All state BJP leaders including Chief Minster B S Yediyurappa held a meeting in Hubballi on Saturday in connection with the upcoming bypolls.

HUBBALLI: All state BJP leaders including Chief Minster BS Yediyurappa held a meeting in Hubballi on Saturday in connection with the upcoming bypolls. Leaders of the seven constituencies were called to discuss the next course of action. Speaking about flood relief measures, the chief minister said the government had left it to the authorities to take immediate actions to rehabilitate those affected by the flood in the state. “There is no dearth of funds and steps are being taken to give relief to the victims,” he added.

The meeting was organised to take BJP leaders into confidence and check whether the newly-joined leaders from JDS and Congress had any chances of winning. The closed-door meeting was held with the leaders till Saturday evening.

A source from the party said, while a series of meetings had taken place, the names of candidates were yet to be finalised. Earlier in the day, Yediyurappa had told media at the city airport, “Congress leader Siddaramaiah does not know how to talk and what to talk. He should seek apology before the public for criticising the Speaker. If not, people in the state will teach him a lesson.”

“According to the prediction by Mahatma Gandhi, Congress is seeing its down trend. Senior leaders like Siddaramaiah have lost patience after witnessing failure at every point,” the CM added.

Siddaramaiah criticises state govt
Criticising the move of the state government over providing relief funds for flood victims, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The BJP government is in deep slumber. The recently released election results at Maharashtra and Haryana speaks volumes about the party’s work.”  He also said the padayatra seeking relief funds for flood victims, which will be organised by the Congress, is yet to be finalised.  Replying to a query over D K Shivakumar’s position in the party, he said there were rumours over giving a key position to him.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the office of the current Assembly Speaker, submitted that under the Constitution, a lawmaker has a right to resign and the Speaker should accept it. 

NEW DELHI: After hearing marathon arguments, the Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the disqualification of 17 Karnataka MLAs before the trust vote moved by the previous HD Kumaraswamy government.

Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state Congress, said the matter needs to be referred to the Constitution Bench as then Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had exercised his powers to disqualify the MLAs and his decision cannot be questioned. 

“Eleven people decide to put in their resignation on the same day. Any Speaker would naturally inquire into why 11 MLAs are resigning suddenly,” Sibal contended.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the office of the current Assembly Speaker, submitted that under the Constitution, a lawmaker has a right to resign and the Speaker should accept it. 

Mangaluru: A 23-year old student studying in a private nursing college in the city committed suicide on Friday night in a rented house here in Attavar.

The deceased victim has been identified as Anupama (23). Her body was found hanging from ceiling fan at a rented apartment where she was staying for over a year now.

Anupama, originally hailing from Kerala was studying nursing in Mangaluru while her mother is reportedly based abroad.

Pandeshwar police reached the spot at conducted initial investigation. According to the reports police have also recovered a suicide note from the apartment but the reason of Anupama’s extreme step is yet to be ascertained.

A case has been registered at Pandeshwar Police Station and further investigations are underway.

It appears that the police in the district are in no mood to let off traffic violators even if they are foreigners. 

KOPPAL: It appears that the police in the district are in no mood to let off traffic violators even if they are foreigners. On Monday, three foreign nationals were fined Rs 7,000 for breaking traffic rules, including for riding without a helmets, in Gangavati, Koppal district. According to police, the three tourists — David Lee, Eden and Charlie — are from New Zealand. 

The New Zealand tourists hired a bike and visited Virupapura island. Subsequently, they returned to Gangavati. As the traffic police intercepted them and asked for documents, they allegedly mocked the local traffic police by claiming that they have international driving licences.

Gangavati traffic police station PSI Nagaraj said that a case has been booked against the three foreigners for not furnishing relevant records and behaving badly with the police. Police also alleged that one of them provoked the cops by clicking photos during the incident. Meanwhile, police told TNIE on Tuesday that a chargesheet has also been filed in a local court.

Mangaluru: Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Varaha, which was commissioned on September 25, arrived at New Mangolore Port on Tuesday.

Coast Guard senior officers Raj Kamal Sinha, Laxmikant Gajibhiye and CISF officer Ashutosh Gaur were present and welcomed the Varaha.

According to a press release, the 98-meter long OPV, which is designed and built indigenously by the L&T, has advanced navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery.

Kalburgi: Vice-Chancellor Parimala Ambedkar Tuesday cancelled Kanhaiah Kumar’s lecture, which was schedule to be held at Dr BR Ambedkar Research and Study Center at Gulbarga University.

“The lecture has been cancelled following an oral instruction from the higher education department,” she said. Section 144 has been imposed surrounding Dr BR Ambedkar Auditorium.

Former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union Kanhaiya Kumar was scheduled to deliver a lecture at 11 am here. But as per the latest development in the morning, restrictions have been imposed on the programme.

 The Palace City of Mysuru has been decked up for the world-famous Jamboo Savari, which will mark the grand finale of the Dasara festival on Tuesday.

MYSURU: The Palace City of Mysuru has been decked up for the world-famous Jamboo Savari, which will mark the grand finale of the Dasara festival on Tuesday. As the countdown has started for the cultural extravaganza, the city has been flooded with lakhs of tourists. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, along with cabinet colleagues and family members, will arrive in the city to inaugurate the event between 2.15 and 2.58 pm at Makara Lagna on Tuesday.

The CM will offer puja to Nandi Dwaja in front of Mysore Palace’s Balarama gate. Yediyurappa, along with a member from the Mysuru Royal family, will shower flowers on presiding deity Chamundeshwari, placed in a golden howdah, carried by the elephant Arjuna.

National and state highways to Mysuru have been registering high-density of vehicular movement ahead of the Jamboo Savari. All the hotels in and around Mysuru have been sold out. The roads are choked with traffic jams. There is an increase in footfall on the streets as people are venturing out to witness the colorful lighting which has turned out to be a special attraction this time.

The Dasara procession will have a tableaux of various departments from all 30 districts in the state and and more than 150 cultural troupes will perform. Artistes from across the country are giving final touches to the tableaux that will showcase the programmes of the Union and state governments, cultural and tourists spots in the state.

The district administration has made seating arrangements for VVIPs, foreigners, gold card holders, at Mysuru Palace and on either side of New Sayyaji Rao Road that will accommodate lakhs. The torchlight parade will be held at Bannimantap stadium at 7 pm. Governor Vajubhai Vala will inaugurate the festival.

A complete ban on single-use plastic, including water bottles and water cans, has been imposed at Bhagamandala and Talacauvery temples in Kodagu. Alternative water carriers, including steel and bronze water cans, are being arranged to implement the ban. The decision was taken by MLA K G Bopaiah and other officials during a planning meeting. Cauvery Tula Sankramana will be observed at Talacauvery at 12.59 am on October 18.

Govt estimated damage at Rs 35,000-Rs 1 lakh crore; While state BJP leaders express gratitude to PM, Cong, JDS flay Centre for ‘inadequate’ funds

BENGALURU: On a day when an embattled CM BS Yediyurappa confessed that the “state government’s financials are not sound”, the release of Rs 1,200 crore came as a shot in the arm for the BJP government.
BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said, “The Centre has announced interim relief of Rs 1,200 crore, and in the next few days, the state will get more relief from the Centre.’’

While BJP ministers and leaders said the release of funds would help speed up relief work in flood-hit areas, the Congress and JDS called it “too little, too late”. The state had estimated the damage across the state to be Rs 35,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore.

Former CM HD Kumaraswamy was quick to criticise the sum released. “They have succumbed to the protests and public anger, and have measured and weighed and released Rs 1,200 crore. Even if the treasury has funds, the state government had forgotten the flood victims, this is our misfortune. At least now let them become alert.’’

“The relief announced by the Centre is grossly insufficient. While the state government had sought Rs 38,000 crore, they have sanctioned a pittance, a mere Rs 1200 crore,” said former CM Siddaramaiah.
Former Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “It is too little, too late. When a leader(referring to Yatnal) raises the flood issue, they slap him with a notice! After 45-50 days, you release such a miniscule sum. The estimated loss is Rs 1 lakh crore and even the state BJP government had demanded Rs 5,000 crore. This is not going to help anyone. When you don’t respond to an urgent need in time, what is the use of a delayed lethargic response?’’

Congress and JDS leaders insisted that the Centre needs to release more funds expeditiously to help victims.

BJP leaders, meanwhile, heaved a sigh of relief as the Centre announced the flood relief, even as public anger was growing. Leaders from within the party were also questioning the delay in release of funds.
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayana expressed gratitude for the support from PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the funds. Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said, “Our government has released an amount of Rs 1,200 crore in advance.’’

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy said, “We are happy they have done something, we have faith that they will release more funds in the future.’’ Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said the “advance release of funds to Karnataka would speed up relief and restoration work in Karnataka’’.
“The relief announced by the Centre is grossly insufficient. While the state government had sought Rs 38,000 crore, they have sanctioned a pittance, a mere Rs 1200 crore,” said former CM Siddaramaiah.

CM: finances not sound In response to rising demands by farmers in flood-hit areas to release crop compensation on the lines of the Maharashtra government, Yediyurappa said he had directed Deputy Commissioners to study the Maharashtra model to check if it was financially viable for Karnataka. Addressing a meeting at Darur, Yediyurappa admitted that the financial position of his government was not sound, but said that a sum of Rs 5 lakh was being provided for construction of each damaged house.

In spite of the odds he was facing, the CM said he had been trying to provide maximum relief to those who had lost their properties in the recent floods. Yediyurappa said that within the next 15 days, his cabinet would give its nod to implement a multi-village drinking water project worth Rs 80 crore in 16 villages of Athani taluk.

BELAGAVI: Despite his inability to get funds for flood-relief work from the Centre, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa issued work orders for the construction of houses in Belagavi district.

Despite his inability to get funds for flood-relief work from the Centre, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa issued work orders for the construction of houses in Belagavi district.

While stating that his government had already credited the first instalment of Rs 1 lakh into the bank accounts of each of the beneficiaries who lost their houses to the floods, Yediyurappa said his government was committed to providing Rs 5 lakh for the construction of a house that totally collapsed, and reconstruction of homes which were unsafe to live in flood-hit areas.

While asserting that the Centre will release funds within the next three to four days, Yediyurappa said his government had initiated several measures to ensure that each affected family received compensation without delay.

At a meeting on Thursday evening, the CM, “If the houses in flood-hit areas got damaged beyond repair or are not in a state for a family to live in, the DC’s concerned must provide Rs 5 lakh compensation for construction of a new house to the inmates,’’ he asserted.

“The government will provide at least Rs 5 lakh for the construction of classrooms in schools damaged in the floods. Separate funds will also be given for construction of damaged Anganwadis,’’ said Yediyurappa.

B Sriramulu admitted to the delay in receiving relief package from the Centre

BENGALURU: Even as BJP and Congress leaders continue to spar over Central assistance to the state for flood relief works, Health Minister B Sriramulu on Thursday admitted that there has been a delay in getting funds, and apologised for the same.

“We have to admit that there has been a delay in getting the central assistance for taking up flood relief works in the state, and we apologise for it,” the minister said. “The Central government earlier used to provide assistance quickly, but now, it has gotten delayed as they are looking into our report on damage to the extent of over Rs 38,000 crore. Though it is already late, I am confident that we will get assistance very soon,” the minister said. 

An inter-ministerial team comprising senior officers from different departments had visited the state to assess the damage, and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa also expressed confidence in getting the assistance soon.

The Central and the state governments have come under fire from the Congress and JDS, as well as some BJP leaders, over the delay. On Thursday, former Union minister and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal yet again hit out at Union ministers for failing to meet the PM over the issue. 

“We would not have faced such a situation had Ananth Kumar been alive today. He would have convinced the PM and got assistance from the Centre. One of the three (Union ministers from state) should take up such a role and be the bridge between the state and the Centre,” Patil said. “Unfortunately, today we do not have anyone who can even meet the PM and take up the issue,” he added.

Meanwhile, members of Uttara Karnataka Sangha Samsthe Gala Mala Samsthe, a federation of associations from the North Karnataka region, staged a demonstration in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, protesting against what they called a failure of the state and Centre in helping people in flood-hit regions of North Karnataka. “Lakhs of people were rendered homeless by the floods. Even two months after the floods, the state has not received any assistance. What are our MPs doing?” questioned Shankar Bidari, former state police chief.