SC pulls up Karnataka for seeking Rs 15 lakh for Ma’adani’s escort

Bengaluru, Mar 11: DK Shivakumar has been appointed as the new president of the party's Karnataka unit, an official said on Wednesday.

"Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) has appointed D.K. Shivakumar as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC)," said party's general secretary K.C. Venugopal in a statement from New Delhi.

Party's state unit leaders Eshwar Khandre, Satish Jharkiholi and Saleem Ahammed are the working presidents in the southern state.

"Former chief minister Siddaramaiah will continue as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and opposition leader in the state legislative assembly.

MLC M. Narayanswamy and MLA Ajay Singh will be the party's chief whips in the state legislative council and assembly.

Congress appoints Anil Chaudhary as DPCC chief

The Congress on Wednesday appointed former MLA Anil Chaudhary as its Delhi unit chief, while also naming five vice-presidents for the DPCC.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi named Chaudhary president and Abhishek Dutt, Shivani Chopra, Jaikishan, Mudit Agarwal and Ali Hassan vice-presidents of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC), a party statement said.

Subhash Chopra had resigned as the Delhi Congress chief in February, taking moral responsibility for the party's debacle in the Assembly polls.

The Congress drew a blank for the second time in a row in the Delhi Assembly polls and reduced its vote share from 9.7 per cent in 2015 to 4.27 per cent this time.

Mumbai, May 14: The Shiv Sena on Thursday raised questions over the Centre's Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced to revive the COVID-hit economy, and asked if India is not a "self-reliant" country at present.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' wondered how Rs 20 lakh crore will be raised, and opined that an environment needs to be created where industrialists, trade and business sectors are encouraged to invest.

On the path of new self-reliance, India cannot afford industrialists running away, and for that "political institutions like the ED and CBI need to be put in lockdown for some time," it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, saying the COVID-19 crisis has provided India an opportunity to become self-reliant and emerge as the best in the world.

The Sena said the country is being told that the package will be beneficial for MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), poor labourers, farmers and the tax-paying middle class.

"The package (as per the Centre) will reach 130 crore Indians and the country will become self-reliant. Does this mean India is not a self-reliant country at present?" the Marathi daily asked.

It is good that PPE kits and N95 masks are now being manufactured in India, it said.

"Any country progresses ahead while learning from crisis and through struggle. Before Independence, not even a needle was manufactured in India but in 60 years, India became self-reliant in science, technology, agro business, defence, manufacturing and atomic science," it said.

An institution like the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which is helping in the manufacturing of PPE kits, is part of the self-reliant India, it noted.

Wondering how Rs 20 lakh crore, as announced in the central package, will be raised, the Sena said an "environment needs to be created where industrialists, trade and business sectors will be encouraged to invest".

"India, on path of new self-reliance, cannot afford industrialists running away, and for that political institutions like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) need to be put in lockdown for some time," the paper said.

Despite announcing the 'lockdown-4' and the economic package, why its impact has not been reflected in the share market? it asked.

"Investors are in a dilemma. The prime minister and chief ministers must show them trust and support," it said.

"Earlier it was Pandit Nehru and now it is Modi. If (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi had not laid the foundation of a digital India, there wouldn't be video conference of PM, CMs and bureaucracy in times of coronavirus," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

It agreed with Modi that coronavirus will stay for long, and lives need not revolve around it.

"We need to get back on our feet again," the Sena said.

Bengaluru, May 25: Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds that lashed Bengaluru last evening left hundreds of trees uprooted near the BTM layout and other areas.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a thunderstorm accompanied with lightning in Karnataka for the next five days.

"Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning at will prevail at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, South Interior Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe and Tamilnadu, Puducherry and Karaikal," the IMD said its All Indian Weather Forecast Bulletin.

According to the forecasting agency, due to strong southerly wind from the Bay of Bengal to northeast India at lower tropospheric levels, heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls likely at isolated places over parts of northeastern states.

In addition to that heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over adjoining parts of east India during 24th-28th. "Heavy rainfall at isolated places over parts south peninsular India from May 26th-28th, 2020," the IMD said its All Indian Weather Forecast Bulletin.