earlier reported three cases from Kerala, including two medical students from Wuhan in China, the epicentre of the deadly novel coronavirus. They had self-reported on their return to the country and tested positive for the infection. They were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.

The infected person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, while the other patient who tested positive for the COVID-19 infection is from Telangana and had recently travelled to Dubai.

Both the patients had self-reported after they developed symptoms.

"They tested positive. They are stable and being closely monitored," ministry said on Monday.

The government has asked people to avoid non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore and said India was in discussions with authorities in Iran and Italy, two countries badly affected by the infection, to evacuate Indians there.

The novel coronavirus or COVID-19, which originated in China, has spread to over 60 countries.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: People of Delhi have explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate, AAP's prominent face Manish Sisodia said as he clinched victory on the Patparganj seat.

Sisodia, who retained his seat for the third time, said the BJP indulged in "politics of hate", but people refused to be divided.

"I am happy to have won the Patparganj seat again. The BJP indulged in politics of hate, but I thank the people of Patparganj. Today, Delhi's people have chosen a government which works for them and explained the true meaning of nationalism through their mandate," he told reporters.

Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister and led the government's education reforms agenda, defeated BJP's Ravinder Singh Negi by a margin of over 3,500 votes.

The initial trends saw a seesaw battle between Sisodia and Negi.

In 2013, Sisodia had won by a margin of 11,000 votes and in 2015 by over 28,000 votes.

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