Rift in alliance? Sitting Cong MP files nomination from Tumakuru, asks Deve Gowda to step back

Agencies
March 25, 2019

Bengaluru, Mar 25: Rifts in the Congress- Janata Dal (Secular) coalition in Karnataka on Monday seemed to intensify further as the Lok Sabha elections inches closer.

The gaping rift in the alliance was visible when Congress sitting MP, SP Muddahanumegowda on Monday filed his nomination from Tumkur, which under the seat-sharing arrangement announced earlier was ceded to the JD(S) after supremo Deve Gowda said he will fight from the Tumkur seat. Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, it was agreed that Congress will contest 20 seats and JD(S) on eight.

"I have filed my nomination as a Congress candidate. I request my leader and JD (S) to reconsider their decision and give me the ticket to contest from Tumkur. I am confident that I will get back the seat," Muddahanumegowda told media persons here after filing his nomination.

Muddahanumegowda filed his nomination for Tumkur despite a request made by Deputy Chief Minister G Parmeshwara on Sunday to "obey the coalition dharma".

Congress leader and former MLA K N Rajanna backed Muddahanumegowda and said: "We've requested Gowda to contest from Bengaluru North instead of Tumkur. If Deve Gowda wants to contest from here, let him contest on Congress ticket, we all will vote for him."

Clearing that things are not fine between the Congress and JDS, G Parmeshwara said that it is unfortunate that Tumkur and Deve Gowda has come between the give and take policy in Karnataka.

"It was party high command who decided to give away Tumkur parliamentary constituency to JDS. I have been requesting Gowda ji to contest elections from Tumkur. It is unfortunate that Tumkur and Deve Gowda has come between the give and take policy in the state," Congress leader G Parmeshwara told ANI.

"Tumkur was a sitting seat and it was the only sitting seat out of 10 in Karnataka that we gave away to JDS. We requested JDS to not ask for Tumkur. We told them if Gowda ji is not fighting then they should leave the seat. But now they have decided to field him from that seat. As he has decided to contest, naturally we will support him," he added.

Elaborating about the seat-sharing formula stitched between the Congress and JDS, Parmeshwara said: "In politics, many things happen. We never expected that we will be fighting this election together with JD (S). The question of seat sharing was decided by our party high command. They asked for 12 seats. The high command decided to give away eight seats and now we are fighting with that formula."

Requesting former Prime Minister Gowda not to contest from Tumkur, Parmeshwara stated: "Deve Gowda should not contest as rebel candidate or independent candidate. I made a request to Gowda ji to not go to that extent. We all have a responsibility and we all want Gowda ji to win the seat that he fights from."

He added that we don't want the BJP to come into power. It is not a question of prestige or ego, it's a question of not allowing the BJP to come to the Centre.

Responding to Deve Gowda's offer to Congress to field its candidate from North Bengaluru, Parmeshwara said: "It is not one or another. Rahul ji has said clearly that we will support Deve Gowda. We are just respecting the Congress chief's decision. If I have to fight from Bengaluru against Prime Minister Modi, I'm prepared for it."

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. Results will be announced on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 26,2020

Udupi, Jul 26: Two persons including a lady doctor have been arrested by the Kaup police in Udupi district for trying to use fake salary documents to avail loan from a bank to buy a car. 

According to police, on July 24, the doctor had visited Bank of Baroda's branch office at Kaup Moodabettu. She had approached the branch manager for a car loan for herself and her brother. She claimed that her monthly salary is Rs 2.66 lakh.

The bank verified the details furnished along with the loan application. The bank found that even though the doctor had furnished salary slips of Manipal Academy of Higher Education, she was presently not employed there.

The bank manager has filed a complaint at Kaup police station, accusing the doctor of trying to cheat the bank by availing loan on the basis of fake documents.

The police registered a case and nabbed her when she visited the Katapady branch of the same bank today. The police also arrested a man, who according to the doctor, created fake documents for her.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 17: Amid rising COVID cases in the past two weeks, the Karnataka government is planning to increase testing capacity to 25,000 samples a day, said a minister.

"Due to increase in cases in the last two weeks, the government is trying to scale up testing to 15,000 to 25,000 samples per day," said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar.

He said people living in crowded places, sanitation workers, street vendors, healthcare workers, police and other frontline staff would be extensively tested.

"It has also been decided to mandatorily test all those who have symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI)," he said.

Similarly, all people over 50 with ILI symptoms will be tested.

The health department will also randomly test samples in old containment zones to make sure that the infection is not recurring.

Currently, there are 72 Covid testing labs in the southern state, 41 government operated and 31 private labs.

However, for a few days, the number of Covid tests in the state have plummeted.

On Monday, the health department has tested only 5,362 samples across the state.

Likewise, on Tuesday, only 7,936 samples were tested, diverging from earlier weeks when around 10,000 cases were tested on an average.

In all, 4.57 lakh samples have been tested so far, of which 4.39 lakh have tested negative.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 8: The all-India shutdown by trade unions and other organisations began with little impact in the tech city as normal life continued on a working day, an official said.

"No effect of shutdown in the city though banking operations are affected as bank staff are supporting the trade unions," a state official said here.

However, thousands of workers participated in other parts of Karnataka in the nation-wide shutdown call given by trade unions, protesting central government's anti-labour laws and privatisation policies.

Protesters were seen carrying the red trade union flags at several places such as Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Bengaluru and others.

Massive protests were seen in Peenya, and Neelmangla areas of Bengaluru.

In Madikeri, stones were pelted at a bus and some protesters were detained in Kolar.

The trade unions are against the privatisation of railways and corporatisation of 49 defence production units.

Merging 44 labour laws into four code is also one of the demands of the protesting trade unions.

The protesters are demanding raising the minimum wage in the range of ₹21,000 - 24,000 per month.

The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress and Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) have given an all-India shutdown (Bharat Bandh) call on Wednesday.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa instructed the intelligence chief and additional director general of police Kamal Pant to maintain law and order in view of the Bharat bandh when he apprised him of the situation.

Police tightened security across the city by deploying 11 deputy commissioners of police (DCPs), 23 assistant commissioners of police (ACP), 111 inspectors, 316 sub-inspectors, 476 assistant sub-inspectors, 4,547 constables along with 82 platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP).

In Bengaluru city, Metro services were not affected by the nationwide strike. In view of the shutdown, security was beefed at the Metro stations.

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