Archives for 2022

NEW DELHI: Amid speculation about a state cabinet expansion or reshuffle, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday met BJP president JP Nadda at his residence here and believed to have discussed about the state’s political developments.

Earlier during the day, Bommai had a brief one-on-one interaction with Nadda on the sidelines of the BJP’s 42nd Foundation Day event here, sources added.

Pressure has been mounting on the chief minister to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, after the recent assembly elections in five states.

Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka cabinet to make way for new faces ahead of the assembly election next year.

There are currently 30 ministers in the State Cabinet, including the chief minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who recently visited the state, had given a target to Karnataka BJP leaders to ensure the party’s victory in 150 seats out of the total of 224 in the 2023 assembly elections.

The BJP is eyeing a second consecutive term in the state.

On the second day of his Delhi visit, Bommai met several Union ministers, including Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajnath Singh, and discussed various issues of his state.

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday stayed the state government orders making Kannada a compulsory subject in higher education as part of implementing the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 from the academic year 2021-22. 

A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice S R Krishna Kumar passed the interim order, staying the operation of two orders by the state government dated August 7, 2021 and September 15, 2021. The court order came after hearing two separate petitions filed by the Samskrita Bharathi Karnataka Trust and KG Shivakumar and others, studying at Vijaya College at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru, against the government orders, making Kannada compulsory at the undergraduate level. 

Referring to the stand of the Union government that there is no mention of any compulsory language under NEP, the court said, “We prima facie find that the impugned government orders cannot be implemented or put into operation. Both the orders are stayed till further orders.”The Kannada Development Authority had filed an impleading application and the court asked it to file objections if any. The court orally observed that it is not against any language and is only looking at whether any regional language can be made compulsory under NEP.

On December 16, 2021, the court observed, “We are of the view that the matter with respect to implementation of Kannada language as a compulsory subject in higher studies on the basis of implementing the NEP is a question which requires consideration and as such, the State Government at this stage should not insist to make the language compulsory. The students who have already taken Kannada on the basis of their choice may do so, but all such students who do not wish to take Kannada should not be compelled to pursue it till further orders.”

Contending that students coming from other states who have not learnt Kannada are bound to fail as they cannot study the language at the graduation level, the petitioners claimed that the government orders would affect over 1.30 lakh students and 4,000 language teachers.

The state government contended that making Kannada compulsory was a policy decision in tune with the recommendations of the VK Gokak Committee report. Already, four lakh students have taken admission opting Kannada as a subject and admissions are almost over and the petitioner-students have already studied Kannada up to class 12. As such, they cannot have any objection in studying Kannada language in higher studies, the government argued. 

INDORE: A 30-year-old man was allegedly abused and thrashed for sporting a moustache in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, police said on Wednesday.

The man, Ravi Tirodia (30), lodged a complaint at Malharganj police station in connection with the incident that occurred late on Tuesday night, a police officer said.

The accused in the case, Bunty Godha, his brother Naveen Godha and an accomplice Tarachand alias Bam, were agitated over Tirodia’s moustache, and used abusive words against him, the policeman said quoting the complaint.

When Tirodia opposed the abused hurled at him, one of the accused thrashed him with a stick, he said.

“When Tirodia raised an alarm, two of his brothers reached the spot and intervened, following which the accused fled after threatening the victim,” officer said.

He said that the police is investigating the matter in detail and the accused have not been arrested so far.

NEW DELHI:  A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached the property of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue of central agencies targeting opposition leaders. 

The ED had on Tuesday attached property worth `11 crore belonging to Raut’s wife and his associates in a money-laundering investigation. In another development, the CBI on Wednesday took custody of former Maharashtra home minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh from Arthur Road Jail in connection with corruption allegations raised against him by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Deshmukh was in judicial custody following his arrest by the ED in connection with a money laundering case. To a question on the possible impact of such raids on the coalition government in Maharashtra, Pawar said the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will complete its full term. “The MVA will also return to power in the elections in 2024,” he said.

During the 20-minute meeting, Pawar and Modi discussed other issues related to Maharashtra. Pawar also flagged the delay on the part of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari regarding nominations to the state Legislative Council. 

LUCKNOW:  After creating history by returning to power in Uttar Pradesh for a second consecutive term, the BJP is now eying a majority in both Houses of the state legislature and making all-out efforts to sweep the UP Legislative Council polls scheduled on April 9. The ruling party has already unanimously won nine of the 36 council seats that were up for grabs. Voting for rest 27 seats will take place on Saturday and the results will be declared on April 12.

The BJP had 35 MLCs in the 100-member Council and the nine seats have now taken its tally to 44. The party is only seven short of majority. The Samajwadi Party has 17 members while the BSP has 4 and the Congress and BJP allies Apna Dal(S) and Nishad Party have one member each. Two members belong to the teachers’ group (non-political) and two are Independent.

That leaves 37 positions in the Upper House vacant, but the election will be held for 36 seats, where elected representatives of local bodies will cast votes. One seat is lying vacant due to the death of SP MLC and leader of opposition Ahmad Hassan during the Assembly polls.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to win all the seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been convening virtual meetings with party’s elected representatives. According to highly-placed sources in the party, ministers, MLAs and MPs have been asked to reach out to the voters to ensure an impressive victory. The party’s organisational secretary Sunil Bansal and his team are keeping a close eye on the day-to-day preparations for the Council polls.

In the meeting convened by CM Yogi, around 32,000 people were virtually connected. The CM appealed to MLAs, zila panchayat members, block development council members, mayors, municipal chairpersons, village pradhans and corporators to work for the victory of the BJP’s Council poll candidates.
With only seven more seats to grab, attaining a majority in the House will not be a difficult task for the party. However, it’s aiming for a ‘clean sweep’ to consolidate its position further. 

A BJP leader explained that in 2017, when the Yogi government first came to power in the state, the SP had 60-plus seats in the Council. “If the BJP gets a majority in both Houses, it will be easier for the party to get important bills and cement its position as an even more formidable political force.”

NEW DELHI: CNG prices in the national capital on Thursday were hiked for the second day in a row by Rs 2.50 per kilogram, taking the total increase since March to Rs 12.5 per kg.

CNG in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi now costs Rs 69.11 per kg, up from Rs 66.61 per kg, according to the information posted on the website of Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) – the firm which retails CNG and piped cooking gas in the national capital and adjoining cities.

Rates had gone up by Rs 2.50 per kg on Wednesday as well. However, there was no change in the rates of Piped Cooking Gas (PNG). It continues to cost Rs 41.61 per standard cubic meter.

CNG prices in Delhi have increased by Rs 12.48 per kg since March when city gas distributors started factoring in high international energy prices.

On Thursday, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) raised Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) price by Rs 7 per kg to Rs 67 per kg in Mumbai while Gujarat Gas hiked rates by Rs 6.50 per kg to Rs 76.98 per kg.

Prices vary from city to city depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT.

The increases come on the back of the government more than doubling natural gas prices to USD 6.1 per million British thermal unit from April 1.

Natural gas when compressed becomes CNG for use as fuel in automobiles.

The same gas is also piped to household kitchens and industries for cooking and other purposes.

The increase in CNG prices follows Rs 10 per litre hike in petrol and diesel prices in 16 days and a Rs 50 per cylinder raise in the cooking gas LPG rates.

A record 137-day hiatus in petrol and diesel price revision ended on March 22.

On the same day, the price of a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder was increased to Rs 949.50 in the national capital.

In some places, the LPG price has touched Rs 1,000.

According to IGL, CNG will now cost Rs 71.67 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad and Rs 77.44 per kg in Gurugram, the cities adjoining Delhi.