Yakshagana veteran Chittani Ramachandra Hegde is no more

Bengaluru, Jul 29: A day after Congress staged a nationwide 'Save Democracy' protest, Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy slammed Congress for "dividing" the political parties and "buying MLAs" and questioned their "democratic behaviour" to lure Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs who supported them.

Kumaraswamy, in a media statement, said, "Is it a democratic behaviour to lure MLAs of other parties through political shenanigans and later merging with them?"

"Congress is an expert in dividing political parties and purchase of MLAs," said Kumaraswamy adding, "If you are dividing the like-minded party MLAs through deceit, who would support you?"

He alleged that the term "horse trade" in politics came to be used because of Congress.

Congress had tied to divide the Janata Dal (Secular) in 2004. To this, he added, "To avoid the party being hijacked by the Congress, I had to oust the Congress-JD(S) coalition government through a political coup."

Kumaraswamy further accused, "Haven't the Congress who is making a big noise about the purchase of MLAs divided the JD(S) in the past? Is it not a fact that for the sake of one Rajya Sabha seat, the Congress government in Karnataka purchased eight JD(S) MLAs?"

Both -- Congress and BJP -- are "criminals" in purchase matter, he added.

Rajasthan Congress is in turmoil after simmering differences between Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot came out in the open. Pilot was removed as the Deputy Chief Minister and the state unit chief of Congress.

The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. The BJP has rejected the allegations.

Mangaluru, July 31: Coronavirus related deaths in Dakshina Kannada continued to surge, with the district administration recording five more fatalities in a day, thus taking the tally to 155.

The district has recorded multiple deaths every day from July 1 to 31. A majority of the deaths are due to comorbid conditions.

Among the five deaths reported today, a 47-year-old man from Mangaluru, was admitted to private hospital on July 30, and breathed his last on the same day. He was suffering from ARDS, Type 1 respiratory failure, COPD, Type II DM, HTN and died due to cardiac arrest.

Another patient was a 75-year-old man from Bantwal, who was admitted to a private hospital on July 23, and passed away on July 30. He was suffering from acute coronary syndrome, pneumonia (ARDS), metabolic encephalopathy, acute kidney injury, systemic hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The third patient was a 63-year-old man from Mangaluru, who was admitted to a private hospital on July 18, and passed away on July 30. He was suffering from ARDS, septic shock, renal failure, and secondary bacterial infection.

The fourth patient was an 88-year-old woman from Davanagere, who was admitted to a private hospital on July 9, and passed away on July 30. She was suffering from septic shock, and secondary bacterial infection.

The fifth patient was a 75-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to Wenlock hospital on July 15, and passed away on July 30. He was suffering from refractory ARDS, septic shock, renal failure, acute coronary event, arrhythmias, pulmonary thromboembolism, and hemoperitoneum.

The district administration said that though the above patients contracted coronavirus, the exact cause of their deaths is being investigated by a team of experts and their report is awaited.

On the other hand, Dakshina Kannada district recorded a total of 204 fresh cases, taking the tally to 5,713. Among the 204 new cases are 75 primary contacts, 63 with influenza-like illness (ILI), and 14 with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). As many as 52 cases are under investigation. As many as 70 patients were discharged on Friday from Wenlock as well as private hospitals.

As per the district health bulletin, a total of 40,706 samples have been tested so far and 34,993 out of them have tested negative. Among the 5,713 positive cases reported in the district, only 2,929 are currently active. As many as 2,631 persons have recovered and been discharged.