BENGALURU:  AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s name being proposed as the Prime Minister face of opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc is likely to put Congress under pressure to win more seats in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

A cautious Congress is now likely not to experiment with new faces, but field old warhorses to ensure better winning chances. Heavyweights, including ministers, could be asked to contest the polls to shore up the numbers and ensure Kharge a better chance if the results, if at all, swing INDIA way.

The Congress now has a lone MP DK Suresh, representing Bengaluru Rural constituency, out of 28 seats in the state. It is aiming at 20 seats with the advantage of it being in power.

Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna has voluntarily offered to be the Tumakuru candidate. The party could ask PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi to contest from Belagavi, Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa from Chamarajanagar, Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa from Kolar, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre from Bidar, former minister Shivaram Hebbar — if he quits BJP and returns to Congress, MLC Saleem Ahmed from Haveri and Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra from Mysuru-Kodagu.

Mahadevappa has proposed his son Sunil Bose’s name, while Muniyappa wants his daughter and KGF MLA Rupakala Shashidhar to be made a minister if he contests the polls, sources said.

The party plans to field H Anjaneya from Chitradurga, Ramanatha Rai from Dakshina Kannada and state Backward Classes Commission Chairman K Jayaprakasha Hegde from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, the sources said.

“Though Kharge’s name has not been formally proposed, it is still a matter of pride for all Kannadigas as he is the tallest leader from the state,” said Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundurao.

It is interesting to see if Kharge, who is now a Rajya Sabha member, will contest from the Kalaburagi seat, which he lost in 2019, as he will be busy with the party campaign at the national level, a political analyst said.

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU/BAGALKOT: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the country’s airports and other vital establishments, will soon take over the security of the Parliament building complex. Sources said the CISF will conduct a comprehensive survey of the entire complex from Friday to assess the security measures in place. 

The CISF will be in charge of access control to the new and old Parliament complex. Entry will be subject to frisking and screening with hand-held detectors, and personal belongings will be checked through X-ray machines. Sources said shoes, heavy jackets, and belts may also be scanned. Earlier, frisking of visitors to Parliament complex was done by Delhi Police. 

“The plan is to ensure 100% security to both the new and old Parliament complexes and all other subsidiary buildings through a comprehensive security cover by the CISF, which will also have the existing elements of Parliament Security Service, the Delhi Police, and the Parliament Duty Group of the CRPF,” said a source.

Trained CISF commandos will be deployed for frisking and spotting suspects. Meanwhile, Delhi Police sleuths have detained a software engineer from Karnataka’s Bagalkot for questioning in the December 13 Parliament breach case. Sai Krishna Jagali, 30, son of a retired DySP, is a friend of D Manoranjan, one of the accused. His name was found in Manoranjan’s diary.

Bagalkot Superintendent of Police Amarnath Reddy said Sai Krishna was picked up from his house in Bagalkot on Wednesday night. He has not been arrested so far. On Thursday, a Delhi court extended the police custody of the four accused — Manoranjan, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad — till January 5.

NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi Wednesday alleged the government legitimate demand and said the Congress has its task cut out for next year’s general elections both as a party and as an INDIA bloc member.

Noting that the assembly election results being very disappointing is an understatement, the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson urged party MPs to channel their disappointment into a positive drive for next year’s general elections.

Later on Wednesday, Congress MPs held a protest against the suspension of opposition members outside Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the Parliament complex.

Addressing party MPs at the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Central Hall of Parliament, Gandhi said, “To say that the assembly election results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been very disappointing for our party is an understatement.”

“The Congress president has already had a first round of reviews to understand the reasons for our poor performance and to draw the needed lessons for our organization,” she said.

“We are facing enormous challenges. Yet, I am confident that our fortitude and resilience will see us through. Our ideology and our values are our guiding light at this difficult time. We must never forget that our leaders fought against insurmountable odds with great courage and fortitude to give us freedom.”

Gandhi told the MPs to “channel the disappointment into a positive drive for the coming general elections”.

The former Congress chief targeted the BJP government at the Centre over the “soaring” inflation and said the poor are suffering and economic inequalities are rising.

“There is a significant gap between the prime minister’s boasts on economic growth and ground reality,” she said.

Gandhi also said the passage of the in Parliament with a rider was an eyewash to mislead women and garner their votes. There is no time to waste and reservation for women must be implemented immediately, she said.

She said the Congress’s position on Jammu and Kashmir has been clear and consistent, asserting that full statehood must be restored immediately and elections be held there at the earliest.

News portal NewsClick have claimed that the company’s bank accounts have been “virtually frozen” by the Income Tax department, restricting it from paying salaries to employees and consultants. NewClick also said that it will undertake legal measures against this ” unjust” and ” cruel” action.

As of the evening of December 18, NewsClick has been unable to make any bank payments due to action by the Income Tax Department
 
Calling the move a seeming continuation of its “administrative-legal siege” by the government, which it said started in 2021 and included the confiscation of its contributors’ devices earlier this year, NewsClick said its employees now faced an uncertain future.

“Coming at the year-end festive season, this sudden action has left all our employees shocked. Since there is no indication of when our accounts will become accessible, there is uncertainty in the minds of all employees and their families, especially those who are completely dependent on salaries from NewsClick,” it said.PauseUnmuteLoaded: 5.96%Remaining Time -9:42Close Player

It said the organisation did not receive any intimation of the freezing of accounts and the staff discovered it by chance while trying to make routine payments on Monday evening.

NewsClick and its legal counsel are reviewing the developments, it said, adding that legal appeals against this “unjust and cruel” measure will be initiated at the earliest.

the editor-in-chief and founder of the portal, and administrative officer Amit Chakraborty were arrested by the Delhi Police after the October searches. They are in judicial custody at present.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reportedly lost his temper during a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders on Tuesday after DMK leaders requested for his speech to be translated into English. The DMK delegation, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Rajya Sabha MP TR Baalu, was present at the meeting.

According to reports, a wilfully nescient Nitish went on to say that Hindi is the national language and that everyone should learn it after Baalu had asked RJD’s Manoj Jha to translate the JD(U) President’s remarks.
When Jha reportedly volunteered to translate, Nitish rudely suggested that leaders from the South should learn Hindi and directed the RJD MP to refrain from translating.

Reports indicate that Nitish displayed dissatisfaction throughout Tuesday’s meeting amid speculation about the JD(U) chief and his party’s role in the alliance. Since the formation of INDIA, Nitish has reportedly pitched himself for the role of bloc’s convenor and is among the potential contenders for the Opposition alliance’s Prime Ministerial face.

Posters calling for assigning a big role for the Bihar Chief Minister were seen in several parts of Patna on Tuesday when the JD(U) leader was away to attend the INDIA bloc meeting. Kumar had hosted the first meeting of opposition leaders in Patna in June.

On Tuesday, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal—two likely PM aspirants in the INDIA bloc— sprung a surprise by proposing Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s name as the prime ministerial candidate, saying he can be India’s “first Dalit prime minister.”

However, Kharge reportedly turned down the suggestion and said the issue will be decided later and their first priority is to try and get a majority by working together.

Notably, India does not have a national language. 

However, it has two official languages at the national level—Hindi and English—and 22 designated official languages, including Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, as per the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Similarly, Article 343(3) grants Parliament authority to legislate the continued use of English for official purposes, while Section 3(3) mandates the obligatory use of Hindi and English for specific purposes, including resolutions, general orders, contracts, and official papers presented to Parliament.

Many states have their official languages, and the constitution recognizes linguistic diversity by providing for the use of several languages for official purposes at the state and union territory levels.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday launched the distribution of Rs 6,000 cash assistance to families affected by cyclone Michaung induced rains and flood.

Stalin gave away the cash dole to women heads of families at Velachery, one of the badly affected areas due to heavy inundation, marking the launch of disbursal of flood relief to people in Chennai and nearby areas falling under the districts of Chengelpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.

The exercise of distribution of tokens, specifying the date and time of cash distribution at jurisdictional ration shops, started a couple of days ago. Those who have not received the token may submit applications at fair price shops to avail the cash assistance, a government press release said.