Within days of taking over, the BJP government, led by Yediyurappa, had cancelled the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, terming it controversial and communal.

BENGALURU: For over 200 years, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Srirangapatna who had waged many fierce battles and died fighting the British in 1799, has been a part of history books. 

There have been dozens of research papers and debates based on the ruler, but he now seems to be fighting a losing battle against the present BJP government in the state, which has been fiercely critical of him and his legacy.

With just ten days to go for the Tipu Jayanti (birth anniversary), Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday asserted, “101 per cent, we will remove everything related to him,” when asked about his party MLAs writing to him seeking that Tipu Sultan’s name be removed from textbooks. Later, he tempered his reply to another journalist and said, “The government is considering removing references to Tipu Sultan from textbooks also.’’

Within days of taking over, the BJP government, led by Yediyurappa, had cancelled the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, terming it controversial and communal.

Historians reacted with shock, pointing out that this will mean erasing an entire period of history when Tipu Sultan, after taking over from his father Hyder Ali, waged a series of battles and undertook several administrative measures, many of which continued to be in force for decades in the kingdom of Mysore. 

A period in history cannot be erased based on religious beliefs, they stressed.  

Prof S Chandrashekar, former HoD at Bangalore University said, “This controversy about Tipu Sultan is not new. I have seen this right from 1998-1999 when the then Chief Minister J H Patel wanted to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s bicentenary. Tipu had been made a controversial figure by removing him from context. This 
is not academics, but plain politics.’’

Aditya Mukherjee, History Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, “It is in bad taste. We need to draw positive things from history. Tipu was one of the bravest fighters against the British. He built temples too. When we look at history, motivation is important. They are looking at history for friction and cutting each other’s throat.’’

Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah reacted saying, “The government should not try to twist history. Tipu Sultan fought the colonial British rulers. The BJP leaders are trying to twist historical facts to suit their agenda, which should be stopped. It is only BJP leaders who accuse Tipu of being communal 
and not others. It is the saffron cadre which is communal, not Tipu Sultan.”

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “If an ignorant person, or someone who is doesn’t know history, speaks like this, it is understandable. I don’t know why Yediyurappa is speaking like this. Is he an expert in history? It is not right to remove Tipu’s name from textbooks.’’

Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh, had arrived in Delhi at 1.20 am on Wednesday to keep track of the developments.

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar in an alleged money-laundering case, told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that it has issued fresh summonses to his wife Usha and the mother Gowramma (85). While Shivakumar’s mother has been summoned on November 15, his wife has been told to appear before the agency on November 17.

However, the counsel for Usha and Gowramma claimed before the court that they have not received the summonses. Gowramma’s counsel had earlier said that whenever the ED summons her, the agency has to comply with the provision of the CrPC which states that a girl below 15 years of age and a woman of over 65 years cannot be called to a police station.

Gowramma’s lawyers had petitioned the Delhi High Court seeking that if she has to be questioned, it can be done in Bengaluru, and not in Delhi, considering her age and health. Justice Brijesh Sethi has listed the matter for further hearing on November 4.

Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh, had arrived in Delhi at 1.20 am on Wednesday to keep track of the developments.

The court was hearing separate pleas by the two women challenging the summonses which were earlier issued to them by the ED. The agency had told the court that the earlier summonses were not in existence and fresh ones would be issued as the investigation was still going on.

Urugunte Bitahalli in Mulbagal taluk, Kolar district, is in mourning. Half the village, especially the elders, have left for Bengaluru to pay homage to its son, Justice N Venkatachala. 

MULBAGAL: Urugunte Bitahalli in Mulbagal taluk, Kolar district, is in mourning. Half the village, especially the elders, have left for Bengaluru to pay homage to its son, Justice N Venkatachala. 
Justice Venkatachala brought honour to his native village, especially after he became the people’s hero, with his indefatigable campaign against corruption.

Muniyappa, a resident, said Venkatachala had brought name and fame to the village. He had visited Urugunte Bitahalli a year ago, though his family members come here regularly and stay. He recalled that people would meet the retired judge in his house, and he would offer fruits and coffee. In the early mornings and evenings, he would walk in his fields with other elderly people, collecting details of the rain pattern and crops grown.

Muniyappa said he often advised the people to work hard and take care of their families. He encouraged them to participate in agricultural activities.

 qVenkatesh, who lives in the house adjacent to Justice Venkatachala’s, said the anti-corruption crusader was keen that his nation be corruption-free, and that every person wakes up and fights the scourge, so that the nation benefited. He wanted government programmes to reach the beneficiaries.
Chandramma, another villager, said about 10 years ago, when she brought to his notice a delay in updation of her revenue records, he collected the details, and to her surprise, the work was done immediately. She said several people from surrounding villages too brought their grievances to him, and he worked to help them. On Wednesday, his family arranged a bus to help the villagers reach Bengaluru to pay tribute.

This year, 64 people will be given Kannada Rajyotsava award on the 64th Kannada Rajyotsava on November 1.

BENGALURU: This year, 64 people will be given Kannada Rajyotsava award on the 64th Kannada Rajyotsava on November 1.

Awards will be given to achievers in the fields of literature, sports, theatre, music, folk, sculpture, drawing, Yakshagaana, film, small screen, education, journalism, social service, agriculture, law, medical and environment. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Kannada and Culture Minister C T Ravi is expected to give the awards on November 1 in Bengaluru. Yediyurappa said the selection committee has selected people from all the 30 districts.

Noted theatre personality Bhargavi Narayan; former V-C of Kuvempu University Prof Chidananda Gowda, who is also the son-in-law of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, educationalist Gururaja Karjaragi and singer Muddu Mohan are some of the awardees. Justice N Kumar, retired high court judge who played an important role in streamlining garbage disposal in Bengaluru through his judgments, will also be given the award.

Prabat Art International and Pathanjali Yoga Shikshana will also be given the award.

The management also handed Prateek Jain a debut in the final, against Tamil Nadu, for his left-arm pace instead of a regular in Ronit More; a bold call in a pressure game. 

BENGALURU: Karnataka were the standout team in this Vijay Hazare Trophy. After topping a tough combined Group A and B with just one loss, they were invincible in the knockout stages, going on to claim their fourth domestic one-day title on Friday. Devdutt Padikkal (609 runs), KL Rahul (598), Manish Pandey (525), Abhimanyu Mithun (20 wickets) and Prasidh Krishna (17) were their standout performers. 

Besides individual brilliance, the team management also played its part with some important decisions during the tournament. One among them was the bold move to play a part-time keeper in the knockout stages despite having a fit keeper in the form of BR Sharath.

Giving Rahul the gloves allowed them to play an extra bowler in the quarterfinal, and an extra batsman in the semifinals and final. 

“I always wanted him to keep so that we could play six batsmen and adjust in one all-rounder,” said Pandey. “We were closing in on the knockout phase, so I thought that him keeping would help me get another all-rounder in, or we can play six batsmen and five pure bowlers.”

The management also handed Prateek Jain a debut in the final, against Tamil Nadu, for his left-arm pace instead of a regular in Ronit More; a bold call in a pressure game. 

It has to be noted that performances were taken into account while picking the XI. Premier leg spinner Shreyas Gopal, who was not at his impressive best in the tournament, did not find a place in the semifinals and final after unimpressive figures against Puducherry (0/55), Saurashtra (1/52) and Mumbai (1/80). Praveen Dubey, who took three wickets each against Goa and Puducherry, was given the nod. 

“The management has been giving chances to different players, who are doing well in all kinds of leagues. If you get a chance to feature for the state (in the XI) and deliver, then it gives players the confidence and drive to do well,” Mithun said.

With Vinay Kumar leaving Karnataka, Mithun was the bowling spearhead, entailing peak fitness as a prerequisite. In eight round-robin games, they rested him for two: against Chhattisgarh and Saurashtra. Mithun took a minimum of one wicket in each of the other six. He was at his menacing best in the final, scalping five that included a hat-trick. 

“The team management always wanted to rotate the bowlers as they wanted me and others to be fresh. It was done as there were so many matches to be played,” said Mithun. 

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.