JD(S), BJP leaders join hands to defeat Siddaramaiah in 2018 polls

coastaldigest.com news network
October 10, 2017

After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his desire to contest the 2018 assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru, his friends-turned-foes in both the JD(S) and the BJP are learnt to have put their heads together to come up with a ‘game plan’ to “politically finish” their common arch-rival.

In a politically significant development, former Minister V Srinivas Prasad from the BJP, and former Ministers A H Vishwanath and G T Deve Gowda from the JD(S) in Mysuru recently held a meeting. If sources are to be believed the agenda of the meeting was joining of forces of the Opposition to achieve the “common goal” of defeating Siddaramaiah.

Gowda, who represents Chamundeshwari in the Assembly, has vowed to contest against Siddaramaiah in the 2018 polls and teach him a lesson. Prasad and Vishwanath, who recently fell out with the Chief Minister, are expected to make common cause with Gowda.

In an interview, Gowda said that he was “hopeful” that the BJP, which does not have a strong candidate in the constituency, will take a “politically expedient stand” to defeat Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari.

When the two JD(S) leaders met Prasad at the latter’s residence in Mysuru, Prasad, a senior vice-president of the BJP in Karnataka, had assured to work for the defeat of Siddaramaiah in the elections.

According to sources, Prasad has reportedly promised the JD(S) leaders of supporting them in their fight against Siddaramaiah and his close aide H C Mahadevappa. Sources also said the three leaders were once close associates of Siddaramaiah, but are now bitter political foes.

The possibility of the Opposition joining forces in Chamundeshwari in the coming elections has revived memories of the epic electoral showdown between the Congress and the JD(S) during the by-elections to Chamundeshwari constituency in 2006, when Siddaramaiah sought to retain his seat after quitting JD(S) and joining the Congress.

Siddaramaiah had scraped through in the bypolls with a narrow margin of 257 votes against JD(S) candidate Shivabasappa, while the BJP had stayed away from the electoral fray. But, unlike then, when JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister and B S Yeddyurappa was the Deputy CM, Mr. Siddaramaiah is on the saddle now.

Recently, addressing Congress party workers in Chamundeshwari Siddaramaiah had revealed that he would contest his next assembly elections from Chamundeshwari constituency. "I became a taluk board member in 1978. It was Chamundeshwari which sent me to the Assembly the first time in 1983 as an independent and again in 2006, when I resigned after I was expelled from JD(S). You elected me five times from 1983 to 2006 and if I had lost twice in between, it was not because of you but because of my mistakes and divisions in the Janata Party. In 2008 I had to contest from Varuna because Revansiddaiah who was supposed to contest there, joined BJP. I have become CM today because of you.  I want my last election to be from here to make Chamundeshwari a model constituency to repay you,” he said.

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News Network
February 5,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 5: Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that he has demanded a report on the Shaheen School incident after reports emerged that children were allegedly interrogated by the police for hours at a stretch, while not allowing parents to be present.

Terming the incident a very sensitive matter as it involves children, Basavaraj Bommai said, "I have asked for a report on the Shaheen School incident. As it is a very sensitive and serious issue, I have asked the police to handle it carefully."

"I have asked the police to take the help of the women and child protection committee at the district level. However, I have been told that the police had visited the area where the play was done and no interrogation of children in isolation took place. Nevertheless, I have asked the police to handle the issue with care and do everything within the law," Basavaraj added.

The matter pertains to a programme organised as a part of the Republic day celebrations where the children in Shaheen School in Bidar had staged a play against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had protested alleging that the play at Shaheen School in Bidar was derogatory. In the play, the participants were shown staging an anti-CAA sequence where there were dialogues encouraging non-cooperation with anyone asking for documents. A case was registered against the school management.

Meanwhile, CEO of Shaheen Education Institute, Bidar, Tauseef Madikeri had said, "Police have invoked Sections 124A, 505 and 504 of the IPC against the institution, over a play staged against CAA and NRC. It is beyond anyone's imagination. Deputy SP visited the classroom and interrogated the students."

Karnataka police had sealed the offices of the school after its students participated in the play. Meanwhile, the police had questioned students of Shaheen School after a play against the CAA and NRC was staged during the Republic Day celebrations.

The child rights groups, teachers and educationists had issued a statement condemning the police interrogation in the incident.

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News Network
January 16,2020

Mysuru, Jan 16: A day after the Mysuru Advocates’ Association refused to defend a student in Mysuru who has been charged with sedition case for displaying a ‘Free Kashmir’ placard, president of the People’s Lawyers’ Guild of Davangere, has come forward to appear in the Court on behalf of her.

Opposing the attack on JNU students and teachers at JNU recently, Nalini had displayed a ‘Free Kashmir’ placard during a protest on January 8 at Manasagangotri of the University of Mysore (UoM) campus here.

Members of the Mysuru Bar Association decided not to represent Nalini.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 6: Students and teachers from various colleges in Bengaluru gathered at the Town Hall in the city to protest against the violence which broke out at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in New Delhi on January 5.

The students raised slogans against Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi Police.

Placards that read 'The more you attack, the stronger we become', 'Take off your masks terrorist', 'With JNU' were seen during the protest.

"We are here to protest against the incident that took place at JNU with our brothers and sisters. What Delhi Police did was shameful and they should have taken charge of the situation long before and not waited for three hours. We stand with JNU," Nisha, a protestor told ANI.

Professors present at the protest expressed regret over the incident and said attacks on the universities is a sick situation in the country.

"This is sick, where have we come to -- violence in the universities? I was so safe when I was studying in college; what we are giving to our students is horrible," said Sangeeta, a professor present at the protest.

Politicians, cutting across party lines, have condemned the attack on students in JNU and demanded strict action against those found guilty.

More than 18 students were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the JNU campus and attacked them and some professors with sticks and rods.

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