Was it necessary for you at this age, chief minister?asks Meti

December 15, 2016

Bengaluru, Dec 15: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is learnt to have pulled up H Y Meti, who quit as Excise minister, after his sexually explicit video became public on Wednesday.

siddumet copySoon after TV news channels started airing the video, 71-year-old Meti rushed to the chief minister's official residence “Cauvery” and offered to resign as minister.

He also tried to defend himself saying that it was a conspiracy and he had not done anything wrong, sources in the government said.

An angry Siddaramaiah, the sources said, asked him to shut up. “You have betrayed me. Was it necessary for you at this age?...You should be ashamed of yourself...We used to blame the BJP leaders on such unseemly activities. Now, we have lost the moral right to speak,” the sources quoted the chief minister having told Meti.

Different versions

There are different versions doing the rounds on where Meti's purported sexual escapade took place. According to one version it took place at Meti's residence in his hometown Bagalkot. The other version is that it happened in his ante-chambers in the Vidhana Soudha here.

The woman in the CD made a U-turn on Tuesday stating that it was indeed she in the video. On?Sunday, she had said that she had nothing to do with the video. She has also sought police protection stating that she is getting threat calls.

Meti, a fourth-time MLA from Bagalkot, is one of the close followers of Siddaramaiah. Like Siddaramaiah, Meti too belongs to the Kuruba community. He had served as Forest minister in the H?D?Deve Gowda government between 1994 and 1996 before he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bagalkot constituency in 1996. Siddaramaiah inducted him into his Cabinet in June this year.

An embarassment

The Meti episode has come as an embarrassment to the government as it comes close on the heels of Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait being caught watching obscene photos on his mobile phone during government-organised Tipu Jayanti in Raichur.

Several ministers in the Siddaramaiah's Cabinet had come to Meti's support stating he should be given the “benefit of doubt” because of his age.

No parallel'

Siddaramaiah, however, said a parallel cannot be drawn between the two incidents. He said Sait was cleared of all charges by the CID. The chief minister also denied that he had prior knowledge of the Meti CD. “I would have taken action immediately, if I had known,” he said.

On RTI activist Rajashekar Mulali telling journalists in New?Delhi on Wednesday that he would release CDs of two more ministers involved in sex scandals, Siddaramaiah said, “Let him release...we will see”.

Third minister to resign

H?Y?Meti is the third minister in the council of ministers headed by Siddaramaiah to resign owing to controversies.

Santosh Lad, who is currently the Labour minister, was the first to resign. He was forced to quit in November 2013 following charges of his reported involvement in illegal mining. However, Siddaramaiah re-inducted him into the ministry in a reshuffle in June this year.

K J George was forced to resign as the Bengaluru Development Minister in July this year in connection with the suicide case of police officer M K Ganapathi. In an interview given to a TV news channel before committing suicide, Ganapathi had reportedly held George responsible for his death. George was re-inducted into the Cabinet within a few months, after the CID gave him a clean chit in the case.

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Mohammed musthafa
 - 
Thursday, 15 Dec 2016

He has a horse power at this age

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News Network
July 31,2020

Bengaluru, July 31: Denying irregularities in covid-19 equipment purchase by the Karnataka government, the state unit of the BJP has issued legal notices to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar demanding that they apologize or face a defamation suit. 

The notices seek a public apology for the allegations levelled against the government on irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment and supplies. 

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, have been doggedly pursuing allegations of corruption against the BJP government and have demanded a judicial inquiry. 

BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said that while the Congress leaders claimed that Rs 4,157 crore was spent during Covid-19, they also allege that the government has not responded to any of the 20 letters written by them. "If the government has not provided any answer to the Opposition, where did they get the figures from," he said.

None of the allegations of corruption is specific and the statements made are factually incorrect. "These statements, without any basis, have been issued calculatedly to lower the image and damage the reputation of the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, representatives of the party and the ministers in the government," the notice issued on behalf of Ravi Kumar read.

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News Network
April 3,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 3: Four people, including three who attended the Tablighi Jamat meet in Delhi, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the total number of the affected in the state to 128, the Health department said here.

The three men from Belagavi had attended the Tablighi- Jamaat congregation from March 13 to 18 at Delhi, while the other case was that of a 75-year-old man, who is a resident of Bagalkote.

A detailed investigation was underway to ascertain how he got infected, the department said in a bulletin.

It said that till date, 128 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, including three deaths and 11 discharges.

"With 128 cases we are in ninth position in the country in number of cases.Today four new cases were confirmed, of which three were those who attended Tablighi-Jamaat congregation," Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar told reporters, giving details about the bulletin.

He said 187 of the total of 288 samples collected from those who attended the congregation had tested negative and only 13 had turned positive so far.

"Out of 288 samples collected, we have got report for only 200 cases and are awaiting reports for 88," he added.

Though Kumar did not give any figures on the total number of people who went from Karnataka to attend theDelhi meet, the health department on Thursday had said nearly 1,000 people (including 19 foreigners) linked to Tablighi Jamat had been screened and swab samples of more than 200 people had been collected, while efforts are on to find out others.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday held a meeting with Muslim leaders and MLAs even as the government stepped up efforts to track those who might have travelled to the state after taking part in the meet in Delhi last month, which has turned out to be the hotbed of COVID-19 spread in the country.

After the meeting, the Chief Minister said Muslim MLAs agreed to provide details of those who attended the Jamaat's congregation to the government and also convince them to undergo COVID-19 tests, along with quarantining themselves.

Out of total of 114 active cases in the state so far, 111 patients (including 1 pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while three are in ICU (one on oxygen and two on Ventilators).

Seven of the 128 cases detected and confirmed were transit passengers of Kerala, who landed at airports in Karnataka and are being treated in the state.

Among the 128 positive cases, 51 were reported from Bengaluru, 21 from Mysuru, 10 from Bidar, nine from Dakshina Kannada, eight from Uttara Kannada, seven from Chikkaballapur, five from Kalaburgai, four from Ballari, three each from Davangere, Belagavi and Udupi, and one each from Kodagu, Tumakuru, Bagalkote and Dharwad.

Those discharged include nine patients from Bengaluru and two from Kalaburagi and among the deceased are one each are reported from Kalaburgari, Bengaluru and Tumakuru.

The Chief Minister held a series of meetings to review the measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19 and implementation of lockdown in the state.

He asked the labour department to deposit an additional Rs 1,000 from the Construction Workers Welfare Fund to the accounts of 15 lakh labourers in the sector.

The government has already deposited Rs 1000 to their accounts (amounting about Rs 150 crore) in the first round.

During the meeting the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Kits for Doctors and health care professionals was discussed.

"Work order has been issued for 1 lakh PPE kits, and the Chief Minister has issued directions for the supply of 2 lakh more PPE kits," Kumar said.

Yediyurappa also chaired a meeting with Ministers from Bengaluru on steps to be taken to control spread of COVID-19, as the city has more than half the confirmed cases in the state.

He also decided to covene a meeting of city legislators in this regard on Saturday morning.

Kumar said it was also decided not to provide food free of cost at the state run Indira Canteens as concerns were raised about the quality and misuse that was happening during the Chief Minister's meeting with ministers today.

"We have decided to stop free food supply...we are providing foodgrains to poor through ration already," he said.

However, the Canteens will continue to provide subsidized food- breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch and dinner at Rs 10.

The government last month had decided that Indira Canteens would provide food packets free of cost to the poor and needy in the wake of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, in view of COVID-19, emergency Additional Chief Secretary, H&FW Department ordered extension ofservices of Medical and Para-medical staff, Clinical and Nonclinical staff retiring in April and May this year, to June 30.

Amid reports of lack of co-ordination between Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar and Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu, Chief Minister Yediyurappa has tasked Suresh Kumar to brief the media on COVID-19 related daily bulletins, official sources said.

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News Network
June 28,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 28: In an attempt to curb fast spreading Coronavirus and to bring discipline among the public to follow the guidelines and also as it was found difficult to control the visitors, the City Corporation Mayor Diwakar has ordered closure of the office for one week with immediate effect from Monday.

Public will be banned from entering the MCC building for a period of one week from Monday, he said.

In a circular the Mayor has requested the public to co-operate and help the administration to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

However, a help desk will be set up outside the MCC building where people can submit their applications and requests.

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