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Congress high-command to pick CM in Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge

Agencies
April 24, 2018

Apr 24: The Congress stands a very good chance of winning the Karnataka Assembly polls, and the high-command will take a call on the next chief minister, senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said today, indicating incumbent Siddaramaiah may not be the automatic choice.

He said the Congress high-command will choose the chief minister in consultation with the newly elected MLAs, if the party is voted to power for a second term running.

The Congress has consistently maintained it is contesting the polls under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah but refrained from declaring him its candidate for the top job.

Kharge's remarks indicated that the leadership question in the Congress was far from settled.

When asked if the party's central leadership has decided on who would be the next chief minister, Kharge said "unnecessary controversy" should not be created in the run-up to the elections.

"CM (Siddaramaiah) is already there. He is leading (the Congress campaign) and he is the captain. As long as he leads, he is the captain.

"And the party, whenever it wants, can change anybody because the high-command is the ultimate authority. In consultation with local (newly elected) MLAs, they (the high-command) will take decision (on who will be the chief minister)," Kharge told news agency.

Kharge, leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, said since the BJP and the JDS were facing problems, they had declared their chief ministerial nominees, he said, without elaborating.

The BJP has declared its state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa and JDS H D Kumaraswamy as their chief ministerial faces. Both have been the state's chief minister.

Talking about the Congress's electoral prospects, Kharge said, "We have got very good chances to win the elections and I hope that we will get majority."

He also claimed that neither the Congress nor the chief minister is facing "anti-incumbency".

Kharge defended Siddaramaiah for filing nominations from two constituencies -- Chamundeshwari and Badami.

Noting that Kumaraswamy is also contesting from two seats, he asked, "Have Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda not done so?"

"People of the area (Badami and north Karnataka) want Siddaramaiah to contest from Badami. He has got a lot of clout in that area also.

"People (opposition parties) are creating a sort of atmosphere that there is no hope (for Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari) and that's why he is contesting (from Badami). It's not like that," Kharge added.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Bengaluru, May 11: Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar today held a video conference with Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja to discuss measures to tackle COVID-19.

The ministers discussed in detail the protocols for testing, quarantine and treatment for COVID-19 that are being followed by both the states.

The Karnataka Health Department on Monday said that 10 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state, taking the total number of positive cases to 858.

"31 people have lost their lives due to coronavirus in the state and 422 persons have been discharged after recovery," the Health Department added.

Kerala, on the other hand, has tackled the coronavirus crisis better than most other states of the country. There are only 19 active cases of COVID-19 in the state while 489 people have recovered. The death toll in the state is 4, according to the data published by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 29: Janata Dal-Secular leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday accused the central government of writing off loans of those who are facing charges of fraud.

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy slammed the central government.

"Really? At a time when the whole world is worried about unprecedented economic emergency, writing off Rs 68,000 crore loans of willful big fish defaulters became the best antidote to the economic crisis? And how is 50k cr package to mutual funds going to help the common man?" he tweeted.

In another tweet, Kumaraswamy said that "Billionaire scamsters like Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksy, Sanjay Junjunwala seem to be very dear to this government".

"Na khaunga, na khane dunga" is yet another jumla unraveled. Billionaire scamsters like Vijay Malya, Mehul Choksy, Sanjay Junjunwala seem to be very dear to this government. The poor are dying by the roadside, farmers are desperate, the middle class is faced with economic doom.

The government has done little to help. But it writes off loans of those who are facing charges of fraud! What patriotism! What nationalism!" he tweeted.

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News Network
June 29,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 29: Bengaluru continued to see a sharp spike in covid- 19 cases as 738 more people tested positive on Monday that took the city's tally to 4052 of which 3427 is active.

The surge in Bengaluru pushed up the number of positive cases to 1105 across Karnataka. The total number of cases in Karnataka now stands at 14,295 of which 6382 are active.

The death toll stood at 230 as 19 more people died in the 24 hours till 5 pm on Monday.

Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, has seen a sharp rise in cases over the last two weeks indicating the possibility of community transmission and further rise in cases.

Estimates by government authorities project that Karnataka will have around 25,000 cases by mid-August.

R.Ashok, the revenue minister incharge of covid- 19 in Bengaluru on Monday told doctors that they would have to dedicate another six months to contain the virus indicating that authorities were expecting the case count to rise in subsequent days and months.

The city reported over 3,200 cases since 19 June as against 844 cases between 8 March and 18 June.

There are around 500 containment zones in Bengaluru that is likely to have an impact of business and activities in the state's growth capital and its efforts to revive the economy.

The state government on Monday held meetings with private hospitals to increase the number of beds available for treatment of covid- 19.

The number of people in intensive careunits (ICU) jumped to 268.

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