Archives for 2024

Kannur: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the electoral bonds scam is the biggest corruption ever witnessed in India and added the BJP government at the Centre arrested his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to divert attention from the same.

Addressing the third consecutive rally organised here by the CPI(M) against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on Sunday, Vijayan alleged the BJP-led Central government and the Sangh Parivar give scant regard to the rule of the law in the country.

He alleged that the Sangh Parivar was trying to take control of the Constitutional institutions and even threatening the country’s judiciary.

“The Union government, BJP, Sangh Parivar, they all very well know that the Supreme Court order on the electoral bond scam was harmful to them. They wanted to divert the attention from this topic and for that they have arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,” Vijayan said.

The chief minister said when the idea of electoral bonds was floated, the CPI(M) had opposed it as it was a tool for corruption and moved the Supreme Court against it.

“The electoral bonds scam is the biggest corruption ever witnessed in India. How did they get the courage to engage in such blatant corruption? They (BJP) thought they would never be questioned,” he added.

With the arrest of Kejriwal, Vijayan said the Sangh Parivar was trying to send a message that they are above the law of the land and will do anything to implement their agenda.

Talking about the anti-CAA protests of 2019 and the subsequent violence and riot in Delhi, the chief minister referred to the inflammatory slogans of Union Minister Anurag Thakur and said it was the CPI(M) which went on to file a case against him.

Vijayan also attacked the Congress over its stand on the CAA.

He alleged that at a time when the whole country was protesting against the contentious Act, the Congress MPs were participating in a feast organised by the party president.

“During the protests, none of the Congress leaders were present. Rahul Gandhi was abroad. It was the Left leaders who were arrested by the Delhi Police. At that time we had only one MP, A M Arif from Alappuzha who spoke against the CAA. Now, the Congress leaders are saying that they had opposed the Act technically,” Vijayan said.

The chief minister alleged that the Sangh Parivar unleashed violence upon the ant-CAA protesters in Delhi and the BJP government at the Centre gave silent permission to the rioters.

“Around 53 people were killed, many went missing, over hundreds were injured in the riots. The houses, shops, establishments of numerous Muslims were attacked in the violence orchestrated by the Sangh Parivar,” he said.

Vijayan said the CAA was an RSS agenda being implemented by the BJP government.

The Left party is organising massive anti-CAA rallies at five places in the state. The first rally was held in Kozhikode on March 22. A rally was held in Kasaragod district on Saturday. Two more rallies will be held in the coming days in Malappuram and Kollam.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and it subsequently got the President’s assent, but there were protests in several parts of the country against it, with many opposition parties speaking out against
the law, calling it “discriminatory”.

The CAA aims to expedite citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

Parmesh S Jain Special correspondent

The Kaggalipura police opened fire at a 27-year-old rowdy-sheeter who attacked a police constable in a bid to escape from the custody.
The accused identified as Girish N was arrested for armed robbery case reported in March 1. 
The accused along with his associates barged into a farm house in Choodahalli in the outskirts of the city  and attacked the inmates while they were partying late in the night to rob their valuables. 
The accused assaulted the inmates when they tried to resist and rob their valuables including mobile phones, gold valuables and cash. 
The accused later held the inmates hostage and demanded Rs.2 lakh ransom.Sensing trouble the victims raised alarm prompting the neighbours to come to their rescue, following which the accused escaped .
Based on the complaint,the police track down Girish and arrested him on Wednesday,While being escorted to the scene of crime for spot inspections, the accused attacked constable Barlingappa and tried to escape.  
A senior police officer warned him before opening fire at his led to stop him from fleeing.
Both the injured have been rushed to the hospital and said to be out of danger. 
The accused Girish,an autorikshaw driver turned rowdy-sheeter having, eight criminal cases pending against him has now been booked for assault and  preventing government servant from discharging his duties for further investigations.

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Sunday elected its first Dalit president from the Left-backed groups after nearly three decades.

The United Left panel on Sunday effected a clean sweep in the JNUSU election, defeating its nearest rival the RSS-affiliated ABVP.

In the polls that happened after a hiatus of four years, Dhananjay from the All India Students’ Association (AISA) won the JNUSU president’s post by securing 2,598 votes against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Umesh C Ajmeera who secured 1,676 votes.

Dhananjay hails from Gaya, Bihar, and is the first Dalit president from the Left after Batti Lal Bairwa, who was elected in 1996-97.

Speaking to PTI after the win, Dhananjay said, “This victory is a referendum by the students of JNU that they reject the politics of hate and violence. The students have once again shown their trust in us. We will continue to fight for their rights and work on issues that concern students.

“The safety of women on campus, fund cuts, scholarship hike, infrastructural and water crisis are among the top priorities of the students union to begin with,” he added.

Amid cries of ‘Lal Salaam’ and ‘Jai Bhim’, the winning students were hailed by their supporters. Red, white and blue flags were waved by the students to celebrate the victory of the candidates.

Avijit Ghosh from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) trounced ABVP’s Deepika Sharma by 927 votes to win the vice-president’s post. Ghosh received 2,409 votes as against 1,482 votes by Sharma.

Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association (BAPSA) candidate Priyanshi Arya, who was supported by the Left, won the general secretary post’s by defeating ABVP’s Arjun Anand by 926 votes. Arya polled in 2,887 votes while Anand received 1961 votes.

The United Left extended its support to Arya after the Election Committee cancelled the nomination of its candidate Swati Singh when her candidacy was challenged by the ABVP.

The Left’s Mohammad Sajid won the joint secretary’s post by defeating ABVP’s Govind Dangi by 508 votes. His was the lowest victory among all the four winners.

With the Left panel sweeping the polls, the JNU lived up to its reputation of being a Left bastion. The ABVP gave a neck-and-neck fight and was leading on all the four central panel posts in the initial trends.

The United Left panel comprises AISA, Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF).

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union polls on Friday witnessed a voter turnout of 73 per cent, highest in the last 12 years.

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Gangavati MLA, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, had formed the ‘Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha’ (KRPP) ahead of the state assembly polls last year, snapping his two-decade-old association with the BJP.

Reddy today merged his KRPP with the BJP as he, along with wife Aruna Lakshmi and some family members, joined the party in the presence of its veteran leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, and others.

Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

However, in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls he had extended support to the Congress candidate.

Before the assembly polls last year, Reddy had been largely politically inactive for nearly 12 years since his arrest by the CBI for an alleged role in a mining scam.

During this period, he had a brief stint ahead of the 2018 assembly polls when he campaigned for his close friend and former Minister B Sriramulu in Molakalmuru Assembly segment.

In the run up to the 2018 assembly polls, the then BJP national president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter’s question, had distanced the party from him and stressed that “the BJP has nothing to do with Janardhana Reddy.”

Accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case, he has been out on bail since 2015. Several conditions were imposed by the apex court in its order which includes prohibiting him from visiting Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.

Because of these restrictions, he had to contest the 2023 Assembly polls from Gangavati in Koppal district.

Expressing his displeasure about the way BJP had ignored him, Reddy had announced a new party last year and also took a dig at his brothers — Karunakara Reddy and Somashekar Reddy – and Sriramulu, as they remained with the BJP.

The three of them had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls, with Reddy’s new party said to have impacted their performance in the election.

Sriramulu, a ST community leader and former Minister is now the BJP’s candidate from the Bellary (Ballari) Lok Sabha constituency.

Reddy had played an instrumental role in strengthening the BJP in the Ballari district and is still believed to enjoy a considerable clout there as well as in adjoining districts like Chitradurga, Koppal and Raichur, which could be useful for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by the CBI on September 5, 2011.

The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Reddy first came to political limelight during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when he campaigned for BJP leader, the late Sushma Swaraj, who had contested against Congress’ Sonia Gandhi from Ballari.

Parmesh S Jain special correspondent

Fear gripped among the residents of Nileri village in Devanahalli for getting stray bullets hitting thier vehicles,houses and rooftop coming from the firing range of police training centre .
The villagers on Thursday protested stating that they are living underr constant fear of life and demanded immediate measures to ensure the safety .
Many of the vehicles parked outside the houses and walls and roofs of the houses have bullet marks, Srinivasa,a villager said while handing over few fired bullets to the senior police officials who visited the village .
Sometimes the bullets fall on our front yard and backyards.We have repaired our roofs because of the damage caused by these stray bullets.  
Children,women and elders scared to venture out and remained indoor during firing practice,Mr.Srinivasa, said .
This is being happening since the police training centre is commissioned.We have made many representations,but in vain,he rued,Luckily no one injured,but it cant not go on like this,he added.
The villagers demanded strict action and assurance from the police and local administration to ensure safety of the villagers,Manjunath,another villager part of the protest said.
Senior police officials including Superintendent of Police, KSRP commandent and DCP city armed Reserve,West Division,visited the spot to take stock of the situation.
The police officials assured the villagers for necessary measures and stopped firing practice for sometime until permanent solution is in place , a senior police officer, said .
There are adequate measures taken at the firing range at the training centre which is situated around two kilometers away from the village. 
But some stray bullets fly from above and land in the village leading to situation, the police officer, added.

Parmesh S Jain Special correspondent

 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday chargesheeted one more accused,while filing additional charges against two others,in the Shivamogga ISIS conspiracy case,relating to writing of graffiti in Mangaluru supporting the proscribed terrorist outfits, Islamic State (IS),Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Taliban. In its second Supplementary Chargesheet filed in the case today, NIA has charged Arafath Ali,and filed additional charges against Mohammed Shariq and Maaz Muneer Ahmed in the case. Arafath,who had radicalised and hired the other accused for writing the graffiti in January 2020,was arrested by the NIA at T3 International Airport,New Delhi,on return from Kenya on 14th September 2023. 
He had earlier fled to Dubai in anticipation of his arrest in another case (the Al-Hind module case) for his association with two absconding accused,Abdul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb.  It was on instructions from Abdul Matheen and Mussavir Hussain that Arafath had indoctrinated Mohamed Shariq,Maaz Muneer Ahmed and others to write graffiti in support of terror and terror outfits at two places in Mangaluru,NIA investigations have revealed.  It was further found that Arafath,along with his associates and online handler, was part of a larger conspiracy to further the terror activities of IS/ISIS. 
Arafat had paid the graffiti writers with funds received from his online handler in the form of crypto-currencies. NIA had earlier filed one main and one supplementary chargesheet against nine accused,including Mohammed Shariq and Maaz Muneer Ahmed.  Further investigations in the case are continuing.

Parmesh S Jain Special correspondent

Public Works Minister instructed to award Rs.25 crore sector wise works worth Rs.4000 crore for the benefit of small contractors:CM
*Due amount of contractor will be paid in full in phased manner: CM.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he has instructed the Public Works Minister to give Rs.4,000 crore worth of work without a package for the benefit of small contractors.
He was speaking after inaugurating the contractors’ convention held at the palace grounds, today. 
The Chief Minister positively responded to all the demands put forward by the contractors,including cancellation of the package scheme and payment of dues.
Union Finance Minister,Nirmala Sitharaman and the then CM Basavaraj Bommai both announced in the budget that they would give 5300 crores for the Bhadra Upper Bank Project. 
But till today not a single rupee has been released.He said that irrespective of the central government’s non- cooperation,we will pay the contractor’s money phase  by phase.
The CM challenged BJP’s criticism that he would retire from politics if it was proved that anyone had given him a bribe of five paise to LOC during the period 2013-2018 and during his second term as CM.
Deputy Chief Minister,DK Shivakumar,Ministers,Satish Jarakiholi,Bose Raju,Zameer Ahmed Khan along with the President of the Contractors Association Kempanna and office bearers were present.

Parmesh S Jain special correspondent

*Investments to create job opportunities for over 27k people in the state: chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The 63rd State High-Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC), headed by Chief Minister,Siddaramaiah,today approved six new projects and eight additional investment proposals worth INR 17,835.9 crore, with the potential to create 27,000 jobs across the state. 
SHLCC received a nod for six new projects worth INR 8,220.05 crore, and eight additional investment projects of investment worth INR 9,615.85 crore.  
The 63rd meeting of the SHLCC held at Hon’ble Chief Minister’s Home office “Krishna”.SHLCC approved Wistron’s proposal to invest INR 2,095 crore and providing employment to 21,723 in the state. 
Other major proposals that received the government’s green signal are Air India Limited (INR 1,750 crore investment),STT Global Data Centres India Private Limited (INR 1,352.3 crore investment), Indian Cane Power Limited (INR 1,078 crore investment), ICT Service Management Solutions (India) Private Limited (INR 1,450 crore investment). 
Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Ballary, and Belgaum districts of North Karnataka will attract new and additional investment of INR 10,433.72 crores. 
Minister for Large and Medium Industries, and Infrastructure Development,MB Patil,IT/BT Minister, Priyank Kharge,Chief Secretary to Government Dr Rajneesh Goel,Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister,LK Atheeq,Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner,Dr Shalini Rajneesh, Principal Secretary to Government,Department of Commerce and Industries Dr S Selvakumar, Commissioner for Industrial Development and Director, Department of Industries & Commerce Gunjan Krishna and other senior officials were among those who attended the SHLCC meeting.
1. New Investment ProposalsSl.No Name of the Project  Investment (Rs.in Cr) Employment No’s.
1.M/s STT Global Data Centres India Private Limited 1352.3 250.
2.M/s.Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing India Private Ltd  2095 21723.
3.M/s Indian Cane Power Limited 1078 309.
4.M/s.ICT Service Management Solutions (India) Private Limited 1450  2500.
5.M/s Shri Balaji Sugars and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. 494.75 1085.
6.M/s.Air India Limited 1750  1200 Total 8220.05 27067.
*Additional investment Proposals:
Sl.No Name of the Project Investment (Rs.in Cr)1. M/s Ultratech Cement Limited 490.38.2. M/s RBSSN Ferrous Industries Ltd. 1620.80.3. M/s Emmvee Energy Private Limited (Formerly M/s Emmvee Photovoltaic Power Pvt Ltd.) 676.28.4. M/s Indian Cane Power Limited (Unit – AlagawadiBireshwarSugars)    492.29.5. M/s Greenko KA01 IREP Private Ltd (formerly M/s Greenko Solar Energy Pvt Ltd.,) 5948.06.6. M/s. Athani Sugars Limited 205.89.7. M/s. Ukem Agre Infra Limited 103.55.8. M/s. Schneider Electric IT Business India Pvt Ltd. 78.60 Total 9615.85.
*Total Investment and Employment approved in 63rd SHLCC.
Sl.No Type of proposal Number of Projects Investment(Rs. Cr) Employment No’s
1 New / Expansion Proposal  6 8220.05.
27067
2 Amendment Proposal (Additional Investment) 8 9615.85 Total 14 17,835.927,067.