Mahendra Kumar joins JD-S, apologizes to Christians

February 21, 2011

MAHENDRA_KUMAR

Mangalore, February 21: Close on the heels of sharing power with BJP in Mysore Zilla Panchayat, opposition JDS today admitted into its fold a sangh parivar leader, reportedly involved in church attacks in Karnataka to "weaken communal forces and strengthen secular forces".

Former convenor of Bajrang Dal Mahendra Kumar today joined JDS led by former Prime Minister H D Devegowda along with his supporters from coastal and Malnad districts of Karnataka in the presence of state unit JDS president H D Kumaraswamy.

Mahendra Kumar who was divested as the convenor of Bajdrang Dal after he owned responsibility for the 2008 church attack in parts of Mangalore and Chikmagalur and even jailed for some time, lashed out at BJP which he accused as a "party that is creating wedge between castes and communities for its survival".

"I am today shedding the shackles of communalism to strive for communal harmony, for which the JDS is working," Mahendra Kumar said defending his cross over to JDS.

He tendered his apologies to Christians for his role in attacks on churches and described Muslims as patriots.

Mahendra Kumar, training his guns on the BJP government in the state, said corruption had reached unprecedented heights.

Kumaraswamy dubbed the Congress as a "directionless party". He said he had chosen to admit Mahendra Kumar into the party fold despite reservations expressed by Muslims and Christian leaders.

Kumaraswamy said he was "keen on promoting the welfare of downtrodden sections of the society".

JDS Spokesman Y S V Datta launched a blistering attack on today's BJP rally remarking "it is not for celebrating 1000 days in office, but to celebrate 1000 scams that have surfaced in the BJP government".

The BJP has put on display its ugly wealth power in the rally, he alleged.


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News Network
January 21,2020

Jan 21: Info Edge (India)'s shareholding in Zomato reduces to 22.71%; Uber receives 9.99% stake in Zomato.

Info Edge (India) announced that Zomato Media (Zomato) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Uber's food delivery business in India (Uber) in an all-stock transaction, which gives Uber 9.99% ownership in Zomato.

Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users of the Uber Eats apps to the Zomato platform, effective 21 January 2020.

Upon closing of said acquisition, the company's shareholding in Zomato shall stand reduced to about 22. 71 % on fully converted & diluted basis.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 26: A year-long probe by Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) has found that its late founder V G Siddhartha routed Rs 2,693 crore out of the company to Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estates Ltd (MACEL), another privately-owned entity of him.

The MACEL owes Rs 3,535 crore to subsidiaries of Coffee Day Enterprises as of July 31, 2019 of which only Rs 842 crore was accounted.

"Therefore, a sum of Rs 2,693 crore is the incremental outstanding that needs to be addressed," said the report of an investigation headed by Ashok Kumar Malhotra, a retired DIG of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and assisted by law firm Agastya Agastya Legal.

Siddhartha was found dead in early August 2019, and many suspected that he had committed suicide.

Steps are being taken by subsidiaries of CDEL for recovery of dues from MACEL, the company said.

"The board authorised the Chairman to appoint an ex-judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, or any other person of eminence, to suggest and oversee actions for recovery of the dues from MACEL and to help on any other associated matters," it said in regulatory filings at stock exchanges late on Friday.

The probe further gives clean chits to the Income Tax Department and the private equity firms who Siddhartha in his parting letter had alleged of harassment.

"We have not been provided with any documentary evidence to draw an inference that there may have been any advertent or inadvertent harassment from the Income Tax Department," said the probe report.

The probe also highlighted severe liquidity crunch at CDEL in the build-up to Siddhartha's death.

A committee supported by senior professionals was formed to protect the interest of all stakeholders. CDEL said the debt levels which were about Rs 7,200 crore on March 31, 2019 have been brought down significantly by Rs 4,000 crore. The present debt of the group is around Rs 3,200 crore.

"The disinvestment process in the group continues and we are confident to have effective solution to all stakeholders," it said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 26,2020

Bengaluru, May 26: The Karnataka government has decided cancel summer vacation for undergraduate and post-graduate students and universities during the 2020-21 academic year in the wake of severe academic loss due to COVID-19 lockdown.

Keeping in mind the loss of academic days due to the lockdown to contain the pandemic, the Higher Education Department has decided to go in for ‘Zero Vacation’. 

The state government decided to cancel all holidays particularly the summer holidays after holding a series of meetings with the Vice Chancellors and other academicians from various parts of the state.

The decision was also communicated during the review meeting of the Higher Education Department held by CM Yediyurappa on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

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