Heavy rains lash coastal Karnataka, lightning strike kills student in Kasargod

Mangaluru/Mysuru, Mar 2:Unseasonal rain that lashed several parts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Mysuru districts on Monday brought big relief from scorching heat experienced since last one week.

According to official sources here, the Port city received rain for more than two hours since 0500 hrs. Mangaluru, Thokkottu, Ullal, Kavoor, Bondel, Bejai and other areas surrounding Mangaluru experienced rainfall.

Power supply was disrupted following rainfall. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted 'generally cloudy sky' for Mangaluru on Monday.

Mangaluru, Jan 23: Members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) on Thursday held a protest against the Karnataka government, accusing it of shielding Aditya Rao, the main accused of planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru airport on January 20.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court has sent the accused Aditya Rao to 10 days police custody.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Bengaluru Police said that the procedure is being followed to hand-over to the Mangaluru Police a suspect who surrendered before it two days after planting an improvised explosive device (IED) at the Mangaluru International Airport.

The IED was later defused in an open field by the personnel of the bomb disposal squad.

Bengaluru, Mar 11: Did Congress party’s Man Friday, DK Shivakumar, not rise up to the occasion and save the situation for the party, whose rebel MLAs were flown into Bengaluru to unsettle the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh? Shivakumar told The New Indian Express on Tuesday, “So far, I have not got any clear direction on what has to be done. But I am in touch with the central leaders. The party does not want to antagonise them... They are our own MLAs.”

He said that the Tenth Schedule, which makes defections illegal, is very strong. “It is not so easy for them once they are expelled. There are courts and then they have to get re-elected. It is not easy to get minister’s post after getting re-elected,” he added.

When pointed out that rebels from the Congress and JD(S) who joined the BJP have got re-elected and become ministers, he said, “There are other issues here.”

Asked about Digvijay Singh, who is at the centre of the controversy in MP and who was AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, not being able to prevent the rebellion in his home state, Shivakumar said, “I do not want to comment on any of our national leaders.”But he was confident that the Congress government would be saved in MP. “I am aware of the developments and keeping track of them,” he said.

Congress leaders seemed wiser after the event.

One of them, who wished not to be identified, said the party clearly did not see the writing on the wall. “Jyotiraditya Scindia supported the BJP at the Centre when it scrapped Article 370. Later too he was not in line with the Congress position on several issues. But during the recent Delhi violence, he criticised the BJP, sending confusing signals,” he added.