HD Kumaraswamy is seeking vote of confidence in his Janata Dal Secular-Congress alliance government on the floor of the house on Friday (May 25). He took the oath of office and secrecy on Wednesday evening.

He had earlier pronounced of clearing the floor test within 24 hours after assuming office. However he has chosen Friday for the purpose. On Thursday he visited the house of HD Devegowda, his father and JDS supremo before proceeding towards the Siddaganga Mutt.

Today’s proceedings will also pave way for the election of KR Rameshkumar, former health minister belonging to the Congress party as the new Speaker. He has also served as a Speaker earlier during his stint in the Janata Pariwar.

It may be recalled here that the Janata Dal Secular was insisting on the Speaker’s position as well but the Congress stood firm on its ground of ensuring the post to the party fold.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar/Shri Ram Shaw

Newly elected Karnataka deputy chief minister G Parameshwara on Thursday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had manipulated Electronic Voting Machines in the recently concluded state assembly elections.

Addressing reporters a day after taking oath of office, Parameshwara said: “Some of our leaders and I personally feel EVMs have been manipulated by BJP. Many Congress leaders lost at places even where Congress had a stronghold. We will complain to EC. We urge them to move back to ballot paper.”

On election in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly seat, Parameshwara announced that the JD (S) will support the Congress candidate. The Election Commission had deferred the election in RR Nagar after nearly 10,000 voter cards were discovered in a flat in the area. The BJP demanded the EC to countermand the election, claiming that the Congress was behind the scandal. A police case was filed against Congress candidate and sitting MLA Munirathna. The election for Jayanagar seat was also postponed after the death of BJP candidate BN Vijaya Kumar. Elections to the two assembly seats will be held on May 28.

In reply to a question on how he landed the deputy chief minister post, Parameshwara said his caste has nothing to do with it. “I don’t think I got the post of deputy chief minister because I am a Dalit. It is by chance that I am a Dalit,” he said.

Before results for the Karnataka Assembly was announced, then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he wouldn’t mind making way for a Dalit chief minister.

A civilian was critically injured in overnight Pakistani shelling on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday night in Lam area. Muhammad Mishri received a bullet injury.

“He was shifted to a local hospital where doctors referred him to Jammu for specialised treatment,” a police official said.

In the past one week, seven people, including a seven-month-old infant, have been killed and over 50 others injured in unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the LoC.

These are some of the developments in the fast changing scenario in the case of the Sterlite copper smelter plant located on the Southern tip of Tamil Nadu, Tuticorin.
On the advice of the TN Pollution Control Board, the TN Electricity Board has disconnected the power supply to the plant. This amounts to closing down the plant.
The TN Govt. has replaced the District Collector and the SP of Tuticorin and the replacement officials have reached the town and are assuming charge.
Following the order of the Madras HC, the bodies of the dead have been preserved for the time being.
The number of dead has increased to 13. 11 died on Tuesday’s firing; 1 more died yesterday in firing by the police again and one of the seriously injured breathed his last this morning failing to respond to treatment.
The state government has ordered the suspension of internet services in three districts including Tuticorin to prevent spread of falsehood to instigate violence.
Police have registered FIRs against political leaders who made a beeline to the affected town to visit the injured in the hospital, for defying Sec. 144.
The state government has appointed a one-woman judicial commission to enquire into the whole sequence of events on Tuesday at Tuticorin.
Aruna Jagadeesan, a retired judge of the Madras High Court will enquire into the violence and police firing.
The company continues to defend its plant and claims the opposition to its continuance is instigated by outsiders.
Opposition criticizing the Edapadi govt for being insensitive and none of the senior ministers or the CM/Dy CM have visited Tuticorin so far.
Hindusthan Samachar/S. Mahadevan/Shri Ram Shaw\

D K Shivakumar, who has emerged as a saviour during critical situations for Congress party on several occasions, had put forth his claim for the post of the deputy chief minister. However, permutations and combinations as well as the pressing need to keep leaders of various communities satisfied, forced the party leaders against giving this post to Shivakumar, who was disgruntled at this denial. All India Congress Committee president, Rahul Gandhi, and senior leader, Sonia Gandhi, spoke to Shivakumar and succeeded in convincing him about the predicament the party has been facing. Shivakumar seems to have got his composure back after having a dialogue with the duo.

On their arrival from New Delhi, both Sonia and Rahul directly headed for the hotel where the Congress MLAs have been put up, and advised the legislators to stay united. They then met Shivakumar separately and talked him into understanding the issues they are concerned with and things which have made it impossible to offer him the post of the deputy chief minister. They reportedly appreciated the Vokkaliga leader for invaluable contributions made by him to the party and promised to reward him for his service suitably in future. It is learnt that Shivakumar also got the assurance that he would be made the next president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

Reportedly, Shivakumar’s brother, D K Suresh, who is a MP, had got angry at the party’s decision against making Shivakumar the deputy chief minister, and had left the hotel where the Congress MLAs are residing, on Tuesday night. It is said that Suresh laid bare his sense of despair in the presence of several legislators at the fact that services provided by his brother to the party had not been suitably rewarded and they seemed to be required to do hard work without any reward. He is said to have expressed anger at the fact that they were the ones who kept the flock of legislators together, and helped the party to win several seats by touring the state, whereas the post of the deputy chief minister has been given to a person who just had done work in his own constituency.

Reports said that after Sonia and Rahul talked to him, Shivakumar cooled down and seemed to have been convinced about stand taken by them.

Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony at Vidhana Soudha may have seen a galaxy of non-BJP leaders, but not all guests seemed happy on the occasion. Among them was West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress chief was seen conveying her displeasure to Karnataka police chief Neelamani Raju after she reached the venue.

Initially, the onlookers were perplexed when they saw Banerjee gesturing to Karnataka director-general of police, who was near the stage. It later came to light that the TMC chief was asked by the Bengaluru police to “get off her car and walk a short distance” from the gate to the podium because of heavy flow of VVIP vehicles, several of them with full security detail.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reprimands DIG Neelamani Raju as she came to Karnataka Vidhana Soudha for oath taking ceremony because reportedly had to walk a few metres, also expressed discontentment to HD Deve Gowda & HD Kumaraswamy. #Bengaluru

Only one of the four gates of the Vidhana Soudha compound had been opened because of security reasons, a report said. According to news agency ANI, Banerjee also expressed her discontentment to JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy. A senior police officer in the city traffic police told The New Indian Express, “There were 18-20 convoys and it was crazy managing them. Firstly, none of them were entitled to zero-traffic, except for the Governor and the new Chief Minister. Then, convoys were coming from various directions at the same time and there was no chance for the police to ensure free movement for all of them. Many of the convoys were stuck in between other vehicles. We were not in a position to do anything about it and it was not unexpected too.” Besides Banerjee’s car, the convoys of Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and a few others were also stuck in the traffic. AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha posted a picture of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal walking to the venue of swearing-in ceremony on a rain-splattered day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accepted a fitness challenge by cricketer Virat Kohli saying that he will soon post a personal fitness video.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kohli, in a tweet, challenged Modi in a fitness campaign initiated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on social media.

“Challenge accepted, Virat! I will be sharing my own #FitnessChallenge video soon. @imVkohli #HumFitTohIndiaFit,” Modi tweeted.

On Wednesday, Kohli, who posed for his fitness video in a gym, tweeted: “I have accepted the #FitnessChallenge by @ra_THORe (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore) sir. Now I would like to challenge my wife @AnushkaSharma , our PM @narendramodi ji and @msdhoni Bhai for the same. #HumFitTohIndiaFit #ComeOutAndPlay.”

Earlier, the Olympian shooter Rathore initiated an online fitness campaign and and posted his exercise regime on the social media.

He further challenged Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, cricketer Virat Kohli and badminton player Saina Nehwal to post their respective fitness mantras on the social media.

Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja on Wednesday said that the outbreak of Nipah virus (NiP), which has claimed 10 lives, has been contained and there was no need to panic.

Seventeen people are being treated at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. The disease has been confined to Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

But the minister said two new cases of patients with suspected NiP and fever were reported in Kozhikode and they were under observation.

Shailaja told the media here that though the virus had been contained, there was a need be alert.

“The entire expenditure of these patients would be borne by the state and there need not be any panic over bats. The government is awaiting the supply of ribavirin, a drug that’s commonly used for treating similar cases,” she said.

After presiding over the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the dead.

“We have also decided to give a government job to the husband of the nurse Lini who died after attending to Nipah virus patients in Perambra in Kozhikode,” he said.

“Their two children will be given Rs 5 lakh each and this can be withdrawn when they turn 18,” a statement issued by Vijayan’s office said.

Transmission of NiV takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected persons.

Meanwhile, three teams of health experts deputed by the Centre are working in Kozhikode along with various teams of the state government, officials said.