BJP, JD(S) join hands to defeat Siddaramaiah in his home district

DHNS
April 24, 2018

Bengaluru, Apr 24: The BJP and the JD(S) appear to have joined forces to take on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress in almost all constituencies in Mysuru district and not just Chamundeshwari.

The two Opposition parties have decided to help each other to defeat the Congress in the district, which currently holds eight out the 11 Assembly segments. While the JD(S) had bagged three seats in the 2013 elections, the BJP could not even garner one seat. But, this does not negate the saffron party’s presence in the district.

The party, in fact, gained momentum in the district, especially after BJP state chief B S Yeddyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra decided to contest against Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra from Varuna seat.

Though Vijayendra’s fate hangs in balance of now, the JD(S) has entered into a tacit understanding with the BJP to ensure the latter’s victory in Varuna.

The party has even gone to the extent of changing its candidate to facilitate the BJP’s victory. The JD(S) which had fielded Abhishek, now wants to field a Muslim candidate, Sajid.

“The decision has been taken to ensure Yathindra’s defeat in Varuna. The JD(S) had not strengthened the constituency. So, it was decided to help the BJP,” said party sources.

The JD(S) move is in reciprocation to the BJP’s support to its candidate G T Devegowda in the Vokkaliga-dominant Chamundeshwari, from where Siddaramaiah has filed his nomination. The BJP had earlier wanted to field Hemanth Gowda, a Vokkaliga from there. After it came to fore that Hemanth Gowda would eat into a sizable chunk of Vokkaliga votes, the BJP fielded a Brahim, Gopal Rao, to facilitate the JD(S) candidate’s victory.

The BJP also changed its candidate in K R Nagar. It had earlier thought of fielding Hosahalli Venkatesh (a Vokkaliga), but later decided to field Shwetha Gopal, to help JD(S) candidate and sitting MLA Sa Ra Mahesh. Else, there would have been a close contest between Mahesh and Congress candidate D Ravishankar.

In Periyapatna, the BJP wanted to field Ganesh (who had taken 28,000 votes in the previous polls), but has now fielded S Manjunath, to help JD(S) candidate K Mahadev. As Manjunath is a Kuruba, the two parties hope that his candidature will cut into the Kuruba votes, denting Congress MLA K Venkatesh’s prospects. The segment is dominated by Kurubas and Vokkaligas.

The same strategy has been adopted in Hunsur, H D Kote and Chamaraja segments, where the BJP had fielded “weak” candidates.

The JD(S) for itts part has decided to help the BJP in Krishnaraja, where the saffron party has fielded S A Ramdas. Krishnaraja is currently held by Congress MLA M K Somashekar.

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Abdullah
 - 
Tuesday, 24 Apr 2018

Whomever against Balathkari Janasanga party (BJP) should be against JDS also.

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News Network
July 29,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 29: Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Tuesday criticised BJP-led Karnataka government for limiting or omitting various topics including chapters on 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali.

Speaking to media here at Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, Shivakumar said Congress will not allow BJP government in Karnataka to "divert history".

"Tipu Sultan does not belong to one caste or a class. He is part of the history of this country. BJP government has removed chapters related to him for its political advantage. It is their decision whether they celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti or not, but he is part of our history. 

The President of this country Ramnath Kovind came to the Vidhan Sabha and praised Tipu's patriotism during a joint session," Shivakumar said.

"The BJP government has come to power today. Our history should not change. We will not let these people to covert or dilute history. This is the stand of the Congress party. Our experts will study the pros and cons of this decision," he added.

Shivakumar further said many countries around the world have praised the Constitution, Indian history and expressed their willingness to "adapt it".

"But the BJP is trying to curtail this. We need to educate our children. Our team will also study this and we will not let this happen," he said.
The Karnataka government, in a bid to reduce the syllabus for state board schools by 30 per cent, has limited or omitted various topics including chapters on Mysuru rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan from the class 7 social science textbook.

The reduction in syllabus comes as schools are closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state, and classes have been moved online.
The Department of Public Instruction of the Karnataka government also limited or removed various other topics from the syllabus of class 6 to 10 as they were repeated or can be alternatively taught.

Earlier, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had revised the syllabus for the classes IX to XII for the academic session 2020-21 in a "one-time measure" owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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News Network
May 17,2020

Bengaluru, May 17: Left to itself, Karnataka will look to spring back towards normalcy under Lockdown 4.0 as the state government is on standby to resume public transport services from May 18, if the Centre allows it. 

Though KSRTC and BMTC have been preparing for resumption of services, officials in the two corporations told DH that they cannot make a move till the government makes a decision.

Transport Commissioner N Shivakumar said the department will take a decision based on the state government's orders. "The government will take a call on buses as well as taxi and other transport services," he said.

Senior officials in the state government said Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi has written to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari seeking a nod for resumption of the services. 

Transport Secretary Gaurav Gupta has written a separate letter to his counterpart in the Union government requesting permission to operate public transport. "The state government wants the services to open. The official has listed out the steps the corporations will take to ensure social distancing other steps that will be taken to check spread of Coronavirus," a source said.

The B S Yediyurappa administration has been bullish on easing lockdown restrictions. 

If the Centre empowers the states to define Lockdown 4.0, Karnataka is likely to do away with the red-orange-green zoning of districts and allow public services to resume, except in COVID-19 containment zones. The government is also likely to redefine its containment strategy by micromanaging localities where COVID-19 cases are reported, without letting life in an entire district get affected. 

The government has already shown willingness to allow hotels and gyms to open after May 17 subject to social distancing norms and restrictions. In fact, the government has proposed to allow the resumption of all economic activities in standalone establishments. The government, however, is not keen on opening malls, theatres, diners and establishments that have centralized air conditioning. 

“Everything depends on the Centre,” Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said. “Our only stand is that the red zone should be treated at par with the other zone when it comes to relaxation.” 

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News Network
April 4,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 4: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday asked Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar to be the government's spokesperson on the Novel Coronavirus crisis management effort, a move that is being seen as keeping too many cooks from spoiling the broth.

At a high-level meeting to review measures on COVID-19 containment, Mr Yediyurappa is said to have taken exception to his Cabinet colleagues making multiple, and often contradictory statements, leading to confusion.

''The CM has directed Mr Kumar to be the only one to brief the media on COVID-19,'' a source from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) confirmed.

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