Belagavi, Dec 12: Senior Legislator K Pratapchandra Shetty of Congress was unanimously elected as Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman here on Wednesday during the ongoing Winter Session at Suvarna Vikas Soudha.
Mr Shetty was the lone candidate who had filed his nomination papers yesterday. The senior leader from Udupi has been a four-time MLA and three time MLC.
Senior member of the house and former Minister S R Patil and Allam Veerbhadrappa, both from Congress proposed Mr Shetty's name.
Bengaluru, Aug 4: As the stage is set for the ground-breaking ceremony for Ram temple construction at Ayodhya on Wednesday, retired Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde has called for the promotion of religious harmony and peaceful coexistence and respect for different faiths.
"It is a good idea to make that as an object of the temple so that there can be peace in the world," the former Solicitor General of India said when asked if the temple should be promoted as a symbol of national integration, and social and communal harmony.
Hegde said one of the most dangerous things for conflict today is religion. "In that background, there should be some effort from somebody or other to bring about peaceful coexistence, respecting each religion," the former Karnataka Lokayukta told PTI on Tuesday. "It is a good idea to start Bhumi Pujan as an indicator of that or foundation for developing harmony among various religions," he added.
The Supreme Court had in November last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a Trust at the disputed site of the Babri Masjid's demolition in Ayodhya. It also directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5- acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh government has allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil of Ayodhya for the mosque's construction.
Bengaluru, Jan 2: The Congress leadership in Delhi is expected to start the process of selecting a new party chief for Karnataka next week. There are strong indications the race has narrowed to DK Shivakumar and MB Patil.
Party insiders said the leadership almost finalised Shivakumar’s name as the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), but the decision was put on hold after requests by some senior members.
“It’s not that we are against Shivakumar. We think the party should have a Lingayat at the helm since community strongman and chief minister BS Yediyurappa is at the fag end of his long political career. There’s an opportunity here for a Congressman to occupy that space,” said a senior Congress politician, who didn’t want to be named.
That’s where the candidacy of Patil, a Lingayat, scores high.
The party, however, doesn’t want to compromise on quality and wants an efficient KPCC president who can unite two rival factions within the party, one led by Siddaramaiah and another by former union minister KH Muniyappa.
The need to pick a new state president arose after Dinesh Gundurao resigned from the post last month, taking moral responsibility for Congress’s poor showing in the byelections. Siddaramaiah also stood down as Congress party legislature leader.
The insiders said the new KPCC chief could be announced after January 16. The party might also appoint two working presidents and a new legislature party leader, who will automatically become the opposition’s voice in the assembly.
For the latter position, the name of senior Dalit politician and former deputy chief minister G Parameshwara is doing the rounds. But the party, the sources said, could still ask Siddaramaiah to reconsider his decision and stay on.
Many Congress members had raised questions over his stewardship after the bypoll disappointment. They said on his watch, the party had also fared badly in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections, demanding that he be held accountable.
Siddaramaiah is expected to visit Delhi next week to discuss the leadership issue with party boss Sonia Gandhi. Some other senior Congress members, including BK Hariprasad, are also likely to meet her.
Brahmavar, Jul 3: Two friends drowned accidentally in a rivulet while catching fish near Barkur in Brahmavar taluk of Udupi district today.
The deceased have been identified as Karthik (20), a final year B.Com student, and Harsha (26), who was working as a recovery agent for a local finance company. Both were local residents.
The incident took place around 8 a.m. when they were trying to catch fish. Even though a few locals were there on the spot they could not save the duo as the water level has increased in the rivulet due to rains. After an hour the bodies were fished out.
A case was registered at Brahmavar police station and investigations are on.
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CONGRATULATIONS AND ALL THE BEST ON THE OCCASSION OF ELECTED KARNATAKA SPEAKER.
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