Reddy brothers ready to lead BJP once again

DHNS
January 19, 2018

Bengaluru Jan 19: Just when illegal mining has reared its ugly head once again, a quiet political resurrection is in the works for the Ballari Reddy brothers - G Karunakara Reddy, G Somashekara Reddy and G Janardhana Reddy.

Ahead of the Assembly elections, the brothers are preparing the ground to make a comeback in the political mainstream after keeping a low profile ever since the multi-crore illegal scam rocked Karnataka about seven years ago.

The possible return of the Reddy brothers comes at a time when the ruling Congress, which rode to power by taking on the illegal mining issue, finds itself facing allegations of irregularities in the Mysore Minerals Limited. Also, faced with criticism that it is not seriously pursuing illegal mining cases, the government has decided to hand over four cases of illegal iron ore export to a special investigation team.

Karunakara Reddy, the eldest who has stayed away from the other brothers after the illegal mining scam broke out, is hopeful that the BJP will give him a ticket to contest from the Harapanahalli constituency in Davangere, where he won in 2008 and lost in 2013. He was also a Lok Sabha member representing Bellary. "I will contest from Harapanahalli if I'm given a ticket," he said.

According to Somashekara Reddy, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa has already promised him a ticket from the Bellary city constituency, where he won in 2008. "We're confident of a victory," he said.

It is the political future of Janardhana Reddy that is stirring up curiosity. A former minister, Janardhana Reddy is out on bail in the Rs 16,085-crore illegal mining case investigated by the CBI. His bail condition states that he cannot visit Ballari in the state, Anantapur and Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh.

"If the party gives me a chance to contest polls, I will ensure the BJP comes back to power and the Congress is decimated," he announced last week at an event in Anekal, Bengaluru Urban district. If he wins the election, it will be his debut as an MLA as he was previously a member of the Legislative Council.

The BJP had expelled Janardhana Reddy from the party after the mining scam broke out.

His trusted lieutenant, BJP MP B Sriramulu, has also publicly appealed to the party's leadership to bring Janardhana Reddy back. The BJP can win all nine Assembly seats in Ballari district if Janardhana Reddy just joins the party, without even having to campaign, Sriramulu said recently. Ballari was a BJP bastion, which the Congress wrested on the back of its anti-illegal mining campaign.

The BJP, however, has remained mum on Janardhana. "I agree that he will be immensely helpful to the party, if brought back," Somashekara conjectured.

It is also said that the BJP is wary of formally bringing Janardhana back as that could affect its image, given his alleged role in the mining scam.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Kasaragod, Apr 29: Kasaragod's General Hospital on Tuesday discharged the last of its 89 COVID-19 patients, who were admitted since the outbreak of the disease last month.

The patient discharged on Tuesday is a native of Anankur in Kerala. He was under treatment for 27 days following his return from Dubai. He was given a warm send-off at 12 noon by the doctors and hospital staff.

Of the 175 positive cases in Kasaragod district, only 12 are under treatment in other hospitals in the district now. Of them, seven had come from the Gulf and the remaining five were those in contact with them.

During a press meet, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while referring the Kasaragod General Hospital's success story, congratulated the doctors, nurses and medical staff for the achievement.

According to Health Department, in spite of treating the highest number of COVID-19 patients in the state with meagre infrastructural facilities and even without the support of a medical college in the district, there have been no deaths.

According to the district administration, Kasaragod has conducted 4,112 tests so far, out of which 3,104 tested negative and the results of 833 are awaited.

The team of doctors, nurses and other staff numbering 250 is led by Dr Rajaram K Kandiyil, Superintendent of the Kasaragod General Hospital.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 15,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 15: A total of over 4,000 COVID patients have been discharged in Karnataka so far, as the state on Monday reported 213 new cases of coronavirus and two related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 7,213 and the death toll to 88.

On Monday alone 180 patients were discharged in the state after recovery. As of June 15 evening, cumulatively 7,213 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 88 deaths and 4,135 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

Out of the 2,987 active cases, 2,931 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 56 are in Intensive Care Units. Among the two deaths were a 65-year-old man from Dharwad, who was the contact of another patient already tested positive.

He was admitted on June 14 at a designated hospital and died the same day. The other was a 75-year-old woman from Bengaluru, diagnosed with ILI (Influenza Like Illness) A known case of Diabetes mellitus and Hypertension , she was admitted on June 13 at a designated hospital and died on June 15.

Out of 213 new cases 103 are returnees from other states, a majority of them from neighbouring Maharashtra, while 23 are those who returned from other countries.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Kalaburagi accounted for 48, followed by Bengaluru urban 35, Dharwad 34, Dakshina Kannada 23, Raichur 18, Yadgir 13, Bidar 11, Ballari 10, Koppal 4, three each from Vijayapura, Bagalkote and Shivamogga, two each from Udupi, Haveri and Ramanagara, and one each from Hassan and Davangere.

Udupi district tops the list of positive cases with a total of 1,028 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 944 and Yadgir 822.

Among discharges also Udupi is on top with total of 736 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 459 and Bengaluru urban 329. A total of 4,49,331 samples have been tested so far, out of which 5,362 were tested on Monday alone.

So far 4,32,346 samples have been reported as negative, out of which 4,738 reported negative today, the bulletin said.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 1: Faced with increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the State Capital, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice A S Okha has decided the Court to function online.

Registrar General Rajendra Badamikar, in the notice issued here on Wednesday, based on order of the Chief Justice, stated that the emergency cases will be conducted through video conference until the next order.

The order also specifies that only the principal seat (Bengaluru) will be conducting proceedings online. High Court benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi will continue to function as usual.

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