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
July 20,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 20: Karnataka on Monday reported 3,648 COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 67,420, informed the state health department.

According to a bulletin issued by the department, the state recorded 72 more deaths due to COVID-19 with the toll at 1,403 while six patients who tested positive for the infection have died due to non-COVID causes, as of Monday.

There are 42,216 active cases in the state.
As many as 730 patients were discharged today, taking the total discharged patients to 23,795.
Bengaluru recorded the highest number of cases and deaths today at 1,452 and 31, respectively, informed the state health department.

India's COVID-19 case tally crossed the 11-lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 40,425 new cases and 681 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Monday.

The total cases in the country now stand at 1,118,043 while the death toll is 27,497.

The ministry said the total number of cases include 390,459 active cases and 700,087 cured/discharged/migrated.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 17: The first chartered flight repatriating Indians stranded at Kuwait for months landed at the international airport here.

The Jazeera Airways flight privately booked by the Keralites and coastal Kannadigas living in the Arab country had left sometime in the afternoon with 160 passengers on board.

The flight also carried the mortal remains of Sathish Kochu Shetty (45), who died in a fire tragedy at a refinery in Kuwait on June 14.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 2: The Opposition Congress and the JD(S) members protested in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Monday over the BJP leader Basavaraj Patil Yatnal's alleged derogatory remark against veteran freedom fighter H S Doreswamy.

Opposition Leader in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, raised the issue, immediately after the obituary reference of sudden demise of former Minister C Chanigappa, and sought permission from the Speaker to raise the issue of Yatnal's outburst in the House stating that the matter of hurling defamatory remark against Gandhian Doreswamy, by Mr Yatnal, was very much serious. However, the treasury bench members protested and urged the Speaker not to allow the matter to discuss as the issue was not in the agenda.

The Speaker, Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri, promised the Congress leader about permitting the issue after the House adopts resolution on the thanksgiving motion for the Governor's address of the joint House recently and asked Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to continue his reply to the Governor's address.

The opposition Congress and the JD(S) members, protesting the Speaker's action, trooped into the well of the house and raised slogans against the BJP government.

The Chief Minister continued his reply amidst the din before the Speaker adjourned the House for 30 minutes after the House adopted the thanksgiving motion to the Governor's Address.

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