BENGALURU: In the ongoing hearing on petitions related to the hijab issue before the Karnataka High Court, Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadagi on Monday argued that student-petitioners have not been able to substantiate their claim that wearing hijab is an essential religious practice as they have not placed any material to support their argument. Citing several Supreme Court judgements, starting from Shirur Mutt to Sabarimala case, Navadagi said that wearing hijab is not an essential religious practice under Article 25 of the Constitution.

Navadagi argued that the contention that triple talaq was part of a religious practice was rejected by the apex court. If wearing hijab is an essential religious practice, it should not come in conflict with the public order, he added. 

Not only that, it has to pass the ‘essential test’ on certain principles, otherwise the question of declaring a religious practice essential does not arise, he claimed. The principles raised by Navadagi are that wearing hijab must be a practice fundamental to that religion. If that practice is not observed or not followed or discontinued, it would result in change of the religion itself. 

‘Govt doesn’t interfere in uniforms’

The practice must precede the birth of the religion and that practice should not be evolved after the birth of the religion. The practice should be the cornerstone or foundation stone of the religion. If the practice is optional and not essential, then it is not binding. If it is compulsive and can be disobeyed, it ceases to be a part of the religion, he stated.

He submitted that the state government does not interfere in the matter of uniform and hence the issue of deciding whether hijab to be permitted or not is left to the CDC. Navadagi submitted that he has communicated the grievances brought to his notice by one of the petitioners’ advocate, Mohammed Tahir, to the chief secretary to convene a meeting of all concerned to address them and take remedial measures.

Officials of the education department informed that no such untoward incidents as claimed by the advocate have been reported, he pleaded. Navadagi will continue his arguments at 2.30 pm on Tuesday.

Sec 144 around B’luru colleges
Bengaluru: Following protests over the hijab row at educational institutions across the state, the Bengaluru city police have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, prohibiting gathering or protesting within a radius of 200 metres around schools and colleges, for two more weeks. Karnataka has witnessed several demonstrations over the last week on the issue, which had forced the State Government to declare a holiday for high schools and colleges till Friday. As a preventive step, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant issued prohibitory orders on Monday, banning all types of demonstrations near educational institutions in the city till March 8. 

Parmesh S Jain

The West Division police of Byatarayanapura police on Saturday nabbed two persons who were part of the interstate gun racket.

The accused has been identified as,Satish Mane from sangli and Rafiq Dastagir from Kollapur were caught while they were waiting near satellite bus stand to deliver the consignment.

Senior officer told media persons,the Byatarayanpura police Inspector Shankar Naik received a credible and concrete information the gun supply going on in city in his limits near Satellite bus stand.

Based on information he informed to his superiors as,DCP,West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil,ACP Kodandarama,that some person from other state is indulged in supplying guns near Satellite bus stand.

After getting details DCP West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil led a special team under the supervision of ACP, Kodandarama,a team headed by PI, Byatarayanapura, Shankar Naik and his team swung into action and after nearly a month long operation by the team who camped near Satellite bus stand without giving any hint to the culprits.

A special team was deployed in plain clothes and the special crime team were pressed into action the team started combing the area and as on 11th February the team got reliable inputs that the gun seller will arrive at satellite bus stand at 8am in Mysore road to deliver the gun to his clients.

The team who were in action doing patrolling noticed two person waiting for someone and they got suspicious on them and kept a close watch on them and their movements and after getting confirmation additional force was called and the team surrounded the whole area and approached the duo.

When they questioned them to whom they are waiting and asked where they stay the duo were found feared and for further questioning the team secured them and took them to station.

After taking to station when they intercepted them they found a country made pistol and five rounds of ammunition in their possession.

The team seized the country made pistol as they dint produce the relevant documents as licence of it the team arrested the duo under Arms Act and took them into custody.

During investigation the accused confessed to the crime and a detailed Inquires revealed that the duo are part of the inter state gun racket supplying weapons to gangsters and habitual offenders in the city.

The duo has been booked under arms act and taken into custody for further investigation.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Addl CP West,Sandeep Patil,DCP West,Dr Sanjeev M Patil,ACP, Kodandarama,PI,Shankar Naik and his crime staff who has a done excellent and meticulous work and investigation after receiving tip off and busted the gun supply racket and successfully nabbed duo with country made pistol and ammunition red handed a suitable reward and appreciation letter will be given to the whole team for the commendable job done by them he added.

Bengaluru: The Congress in Karnataka continued its agitation inside the Karnataka Assembly for the past three days demanding removal of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa for his alleged statement on the national flag.

The Congress legislators have been camping in the Vidhana Soudha inside the Assembly Hall and have been sleeping there in the night.

“The agitation is happening because of the adamant stand of the BJP. Who is asking for Eshwarappa’s resignation? No one. We want his dismissal. Our appeal is also to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss him,” KPCC chief D K Shivakumar said.

He was confident that the minister would be dismissed from office in the next two days.

Stating that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is under pressure from within the party, Shivakumar said if the CM has self-esteem then he would have thrown out “foul-mouthed” Eshwarappa from the government when the latter had said Medium and Large Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani would become the next chief minister.

However, the Chief Minister said on Saturday that the Congress has lost the morality to be the opposition party.

Reacting to a question about the protest and camping inside the Karnataka Assembly by Congress party members, Bommai said they had lost morality to be either the ruling party or even sit in the opposition.

“D K Shivakumar and other Congress legislators go home for a while to come back again. The agitation will continue either till the dismissal of Eshwarappa or till the end of the current assembly session,” a source close to Shivakumar told PTI.

The source said the legislators have been sleeping at night inside the Assembly, perform yoga under the rising sun and jog and walk around the Vidhana Soudha in the morning.

The Congress in Karnataka has been demanding the resignation of the minister and that he be booked for sedition regarding his statement about the national flag.

The party’s agitation led to chaos in the assembly and council proceedings for three days.

Eshwarappa had said on February 9 that ‘Bhagwa dhwaj’ (saffron flag), may become the national flag some time in the future.

The senior party leader, however, had said the tricolour is the national flag now, and it should be respected by everyone.

“Hundreds of years ago, the chariots of Sri Ramachandra and Maruthi had saffron flags on them. Was the tricolour flag there in our country then? Now, it (tricolour) is fixed as our national flag, what respect it has to be given, should be given by every person who eats food in this country, there is no question about it,” Eshwarappa had said.

Responding to a question by reporters, whether the saffron flag can be hoisted on the red fort, he had said: “Not today, some day in the future.”

“Discussions are today taking place in the country on ‘Hindu vichara’ and ‘Hindutva’. People used to laugh at one point when we said Ram Mandair will be constructed in Ayodhya, aren’t we constructing it now?” he said.

“In the same way some time in the future, after 100 or 200 or 500 years Bhagwa dhwaj may become the national flag. I don’t know,” Eshwarappa added.

The ‘overnight agitation’ by the Congress came even as protests by the party legislators rocked the proceedings in both houses.

Parmesh S Jain

CM Bommai to emulate PM Modi’s Kashi development model

Tungabhadra Arathi on the lines of Ganga Aarti 

Our beloved Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completely renovated the Kashi Vishwanatha temple.Earlier one had to search for the temple amid congested shops.

Now all the Ghats have been cleaned.Temple has got a grand facelift and Ganga Aarti is being performed with great fervor.On the same lines we want Tungabhadra Arathi to be performed in South India, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

A project is being implemented in this regard under the guidance of Sri Vachanananda Swamiji.

The project includes development of walking path from Harihareshwara, cleaning the polluted river waters and prevention of river pollution in urban areas.

The confluence of Lord Hari and Lord Hara would bring wonderful results, Bommai said.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone for construction of 108 Yoga Mantaps as part of the Tungabhadra Arati project in Harihar, he said, the banks of Tungabhadra river would be developed with top class tourist amenities.

Development is a continuous process. State government has launched several projects in this regard. Harihar is part of the Chennai-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

It would get full support of the government for development. PWD has taken up development of 40km of roads.

My government has released Rs.20cr from the National Highways Development Corporation. Approval has been given for development of 59km of rural roads.

Police Public School and Karnataka Public School are coming up. Already Rs.40cr has been granted,” Bommai said.

Civilization and Culture

Of the five elements of nature(Panchabhoothas), conservation and cleanliness of water is most important.

Civilizations have thrived on the banks of rivers over the last 5000 years. Every river has fostered its own culture.

Civilization and culture have grown together. Some believe civilization itself is culture. But it is not.

While the change is civilization,what we are denotes the culture.Civilization has thrived on the banks of Tungabhadra,this programme has been drawn up to foster the culture, Bommai said.

Comprehensive development

Science and technology are two sides of the same coin.We should understand this.Like the principle of atomic science, energy is released during atomic fission.

Thousands of times more energy is released during atomic fusion.Harihar is such a huge power centre as Lord Hari and Lord Hara are fused together here.

Government has drawn up several projects for the comprehensive development of Harihar.They would be launched this year itself.

Davangere and Harihar are in the central part of Karnataka.We will give greater priority for their development.

Urban Development minister Byrathi Basavaraj who is also the District in-charge minister for Davangere is working proactively for the development of the region,Bommai said.

Parmesh S jain

An ambitious project has been drawn up to introduce Tunga Aarti on the banks of river Tungabhadra in Harihar similar to the popular Ganga Arathi in Northern India,by constructing 108 Yoga Mantaps.

Harihar would be developed into a major tourist and pilgrim destination in the coming days,Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

He was speaking to media persons at Harihar.

Sri Vachananda Jagadguru has created a very pleasant ambience in the area by organising a clean up campaign.

Facilities are being created for daily puja and Arathi for river Tungabhadra.

There are plans to clean up the entire area and develop a walking-path on both sides of the river bridge. It would be completed and dedicated to the people soon, Bommai said.

All round development of Harihar

Grants would be provided for all round development of Harihar constituency.Works on roads and  rural housing is on.Under the Nagarothana programme Rs.40cr has been released for development of Harihar,Bommai said.

Parmesh S Jain

The southeast cyber crime police on Sunday arrested a 30-year-old man who was blackmailing a private firm employee with her private photos .

The accused has been identified as,Nandish,30 year old a private firm employee.

Senior officer told media persons,a complaint was registered in South CEN Police station stating The victim, aged around 25 and working in a private firm said that she was living in with her male friend.

The family of her male friend opposed their relationship and allegedly started spreading rumours against her.The family also enraged Nandish to do the job.

As per the plan Nandish accessed their private photos and sent the pics to her father and also threatened the victim to circulate the same on social media if she did not return home .

Based on the complaint by the victim,the police arrested the accused Nandish, 30,charging him under various section of IT Act and also under criminal intimidation.

The Southeast division cyber crime police are further investigating to ascertain criminal background of Nandish and the motive behind and to ascertain who all are involved in this act he added.

Parmesh S Jain

As many as 11 people including a senior citizen had a narrow escape when a garage on the ground floor of their two-storey building in Suddaguntepalya caught fire late Sunday night.

Fire and emergency service personnel along with the jurisdictional police rushed to the spot and put out the fire before it could spread to other floors.

While a few residents were able to leave the building,many were still in their flats.Fortunately, we were able to contain the fire quickly and no one was hurt.

As many as 25 fire and emergency personnel were on the spot,said a police officer who was at the spot.

The owner of the building had rented out several portions in the first and second floor to tenants, while the ground floor had a few shops including the garage which was caught in the fire.

A team from the Department of Electrical Inspectorate are probing the incident to ascertain the cause of the fire though officials suspect that a short circuit was the cause.Investigations are on and we are waiting for the report,said a senior officer.

Parmesh S Jain

Pakistan has issued a citizenship certificate to a woman held in a jail in Bengaluru, paving the way for her return to the country with her four-year-old daughter, a media report said on Friday. 

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Thursday his ministry had issued the citizenship certificate for Sumaira, who is at a detention centre in Bengaluru after the National Database and Regulatory Authority verified her family tree media reports says.

Sumaira along with her four year old daughter awaiting at the government home for women to get her travel documents promised by Pakistan high commission .

We heard that she will be taken back but awaiting official commique from them,a officer with the FRRO, said.

The woman and child sound and healthy when asked about her health condition a senior FRRO officer said.

Sumaira completed few rounds of interview with the officials of pak high commission at Delhi to confirm her identity four months ago and they assured to put up papers with the government for further process.

Sumaira aged around 25 years was caught by central agencies in May 2017 at her rented house in KS layout with her husband later identified as Shihab and His associate Kashif.

Parmesh S Jain

Members of society for prevention of cruelty to animals filed a complaint with City Police Commissioner against state youth president Mohammed Harris Nalpad for using donkey in the protest on Thursday.

Mr.Nalpad had staged a protest against the ruling party on malleshwaram on Thursday and used a donkey to carry a man to mock the ruling party.

The entire protest was circulated on social media .

This amounts to cruelty on animal and the police should initiate necessary action so that such incident should not be repeated, secretary of SPCA said in his complaint filed on Saturday.

The police have taken up the complaint and forwarded it to the jurisdictional police station for further process.

Meanwhile,a Bengaluru activist has filed a complaint against unidentified persons for putting up 150 flex banners and buntings at Corporation Circle on Friday during a felicitation programme for Congress leader B K Hariprasad.

Based on the complaint, the Halasuru gate police have registered an FIR charging the accused under the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act.

Parmesh S jain

Urging for the fulfillment of various demands including the timely payment by BBMP regarding the solid waste management in BBMP jurisdictions,the Janti Kriya Samithi/Contractors association had staged a protest on 18-02-2022 by not collection and transporting waste from various parts of the the city.

In this regard,on 19-02-2022 BBMP’s senior officials held a meeting with the representatives of Janti Kriya Samithi and Lorry owners’ Association and also informed them that the steps will be taken up to sort out the related issues immediately.

Further,instructed that-the collection and disposal of waste in BBMP limits is a regular (daily) work and for this to happen systematically, the monthly prescribed service fee should be paid on time.

Further,instructed the concerned officials to solve the other related problems being faced by contractors.

Considering the assurances by the BBMP, the contractors association has taken back the protests and restarted the waste collection from today afternoon itself.The work of collection and transportation from wards has started thereafter.