Siddaramaiah downplays rift in Congress

DHNS
September 3, 2017

Bengaluru, Sept 3: “Ask Parameshwara (state Congress president) about it.” This is how Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reacted on Saturday on seeking to know the reason for Parameshwara not attending the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers on Friday.

Initially, Siddaramaiah sought to downplay the issue, saying that the KPCC chief could not attend the ceremony as he was away in Delhi. But when media persons pointed out that Parameshwara was very much in Bengaluru on Friday, a visibly upset chief minister asked media persons to pose the question to the state Congress president.

Parameshwara and many senior Congress leaders kept off the ceremony as they were upset with Siddaramaiah for not taking them into confidence while selecting candidates for expanding the council of ministers. Siddaramaiah decided to induct Gundlupet MLA Geetha Mahadeva Prasad, who is the widow of late H S Mahadeva Prasad, instead of Tiptur MLA K Shadakshari. It was done without informing the state Congress president and other senior leaders of the state unit, sources in the state Congress said.

Parameshwara is also upset with Siddaramaiah’s decision to make former union minister C M Ibrahim a MLC in the recently held byelection. The KPCC chief was lobbying to get the seat to his close follower G C Chandrashekar.

Sources said a majority of the leaders who attended Friday’s ceremony were close followers of Siddaramaiah. Many senior party leaders and Cabinet ministers, including Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa and Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, kept themselves away from the ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. Shivakumar was eyeing at the Home portfolio, but the chief minister chose to give it to Ramalinga Reddy.

Parameshwara was, however, not available for comments. Shivakumar denied that he was upset with the chief minister. “I am not upset with anybody. I am a straight fighter. There is no confusion in the party,” he told reporters.

Comments

Danish
 - 
Sunday, 3 Sep 2017

Silence is better infront of media till election

Suresh
 - 
Sunday, 3 Sep 2017

Good reply from CM. He trying to avoid unwanted issues. Media need to know the reason and they wanted to make that issue bigger. 

Hari
 - 
Sunday, 3 Sep 2017

Rubbish. He is the CM. He is prominent cong lHe should know the reason. He always downplays

Jinu
 - 
Sunday, 3 Sep 2017

If need to know the reason, should ask to parameshwara, not to cm

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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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Agencies
June 17,2020

Riyadh, Jun 17: Saudi Arabia is expected to scale back or call off this year's hajj pilgrimage for the first time in its modern history, observers say, a perilous decision as coronavirus cases spike.

Muslim nations are pressing Riyadh to give its much-delayed decision on whether the annual ritual will go ahead as scheduled in late July.

But as the kingdom negotiates a call fraught with political and economic risks in a tinderbox region, time is running out to organise logistics for one of the world's largest mass gatherings.

A full-scale hajj, which last year drew about 2.5 million pilgrims, appears increasingly unlikely after authorities advised Muslims in late March to defer preparations due to the fast-spreading disease.

"It's a toss-up between holding a nominal hajj and scrapping it entirely," a South Asian official in contact with Saudi hajj authorities said.

A Saudi official said: "The decision will soon be made and announced."

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, withdrew from the pilgrimage this month after pressing Riyadh for clarity, with a minister calling it a "very bitter and difficult decision".

Malaysia, Senegal and Singapore followed suit with similar announcements.

Many other countries with Muslim populations -- from Egypt and Morocco to Turkey, Lebanon and Bulgaria -- have said they are still awaiting Riyadh's decision.

In countries like France, faith leaders have urged Muslims to "postpone" their pilgrimage plans until next year due to the prevailing risks.

The hajj, a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, represents a major potential source of contagion as it packs millions of pilgrims into congested religious sites.

But any decision to limit or cancel the event risks annoying Muslim hardliners for whom religion trumps health concerns.

It could also trigger renewed scrutiny of the Saudi custodianship of Islam's holiest sites -- the kingdom's most powerful source of political legitimacy.

A series of deadly disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed up to 2,300 worshippers, has prompted criticism of the kingdom's management of the hajj.

"Saudi Arabia is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea," Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AFP.

"The delay in announcing its decision shows it understands the political consequences of cancelling the hajj or reducing its scale."

"Buying time"

The kingdom is "buying time" as it treads cautiously, the South Asian official said.

"At the last minute if Saudi says 'we are ready to do a full hajj', (logistically) many countries will not be in a position" to participate, he said.

Amid an ongoing suspension of international flights, a reduced hajj with only local residents is a likely scenario, the official added.

A decision to cancel the hajj would be a first since the kingdom was founded in 1932.

Saudi Arabia managed to hold the pilgrimage during previous outbreaks of Ebola and MERS.

But it is struggling to contain the virus amid a serious spike in daily cases and deaths since authorities began easing a nationwide lockdown in late May.

In Saudi hospitals, sources say intensive care beds are fast filling up and a growing number of health workers are contracting the virus as the total number of cases has topped 130,000. Deaths surpassed 1,000 on Monday.

To counter the spike, authorities this month tightened lockdown restrictions in the city of Jeddah, gateway to the pilgrimage city of Mecca.

"Heartbroken"

"The hajj is the most important spiritual journey in the life of any Muslim, but if Saudi Arabia proceeds in this scenario it will not only exert pressure on its own health system," said Yasmine Farouk from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"It could also be widely held responsible for fanning the pandemic."

A cancelled or watered-down hajj would represent a major loss of revenue for the kingdom, which is already reeling from the twin shocks of the virus-induced slowdown and a plunge in oil prices.

The smaller year-round umrah pilgrimage was already suspended in March.

Together, they add $12 billion to the Saudi economy every year, according to government figures.

A negative decision would likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims around the world who often invest their life savings and endure long waiting lists to make the trip.

"I can't help but be heartbroken -- I've been waiting for years," Indonesian civil servant Ria Taurisnawati, 37, told AFP as she sobbed.

"All my preparations were done, the clothes were ready and I got the necessary vaccination. But God has another plan."

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 3,2020

Manjeshwar, Aug 3: In a horrific incident, a man hacked four of his relatives to death at Bayar near Kaniala Gurukumeri in Manjeshwar taluk of Kasaragod district.

According to police, Udaya (40), a resident of Sudanbala, killed three of his maternal uncles and a maternal aunt who were staying together at a house at around 7:30 p.m. today. 

The deceased have been identified as Sadashiv (54), Vittal (52), Babu (50), and maternal Revati (58).

Locals caught him and handed him over to the police after tying his hands and legs. 

A preliminary investigation revealed that a familial clash led to the gruesome murder. A police team led by Kasargod DSP Balakrishnan are investigating the matter.

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