Parmesh S Jain

A 35-year-old truck driver ended his life allegedly due to non payment of his salary by his employer for the last one month at Govindaraj Nagar on Wednesday.

The deceased Kiran Kumar resident of Sanjeevini Nagar was driver for a ;logistic company .

He was upset due to non payment of his salary dues by his employer and used to have arguments over his issue.

On Wednesday he left a video from his mobile warning them to transfer Rs 30,000,due to him by Wednesday night failing which he would end his life and blame three person responsible for his death.

He sent the video to his employer but he reportedly ignored .

DEjected over this Kiran ended his life by hanging .

Based on the complaint by his sister Jamuna, the Byaratayanapura police have registered a case against the employer, Manjanna,Shivanna and Manu charging them under abetment to suicide .

Former Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao on Monday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi.

BENGALURU: Former Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao on Monday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi. After serving as an IPS officer for 32 years, Rao took Voluntary Retirement Scheme to jump into politics. He is well aware of the steep learning curve, but he is confident in delivering what the party expects from him. His immediate priority will be to take up a membership drive and travel across the state to strengthen the organization. Excerpts.

Why did you decide to join AAP?
I have seen all political parties and their activities and know what they can do and what they cannot do. Among all of them, I have found AAP close to people’s welfare. In other parties, it is only sloganeering and personal growth, but AAP is responsible for people’s growth. There has been a perceptible change in the people’s standard of living and that is the reason I decided to continue my public service with AAP.

Did you take that decision after AAP won elections in Punjab?
No. I took this decision over four-and-half years ago. (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal is a good friend of mine and had invited me to join the party, but he had also asked me to first finish any other important tenures in my career. One of the important tenures that I had was Commissioner of Bengaluru City Police. I had decided to join the party long back.

Will you be contesting the assembly polls?
I have joined the party today and it will be premature for me to declare it so early. Definitely, AAP will go to elections in a very big way and we will contest from all 224 assembly constituencies with good people.

Since you have served as Bengaluru City Police Commissioner and know the city well, will Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls be your main priority now?
I don’t think the state government has any inclination to conduct the BBMP elections. The elections are already been overdue.

What will be your role in the party?
We will do our best to strengthen the party in the state. I am new to this field and I think my learning curve will be very steep. I hope I will be able to deliver whatever the party asks of me.

What are your immediate priorities?
My immediate priority is to travel all over the state, carry out a huge membership drive and strengthen the organisation.

Your views on communal issues that are coming to the fore in the state now?
If there is nothing else to talk about, you start dividing people and distracting their attention. We don’t want to divide people; we want to unify people. I personally don’t want to talk about religion and caste on public platforms.

BENGALURU: Wading into the controversy of loudspeakers in mosques, JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy lashed out at the BJP government for raising communal issues.

Kumaraswamy raising these issues against the BJP after indirectly supporting the saffron party on many issues, and even getting his party MLC elected as Upper House chairman, has surprised many.

Asked if Kumaraswamy is sensing an opportunity to move into the secular space, which is largely a domain of the Congress, political analyst BS Murthy said, “Kumaraswamy thinks that minorities feel the Congress countering the BJP has not been effective. He is an instinctive politician; he sees an opening and has moved in. I am not surprised to see he’s got a good response. He is trying to set a narrative to counter Hindutva.’’  

Recently, the JDS openly “poached” CM Ibrahim, and sources say this is the JDS’ massive secular push. The party fielded two Muslim candidates in the last bypolls, but experts say that trust is important. 
“Do Muslims trust him? Considering that Kumaraswamy’s party had polled less than 1 per cent of Muslim votes in the last election, is the party working hard to regain the Muslim vote?” Murthy said.

“Upper House chairman Basavaraj Horatti, who is leaving the JDS to join the BJP, had said Kumaraswamy agreed to him moving to BJP. This makes it appear like a consensual move. These moves may not help the JDS establish credibility, because JDS has always played the opportunistic ally to both BJP and Congress,” he said.

Parmesh S Jain

A 54-year-old Police Sub Inspector attached to Central Reserve Police Force and a 22-year-old engineer student from Yemen were killed when the bike the latter was riding collided with the police officer opposite to CRPF west camp gate in Yelahanka traffic police station limits on Wednesday .

The deceased have been identified as Swami Gowda,54 and Ammar Suleha,22, pursuing II year engineering at a private college.

The accident occurred at around 11.30 pm when Suleha was returning home on his bike in a rash and negligent manner.

Swami Gowda stepped out of the camp after his night shift to return home .

After walking few steps from the gate,Suleha who was riding in rash and negligent manner collided with Swami Gowda .

AS a result Swami Gowda stuck to the handle and ragged around 50 feet away before the duo fell on the road.The helmet Suleha was wearing was fell off .

The severely injured duo was rushed to a near-by private hospital where they succumbed one hour later.

The Yelahanka traffic police have taken up a case under death due to negligence and rash and negligent driving against Suleha and are investigating.

Parmesh S JAIN

A 76-year-old man was killed after a speeding garbage truck belonging to BBMP ran over him on Thanisandra main road on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Ramaiah, resident of Sampigehalli and farmer by profession,was returning home after attending a family function.

While his family returned in car Ramaiah was following them on scooter.

Senior officer told reporters,The Chikkajala traffic police visited the spot and after inspecting the spot said a eye witness said that while Ramaiah was on his way on his scooter near Thanisandra main road,the speeding truck knock down his scooter which resulted in Ramaiah lost balance and slipped under the truck and run over .

The driver sped away soon after the accident and later the police recovered the abondoned truck from a few days away

It may be recalled 14-year-old Akshaya was run over by a speeding BBMP garbage truck in front of the Hebbal Police Station on last Monday.

Akshaya who was studying in class 9 was attempting to cross the highway,since the underpass was flooded with rain water .

The BBMP official concerned failed to act despite complaint by police personnel and the members of general public to clean up the subway.

The chikkajala traffic police have taken up a case of death due to negligence and hit and run case and efforts are on to track down the driver

This is the second incident where BBMP garbage truck involved in accident in the last ten days

Parmesh S JAIN

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has requested his Andhra Pradesh counterpart to provide protection for devotees from Karnataka who visit Srisailam.

Pilgrims from Karnataka have been assaulted at Srisailam.A large number of pilgrims from other states visit Srisailam for the religious Jatra(fair). The pilgrims from outside should be ensured proper protection, Bommai said.

Speaking to media persons at Vidhana Soudha about the incident at Srisailam,Bommai said, a large number of devotees from Maharashtra and Karnataka visit Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.

A clash has happened between the pilgrims while returning.A stabbing incident too has been reported in the clash between the local pilgrims and the pilgrims from outside.

I have been in constant contact with Andhra Pradesh officials since yesterday night. The situation is now in control.

Two pilgrims were seriously injured and hospitalised.They are recovering. Efforts are on to speak to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister,” Bommai said.

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is likely to visit New Delhi for two days after April 5 and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman and their cabinet colleagues to present copies of his maiden and last full-fledged budget of the BJP government before the 2023 Assembly polls.

Bommai will explain the essence of his budget and its repercussions on the government and the party to the national leadership. He also has to impress on the central leadership to release the grant-in-aid to the state.

Bommai, who held an all-party meeting on inter-state water disputes and also piloted a unanimous resolution condemning Tamil Nadu’s resolution against the Mekedatu project, is also likely to meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

It is interesting to see whether he will also call on Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav, who is close to Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and is in the know of political affairs concerning Karnataka.

Cabinet reshuffle and appointments to boards and corporations to give a ‘fresh’ administrative look to his government may also come up during Bommai’s Delhi visit.

BJP committee to appreciate CM Basavaraj Bommai

The state BJP executive committee meeting slated to be held on April 16 and 17 at Vijayanagara is likely to pass a resolution appreciating Bommai’s budget, calling it development-oriented. Party’s national president JP Nadda will inaugurate the meeting which will be held at Tourism Minister Anand Singh’s residence.

Singh had met KPCC president DK Shivakumar at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru recently. The BJP executive committee meeting at Singh’s residence is to send out a message that he is not quitting the party, especially after its performance in four states, sources said.

BENGALURU: For the first time through the pandemic, 28 of the 30 districts of Karnataka listed on the state health department data sheet (Vijayanagar is part of Ballari) have recorded no additions to their respective COVID-19 tallies.

The COVID-19 death toll has remained stationary at 40,054 over the past three days, although the mortality rate has remained just a notch above the 1 per cent mark (at 1.01 per cent). The health department had aimed to bring the mortality rate below the 1 per cent mark in an effort to minimise deaths.

Of the total Covid-19 death toll, the first wave of the pandemic (March 2020 to January 2021) claimed approximately 12,400 lives; the second wave (March 2021 to December 2021) claimed about 25,900 lives; while the third wave (January 2022 till date) claimed about 1,700 lives. 

The third wave of the pandemic lasted just for three months. The low death count  in this wave is being attributed to a significantly less severe Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and increasing vaccination cover among the state’s population.

BENGALURU: Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Thursday expressed concern over recent incidents of communal tension in Karnataka, saying they could impact the state’s image globally.

Responding to Shaw’s concerns, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed to people to maintain law and order and peace. “Karnataka is known for peace and progress, and every one should observe restraint and see to it that it is not affected,”he added.  

“When social issues arise, there is a possibility for us to discuss and resolve it. So before going public, everyone should observe restraint,” the CM added. Bommai also said that several issues have come up for discussion in the public domain in the state.

“Everyone should cooperate to maintain peace and order,” he added. He told reporters that the issue of school uniforms has been resolved. Shaw said, “Unfortunately, vested interests are hijacking the issue to political parties.

I am confident our CM will resolve the matter peacefully. I am a proud Kannadiga and don’t want to see these incidents detract from economic progress…” Later, Shaw said she agreed with Bommai for calling upon “all sections of society to observe restraint before going public on social issues , as they can be resolved through discussions.”

TUMAKURU: “At a time when hatred is spreading across the country, the philosophy of 12th century revolutionary Basavanna preaching a casteless society is the need of  the hour, and the job of the Siddaganga Mutt, which has been propagating the same, is commendable. We should remove hatred to shape a society of communal harmony,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said at the Siddaganga Mutt here on Thursday.  

He was speaking on the eve of the 115th birth anniversary of Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, just a few hours ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to take part in the mega event at the mutt on Friday. The visits have acquired their own significance.

“Basavanna has said that we are all one, we should live together, keeping away hatred over caste and religion. I congratulate the Siddaganga Mutt authorities for imparting the preachings of  Basavanna and shaping the future of lakhs of children,” he stated.

Hailing the contributions of Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, the Congress leader observed that society  should tread the path the great saint has shown, to educate the youth and uplift the poor, for which he extended all help to the mutt. 

Relationship with Mutt is not new: MP

“It is a matter of great joy that a leader of eminence and youth icon has come here. Indira Gandhi had visited the mutt, which was momentous, and Rahul’s visit is also momentous,” remarked Sri Siddalinga Swamiji, the head of the mutt, while appreciating Rahul’s wish for a hatred-free society.

Adopting a diplomatic stance, the prominent Lingayat religious institution is giving equal footing to both national parties — BJP and Congress. Earlier, Rahul’s visit was restricted to paying a visit to the ‘gadduge’, the divine tomb of the Swamiji, but was extended wi th him addres s ing thousands of children of the mutt during an evening prayer,” remarked a Congress Lingayat leader.

The occasion helped the mutt and Gandhis reiterate their long-term relationship. “Our relationship with the mutt is not new, my grandmother, mother and I have visited the mutt in the past,” recalled Rahul, which Sri Siddalinga Swamiji also stressed in his speech later.

“Sonia Gandhi had dropped her security personnel from her car and picked me up to go to the venue, along with Sri Shivakumara Swamiji, to take part in his 105th birthday celebrations,” he said, turning nostalgic. Rahul and the Swamiji posed for a photograph along with the children of the mutt.

Rahul had snacks and was also felicitated. Congress leaders D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, B K Hariprasad, M B Patil, Eshwar Khandre, Dhruvanarayana and others put up an united front throughout the visit.