Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses during an event for the release of the 13th instalment of funds under the PM-KISAN scheme

Belagavi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of disrespecting Karnataka, while alleging that its President Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from the state, was insulted by the party during its plenary session in Chhattisgarh.

He said Kharge was insulted and disrespected by the party, in favour of a “family”, apparently indicating the Nehru-Gandhi family, despite the Congress chief’s seniority and age.

“I want to remind you how Congress hates Karnataka. Insulting Karnataka’s leaders is part of Congress’ old culture. From whomever Congress’ family feels troubled, disrespecting them begins in that party. History stands witness to the insult meted out to the leaders such as S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil before the family. Everyone in Karnataka knows it,” Modi said.

Addressing a massive gathering here, he said now once again, one more leader from Karnataka has been insulted by loyalists of the family.

“I have great respect for Mallikarjun Kharge, a son of this land, who has about 50 years of parliamentary or legislature experience. He has tried to do whatever he could in the service of people. But I was sad looking at how Kharge, who is the President of the party and a senior in age, was treated during the Congress’ session in Chhattisgarh,” the Prime Minister said.

“The weather was hot, everyone standing there feeling the heat was natural, but in that heat the good fortune of umbrella’s shade was not there for Kharge who is Congress chief and senior in age. The umbrella’s shade was for someone standing next to him. This shows Kharge is Congress President just for the sake of it, and looking at the way he is treated, everyone can see and understand, as to whose hands the remote control is in,” he further said.

The Prime Minister was speaking after releasing the 13th instalment of funds worth over Rs 16,000 crore under the PM-KISAN scheme for beneficiaries across the country and laying the foundation stone and dedicating to the nation multiple development projects worth more than Rs 2,700 crore here.

Noting that several political parties in the country are in the clutches of dynastic politics, Modi said: “We have to free the country from these clutches. People of Karnataka should be cautious about parties like Congress.”

He claimed that “Congress people” are so disappointed that they feel that until Modi is alive, they cannot do anything.

“So all of them are saying and raising slogans ‘Marja Modi, Marja Modi’ (Modi die, Modi die), some people are even busy digging ‘kabr’ (grave). They are saying ‘Modi teri kabr khudegi’ (Modi your grave will be dug)…but the country is saying ‘Modi tera kamal khilega’ (Modi your lotus will bloom).”

Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May.

Shivamogga (K’taka): Former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for making sarcastic remarks on dynastic politics in JD(S).

The JD(S) second-in-command pointed out at the dynastic politics prevailing in the Karnataka unit of BJP where former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and his sons are holding key positions in the saffron party.

During an interactive session in Bengaluru on Thursday, Shah had said the JD(S) is a dynastic party.

“You can’t find anyone in their family who doesn’t contest polls. Everyone wants to contest polls and lead Karnataka. I don’t understand as to who runs the house,” Shah had quipped.

“We should felicitate Amit Shah for his concern for our house as to who will run our household matters. He should have asked the same to Yediyurappa once… Probably, he (Yediyurappa) would have answered,” Kumaraswamy told reporters at Theerthahalli in Shivamogga district.

Kumaraswamy charged that Shah lectured others keeping Yediyurappa beside him.

“Yediyurappa has two sons and both are in politics. Then, who in his family is taking care of household works?” the JD(S) leader wondered.

Kumaraswamy also took objection over Shah’s comment that every vote to the JD(S) would eventually go to the Congress.

Assembly polls in the state are due by May.

Mangaluru: A 46-year-old fisherman drowned after the country boat in which he had ventured for fishing capsized due to the impact of a huge wave near Hejamady Kodi in Karnataka’s Udupi district, police said on Saturday.

The fisherman’s body washed ashore on Friday evening, they said.

The boat had capsized on Thursday and the deceased has been identified as Padmanabha Suvarna, a resident of Hejamady Kodi, police added.

Another fisherman, Dheeresh Bangera who was in the boat, managed to swim ashore.

The duo had left for fishing from Hejamady Kodi on Thursday morning. As their boat reached the estuarine entrance, a huge wave struck the boat and it capsized, police said.

A case of unnatural death has been registered at Padubidri police station and a probe is underway.

Shivamogga (K’taka) A trial flight of the Indian Air Force plane safely landed at the newly-built Shivamogga Airport in Karnataka on Tuesday, authorities said.

The greenfield domestic airport at Sogane in Shivamogga district has been constructed under the Centre’s UDAN scheme aimed to make air travel affordable to all.

Sharing the information on his Twitter handle with the video clip of the aircraft landing at the airport, Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra said, “The first trial flight lands at #Shivamogga. Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji to inaugurate the #ShivamoggaAirport on Feb 27 by landing on this newly constructed Airport. Come, let us all be a part of this historic moment.”

PM Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the airport on February 27.

The well-equipped airport is spread over 662.38 acres land for which the foundation was laid in June 2020 by then chief minister B S Yediyurappa.

Apart from the runway, terminal building, ATC tower and fire station building, it has a taxiway, apron, approach road, peripheral road and compound wall.

Mangaluru: Yenepoya Deemed to be University Chancellor Dr. Y Abdulla Kunhi has said that, moving from having no inclination for education, the Muslim community has surpassed all expectation in its work to spread awareness on the importance of education.

Addressing the educational conference organized by the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts Muslim Educational Institutions Federation at the Town Hall in the city on Monday, Dr. Kunhi said, “It is obvious that times have changed. Muslims have understood the importance of education. As a result, we can find Muslims in every prominent field of society, as doctors, advocates and judges, among others.”

The chancellor added, “It is, nevertheless, necessary to identify children who are deprived of education since their families are either still uninformed about the educational facilities available or are facing financial problems. We need to work at ensuring that such children too get access to education.”

Mangaluru: Muslim Educational Institutions Federation (MEIF) is not just providing excellent education, it is also spreading social harmony, Umar Teekay, Honorary President of MEIF and Chairman of Teekays Group, said.

He was addressing the educational conference organized by the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts Muslim Educational Institutions Federation at the Town Hall in the city on Monday.

“Former minister BA Moideen had dreamt of integrating all Muslim educational institutions. MEIF is a step towards bringing that dream to life,” he said.

“Solving a problem is important, but it should not become the priority. The priority should always be of preventing problems,” Teekay advised.

Citing the instance of the recent hijab controversy, he said, “We handled the situation carefully while facing opposition from all ends and ensured that Muslim girls were not deprived of a chance to take the examinations. This was possible through the joint efforts of the members of MEIF.”

Dr. N Vinay Hegde, Chancellor of NITTE Deemed to be University inaugurated the educational conference.

Umar Teekay presided over the conference while Syed Mohamed Beary, Honorary Advisor of MEIF and Chairman of Bearys Group of Institutions, delivered the introductory address.

Yenepoya Deemed to be University Chancellor Dr. Y Abdulla Kunhi, national-level trainer Rajendra Bhat, resource persons Mahesh Masal from Dharwad and Syed Sulthan Ahmed from Bengaluru, MEIF vice-presidents B M Mumtaz Ali, K M Mustafa Sullia, Shabi Ahmed Qazi and B A Nazeer were among those present on the dais.

CHIKKAMAGALURU:  Revenue Minister R Ashoka said 40,000 acres of encroached land will be leased out in the district and a circular in this regard has been published in the state gazette.  At a felicitation accorded to him by the Karnataka Growers’ Federation, Karnataka Planters’ Association and UPASEE at the AIT College amphi theatre here, he said provision for lending of loans on the leased encroached lands by banks will be brought under the frame of law. 

Tenders has been invited for demarcating the border between the forest and revenue lands identified by a drone survey at a cost of Rs 280 crore. On an experimental basis, four to five districts have been selected. 

In Chikkamagaluru district, 2,688 growers have encroached up to 10 acres, followed by 554 persons up to 10 to 15 acres, 861 persons up to 15 to 20 acres and 989 planters who have encroached up to 20 to 25 acres. Law has been framed to lease the encroached land according to the conscience, the minister said. 

Extent of deemed forest is 9 lakh hectares and after meeting with the forest minister, 6 lakh hectares of land has been taken back by the revenue department.  Details on survey numbers of respective lands have been already sent to the deputy commissioners. Lands will be transferred to the owners who are cultivating in the said lands, he said.

BENGALURU:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) new greenfield helicopter factory at Bidarehallakaval at Nittur near Tumakuru in Karnataka at 3.30 pm on Monday. He had laid the foundation stone for the project in 2016. But there will be no fly-past at the event as certain parameters are yet to be met, sources said.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, it is yet another step towards Atma Nirbharta in the defence sector which will enhance capacity and ecosystem to build helicopters at Asia’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility. Initially, the unit will manufacture the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), which is an indigenously designed and developed 3-tonne class, single-engine, multipurpose utility helicopter with unique features of high manoeu-vrability. 

PM to lay foundation stones for Jal Jeevan projects

The factory, spread across 615 acres, will be expanded to manufacture other choppers, like the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH). The facility will also be used for repair and overhaul of LCH, LUH, Civil ALH and IMRH in the future.

The factory has the potential to export Civil LUHs in years to come. The new facility can meet the country’s entire requirement of helicopters, and will attain the distinction of enabling self-reliance in helicopter design, development and manufacture in the country. The factory will have a manufacturing setup of Industry 4.0 standards.

Over the next 20 years, HAL is planning to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in 3-15 tonne class here, generating employment for around 6,000 people. On the occasion, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Tumakuru Industrial Township under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme, spread across 8,484 acres to be implemented in three phases as part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

The foundation stones will also be laid for two Jal Jeevan Mission projects at Tiptur and Chikkanayakanahalli as part of Multi-Village Drinking Water Supply Project, to be built at a cost of Rs 430 crore and Rs 115 crore, respectively.

Modi at India Energy Week 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India Energy Week 2023 at BIEC in Bengaluru at 11.30 am on Monday. Unleashing the ethanol blending roadmap, he will launch E20 fuel and flag off a Green Mobility Rally to create awareness for green fuels. He will also launch the uniforms under the ‘unbottled’ initiative of Indian Oil.

Union Minister for Home and Co-operation Amit Shah

Puttur: Union Minister for Home and Co-operation Amit Shah will be visiting Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district to participate in a co-operative convention on February 11.

The convention is being held at Puttur in connection with the golden jubilee celebrations of the central arecanut and cocoa marketing and processing co-operative limited (CAMPCO).

The event will be held at the Vivekananda educational institution at Tenkila at 3 PM, CAMPCO sources said. He will also be visiting CAMPCO’s chocolate factory in Puttur.

This is the first visit of Shah to Dakshina Kannada ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. BJP Sankalpa Abhiyan campaign is presently going on in Puttur taluk. The BJP leader is also expected to take part in the convention at Puttur as part of the campaign, party sources said.

BJP had won seven of the eight Assembly seats in Dakshina Kannada district in the 2018 elections.

BELAGAVI: Former BJP minister and Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, who resigned from the Yediyurappa ministry over a CD sex scandal, made grave allegations against KPCC president DK Shivakumar, terming him the “CD gang captain”.

Releasing an 18-second audio clip, said to be of Shivakumar speaking on the phone, Jarkiholi claimed the while the conversation was one-sided, it was all about raiding houses and finding Rs 40-45 crore in cash, and having houses in Mumbai, Delhi and abroad.

At his first press conference at a private hotel in Belagavi on Monday, Jarkiholi alleged, “Shivakumar is not eligible to be a politician. He has attempted to assassinate my character by using a woman. He should not have made such a dirty conspiracy… I have a lot of evidence which I will present before the competent authority.”

He wanted the police to arrest the six people involved in the CD, including the girl, and named two youths, Shravan and Harish. He also recollected old memories of his friendship with the Congress leader.

Shivakumar and his wife Usha had urged me not to quit the Congress,” he said. “My political relations in the district were damaged by MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar. She has joined hands with Shivakumar to turn black money white. CBI, Income Tax and ED officials should investigate,” Jarkiholi said. He claimed that politicians and IAS officers will become victims of this menace soon.

Hitting back, Hebbalkar’s younger brother and Congress MLC Channaraj Hattiholi claimed that Jarkiholi was a “liar”. At an emergency press conference, he condemned Jarkiholi and said he is making baseless allegations to undermine MLA Hebbalkar’s dominance in Belagavi.

“The people will teach him a lesson. Recently, he had announced that he would give Rs 6,000 for each vote in Sulebhavi village and all media houses telecast it. He had taken a big loan to start an ethanol unit in Soubhagyalaxmi sugar factory, but neither did he start the unit, nor did he repay the loan. The factory has gone bankrupt,” he alleged.

“Jarkiholi had invited us to join BJP. But we declined and advised him not to leave the party and damage the coalition government. Ever since, he has been making allegations against us,” Hattiholi said.
KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi told the media that the two leaders had been trading personal allegations for a long time. Satish, who was in Yamakanmardi, said the respective parties cannot speak about the charges. There is no need to link the charges to the party, he said.