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Archives for September 2018

Cong-JD(S) sweep ULB polls in Karnataka; Acid attack in Tumakur injures 8

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The Congress on Monday, September 3, went head to head with the BJP in the urban local body (ULB) elections in Karnataka but was set to gain control of a majority of the ULBs with a post-poll tie-up with ruling coalition partner, JD(S).

According to the state election commission, the Congress has secured 966 seats and the BJP has 910 seats in the elections held on Saturday. The JD(S) has won 373 seats and the others the rest of the seats. Despite being partners in the coalition government at the state, the Congress and the JD(S) contested the polls separately but, they have already declared that they would tie up after the ULB elections. Combined, the Congress and the JD(S) have won 1,339 seats, beating the BJP by a clear margin. The combined results come as a sigh of relief to the Congress and the JD(S) coalition government at the state as the ULB polls were considered as a crucial test for the coalition government. This could very well be the index for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Results for 2,628 seats out of 2,709 have been declared so far. The BJP was in the lead in Bagalkote, Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere and Udupi districts, while the Congress moved ahead in the Ballari, Bidar, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Koppal, Mysuru, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, and Yadgir districts and the JD(S) lead in its usual strongholds, including Hassan, Mandya and Tumakuru.

“We the party to perform better than the present results. The results of this election are not an indication of any future elections, particularly the Lok Sabha elections… where the BJP is going to win with a thumping majority,” said BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa.

Meanwhile, endorsing BSY’s views, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge too, said that these elections are based on minor issues and local candidates and hence, don’t hold much significance.

The elections were held for 3 city corporations, 29 city municipal councils, 52 town municipal councils and 20 town panchayats, the polling took place across 2,633 wards of the state — spread over 29 city municipalities, 53 town municipalities and 23 town panchayats and in 135 wards of three city corporations. Polls to Kodagu urban local bodies were withheld due to the recent deluge in the district. A record average of 67.5 per cent voter turnout was registered.

Victory celebrations turn ugly

As many as eight people were injured in an acid attack on Monday during a victory procession of Congress candidate Inayathullah Khan in Tumakur. The injured were immediately rushed to a hospital where they were given treatment. It is yet unclear who attacked the rally, however, Tumakur SP Divya Gopinath has said that the substance used in the attack was a low intensity acid and it comes across that someone within the crowd sprayed it, following which a few felt some sort of discomfort. The doctors treating the victims have said that it could be a low intensity acid like the one used to clean bathrooms. All the eight have suffered minor injuries. Police sources said that no complaint has been lodged so far.

(PTI)

Soldiers should get access to social media within line of control: Army Chief

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Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who doesnt carry a cellphone, on Tuesday said soldiers could not be denied access to the social media and they should be allowed to use smartphones within a line of controlled discipline.

He said the Indian Army needed to make optimal usage of the social media in the advanced age of communication and information.

“The social Media gaining momentum faster than we thought. (If we don’t catch up) we will be left far behind and we will be fire fighting again,” General Rawat said, speaking at a seminar on “Social Media and Armed Forces”.

“Information is one of the pillars of national power. There is no way the Armed Forces can remain away from that,” he said

“We have received advice that we should advise our soldiers to stay away from the social media. Can you deny a soldier a smart phone? Can you deny soldier a smartphone at home or prevent his family to own one. If you can’t prevent usage of smartphone, it is best to allow it (the access to social media).

“The social media is here to stay. Soldiers will use the social media. Our adversary will use the social media for psychological warfare and deception. We must leverage it to our advantage.”

The Army Chief said the social media could be used in combating proxy war, cross-border terrorism but drew a note of caution, saying it was “important to have means of imposing discipline” among the soldiers regarding their social media behaviour.

He, however, said he himself didn’t possess a cellphone but that should not mean that his force should be denied of it.

“I don’t have a cellphone and when someone asks me my cellphone number I just give them (any random number) 9868… and if it turns out to be an 11-digit number I just say cut the last digit.

“But we (the Indian Army) have to engage, remain engaged and benefit (from the use of social media).

“In modern day warfare, information warfare is important and within it, we have started talking about Artificial Intelligence. If we have to leverage Artificial Intelligence to our advantage, we must engage through the social media as a lot of what we wish to gain as part of Artificial Intelligence will come via social media.”

The views by the Army Chief came months after the social media policy for soldiers was criticized when a senior Army officer was allegedly honey-trapped by an ISI agent through Facebook.

The Defence Ministry set out guidelines for the soldiers on the usage of the social media. They have been asked not to use photos in uniform as profile pictures on WhatsApp, Facebook or any other platforms.

The guidelines also bar them from clicking on advertisements on social media sites alluring for prizes/awards, exposing official identity, revealing their rank, unit name and location or anything related to their work, accepting friend request from unknown users.

Rupee falls to fresh low of 71.43 per US dollar

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High crude oil prices and negative global cues pulled the Indian rupee to a new record low of 71.43 per US dollar in the late on Tuesday afternoon.

The Indian rupee which opened at 71.24 per US dollar surpassing the previous low of 71.37 per dollar, which it had touched around 9.15 a.m. on Tuesday.

Around 2.45 p.m., the Indian rupee crossed the 71.43 per US dollar mark — the lowest ever mark — against the greenback at the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market.

India’s airlines suffering double whammy: IATA

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Indias passenger carriers are suffering from a “double whammy” of a steep rise in fuel costs and the decline in the Indian rupees value, global airlines association IATA said on Tuesday.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the rise in fuel costs was particularly acute for Indian carriers as it makes up 34 per cent of operating costs well above the global average of 24 per cent.

“While it is easy to find Indian passengers who want to fly, it’s very difficult for airlines to make money in this market,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO at the International Aviation Summit being held here.

“India’s social and economic development needs airlines to be able to profitably accommodate growing demand. We must address infrastructure constraints that limit growth and government policies that deviate from global standards and drive up the cost of connectivity.”

IATA’s growth forecast for India indicate a trebling of passenger demand by 2037 when some 500 million people are expected to fly to, from or within India.

MiG-27 crashes near Jodhpur

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An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-27 aircraft crashed near Jodhpur in Rajasthan during a routine mission on Tuesday but the pilot ejected safely, officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Sombit Ghosh said a court of inquiry will investigate the cause of the accident.

He clarified that there was some misinformation earlier with respect to the number of pilots.

The MiG-27, which took off from Jodhpur, came down near Devriya village. Villagers were the first to rush to the site.

An eyewitness, Champalal, said two or three fighter planes were in the air when one of them was seen emitting smoke. It came down suddenly with a loud noise and the area was engulfed in thick smoke.

The pilot was taken to a hospital.

(IANS)

RSS-backed trade union says Modi government causing ‘extreme labour exploitation’

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RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) will launch a nationwide agitation on Sep 6 against the Modi government’s reforms that it says have led to “extreme exploitation and harassment” of the labour sector and led to increasing unemployment in the country.

C.K. Saji Narayanan, chief of one of the largest trade unions in the country, told IANS that they would stage protests in all the districts demanding among other things, scrapping of “fixed-term employment”, which he said was “destroying” the labour sector.

“Because of these so-called reforms, contract labour has now become the default model of employment in India. Today 67 per cent of the organised sector workers belong to this category. The trend of contract labour system has increased with the elimination of permanent posts in private and public entities as well as government departments,” Narayanan said.

He said contract labour system had expanded rapidly creating shortage of permanent employees and making it a means of enhancing profit in the public sector.

“We tried reasoning with the Labour Ministry several times but to no avail. The fixed-term employment is not just leading to rapid expansion of contract labour but also resulting in increasing the number of new unemployed youth.

“Therefore, we have to stand up to face the Himalayan challenge to make contract labour exploitation free,” said Narayanan, adding that the Sep 6 nationwide agitation was only the beginning of a long haul fight to address the issue of rampant labour exploitation in the country.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government had first allowed hiring fixed-term workers in 2003. This was scrapped in 2007 by the Congress-led UPA in 2007 following intense protests by trade unions.

After coming to power, the Modi government in April 2015 again mooted the concept by issuing draft rules for amending the Industrial Establishment (Standing Order). But the move was deferred following opposition from trade unions.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech this year announced extending the facility of fixed term employment applicable only in the apparel manufacturing sector to all sectors.

Subsequently the Central government in March notified amending the Industrial Establishment (Standing Order) 1946 to extend the facility of hiring workers on fixed-term employment to all sectors.

Under the rules, a “fixed-term employment” workman is one who has been engaged on the basis of a written contract of employment for a fixed period.

The new rules, which provide that a temporary workman can be terminated without being given any notice of termination, has been widely condemned by all trade unions and they have been demanding its rollback.

The BMS has been vociferous in deriding the government’s labour and economic policies and stridently opposed many of the labour reforms which it says has led to “continuous unrest among contract workers and increase in breakdown of industrial peace”.

Apprehensive that the prevailing situation may lead to creation of “new conditions of bonded labour”, the BMS, at its recently concluded National Executive Committee Meeting, adopted a resolution seeking immediate steps from the Centre to prevent open violations of labour laws.

“Incidents in Maruti Udyog at Manesar, Hyundai and Honda industries are vivid examples of the intense labour unrest. There is huge resentment among the entire labour sector. Unless steps are taken to resolve the issues, the situation will only worsen,” warned Narayanan.

Highlighting the plight of contract labour, the BMS said these workers were denied any social security, pension, medical benefits, gratuity and leave. Besides being paid one-fourth of a permanent worker’s wage, they were even denied minimum wages especially in the non-scheduled employment.

The BMS wants regularization of contract labour, amendment of relevant laws to secure “equal pay for similar work” and ensuring that contract workers were paid perks that permanent employees get.

(IANS)

Elderly woman molested and killed by daily wager in Mysuru

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A 65-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and killed on Sunday, September 2, under Mandi police station limits.

The deceased has been identified as Saliamma, a native of Tamil Nadu was working as a daily-wager at APMC vegetable market at Tilak Naga of Mysuru District. The accused is identified as Murthy, also a daily-wager.

The accused is suspected to have assaulted Saliamma under the influence of liquor. He is said to have tried to rape her and in this bid Saliamma was severely injured. She succumbed to the injuries later.

When neighbours went to check Saliamma on Sunday evening, they saw Murthy come out of the house. When the neighbours went inside, they saw her dead body.

Soon after the incident came to light, the woman’s neighbours caught the accused and thrashed him. However, he succeeded in fleeing away from the spot.

NABARD sanctions over Rs 334 cr to Bengal projects in August

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The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Tuesday said it has sanctioned Rs 334.75 crore in August, under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), to West Bengal for 158 minor irrigation and 23 flood protection projects.

The projects were expected to benefit 20,506 hectare covering 3.09 lakh population in 699 villages of the 22 districts while the flood protection projects would address the problem of rapid bank erosion caused by rivers, according to a statement.

The developmental bank said the implementation of 23 flood protection projects would save around 5,080 hectare of fertile agricultural and home stead lands of farmers of 64 villages which are under area of erosion.

With this cumulative RIDF loan assistance to the state government during the year stands at Rs 1,172.16 crore.

Karnataka to follow Delhi for improving education

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Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has directed the state’s Education Department to study the steps taken by Delhi to improve the quality of education in schools and have sought a report on it.

In a series of tweets the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Kumaraswamy’s government has prioritised education at a meeting with officials of the department.

He has directed officials to submit a comprehensive report on improving the quality of education in government schools. “There must be no compromise,” he has said.

The Chief Minister has suggested that the officials study the steps taken by Delhi government and submit a report recommending ways to improve the quality of education in Karnataka’s government schools.

Yashwant Sinha slams government for hike in petrol, diesel prices

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Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday slammed the union government for unprecedented hike in prices of petrol and diesel and expressed his anguish over the opposition parties for not hitting the streets over the issue.

“Petrol, diesel and gas prices are rising and are hitting all time highs daily. Why are opposition parties not hitting the streets? What are they waiting for?” Sinha, who has been critical of government’s economic policies said in a tweet.

The former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s remarks came a day after the prices of petrol and diesel, already at unprecedented levels in the country, rose for the 10th consecutive day on Tuesday.

In the national capital, petrol was sold at Rs 79.15 per litre, up from Rs 78.84 on Sunday.

(IANS)

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