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JD(S) will be ‘king’, not ‘kingmaker’: HD Kumarswamy

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JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy, on Saturday, thrashed at the Congress party and said that the JD(S) will win 100 seats and the Congress will get just 40 in the upcoming Assembly election. The JD(S) will be the ‘king’ and not ‘kingmaker’, he said.

Kumaraswamy was addressing the media, subsequent to paying tributes to the statue of B R Ambedkar before the Town Hall, here, to stamp Ambedkar Jayanti.

Because of the election survey directed by a media house, as of late, Kumaraswamy said that media poll to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Dinesh Amin Mattu, has worked in the overview. “I know how he (Mattu) affected the overview. I have each record of it. As indicated by the survey, while the Congress is relied upon to win 90-101 seats, the BJP may win 78-86 seats, and JD(S) is required to win 34-43 seats. JD(S) will assume the part of kingmaker in the state,” he said.

Kumaraswamy said that public have chosen to make us the king and not kingmakers. In the 2004 decisions, the then study had anticipated that the JD(S) will win only two seats. In any case, we won 52 Assembly seats. Contrasted with 2004, the party is considerably more grounded,” Kumaraswamy said.

List of BJP candidates to be released today

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BJP leaders held a meeting with the Central Election Committee to finalize the list of candidates at New Delhi on Sunday.

It has finalized the names of 80 candidates. The list is most likely to be out today.

It has been reported that, some of the Congress leaders who were deprived of ticket have allegedly contacted the BJP party. V R Sudarshan from Kolar and Prasanna Kumar from Pulakeshinagar here are said to have contacted the BJP party to gain ticket from them.

J&K CM accepts resignations of BJP ministers present at rally in support of Kathua rape-murder accused

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Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday accepted the resignations of two controversial BJP ministers, who had participated in a rally in support of the people arrested in connection with the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl, officials said.

The resignations of Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga were received from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief Sat Sharma this morning which were immediately accepted and forwarded to Governor N N Vohra for completing the procedural formalities, they said.

With these resignations, the number of ministers in the state government has come down to 22, including nine from the BJP. There are three vacancies in the council of ministers as the Mehbooba’s PDP had last month removed its finance minister Haseeb Drabu unceremoniously, they said.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who had held consultations with legislators of the party in Jammu on Saturday, had announced the resignations would be forwarded for further action thereby ending a simmering political crisis in the state.

Both Ganga and Singh had participated in a rally on March 1 after the crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police had arrested the nephew of a caretaker of a ‘Devisthan’ (temple) in connection with the kidnapping and rape of the little girl.

During investigation, the police arrested the caretaker and alleged he was the mastermind behind the kidnapping, rape and killing of the girl from a nomadic tribe in Kathua district of the state. The police claimed the motive behind the crime was to terrify the nomadic community and drive it out of the village.

The girl was kidnapped on January 10 and her body was found on January 17. During investigation, the crime branch alleged she was drugged and repeatedly raped before being crushed to death with stones.

Both the ministers had maintained on Saturday that they had been sent by the party to Kathua to understand the ground situation. The two ministers were present in the rally in support of the rape-accused where the tricolour was also waved.

Madhav had on Saturday said, “That is why they had to resign. During my visit last month here, I made it clear to everyone that in this matter no one speaks and let us allow the investigations to complete. “Certain amount of discretion should have been maintained. Certainly, there was a lack of discretion. Sometimes a lack of discretion does not tantamount of any guilt…that has led to certain misconceptions about them (two ministers) also, so they decided they will quit as ministers,” he had responded, when asked about the two ministers having termed the action of the crime branch as “jungle raj” and warned police from arresting anyone.

A much-relieved Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for defusing the situation and said the unfortunate incident had brought the people of the state and the rest of the country “together”. She said a sense of justice had been reinforced in the state and urged “New Delhi to wake up to the Kashmir cauldron”.

Both the alliance partners — the BJP and the PDP — had separate legislature party meetings in Srinagar and Jammu on Saturday to discuss the situation arising out of the polarisation in the state over the rape-cum-murder of the girl.

Dalits protest safronising of Ambedkar memorial; Ambedkar Jayanti

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, other politicians paid tribute to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on this birthday

On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, made a beeline to pay tributes to the social icon, amid criticism by the Opposition. The national capital witnessed protests from the Dalits when some people from the community on Saturday “cleansed” B R Ambedkar’s statue soon after Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and BJP leaders paid floral tributes to Ambedkar. Members of the Dalit community claimed that the presence of BJP leaders had ‘polluted’ the atmosphere.

A group of Sikhs too protested against alleged atrocities perpetrated against minority communities in India during the commemoration of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 127th birth anniversary at the United Nation’s headquarters.

The Narendra Modi-led govt and BJP, on the other hand are trying to reached out to Dalits in the aftermath of their violent protests asserting that at every juncture they stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the community and accused the Congress of fuelling tension in the society with an eye on elections.

Earlier this month, Modi had blasted opposition parties for politicising Ambedkar’s legacy, blaming the previous governments for not paying due respects to the Dalit icon. Continuing on that note, he said, “After Atal Ji’s government, when Congress came to power, they closed the files related to this project, when we were given a chance to serve people in 2014 we dug out the files and worked on it.”

In a tit-for-tat, Congress accused the BJP of ‘eroding’ the legacy of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was merely paying him lip service as his party and the RSS have an ‘anti-Dalit mindset’. Congress leader Selja charged the prime minister with doing politics over the legacy of the Dalit icon.

Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated on April 14 across the nation to remember the Father of the Constitution of India. Popularly known as Babasaheb, Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement. He campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables and also supported the rights of women and labourers.

British PM Theresa May declares Syria air strikes successful

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Air strikes by Britain, France and the United States in Syria sent a “clear message” against the use of chemical weapons, British Prime Minister Theresa May said today and declared the action as successful.

The British Prime Minister told reporters at a Downing Street press conference on Saturday that the coordinated strikes to degrade the Bashar al-Assad led Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability involved four Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR 4s.

“This collective action sends a clear message that the international community will not stand by and tolerate the use of chemical weapons,” she said.

The tornadoes launched storm shadow missiles at a military facility some 15 miles west of Homs, where the Assad regime was assessed to have kept chemical weapons in breach of Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

“While the full assessment of the strike is ongoing, we are confident of its success it was a limited, targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries that expressly sought to avoid escalation and did everything possible to prevent civilian casualties,” May said.

Acknowledging that there no “graver decision” for a prime minister than to commit the country’s forces to combat, Theresa May said that following discussions with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron the trio had agreed to hit a specific and limited set of targets.

These included a chemical weapons storage and production facility, a key chemical weapons research centre and a military bunker involved in chemical weapons attacks.

“Hitting these targets with the force that we have deployed will significantly degrade the Syrian Regime’s ability to research, develop and deploy chemical weapons,” she said.

Making a reference to Russia, which has been supporting the Syrian regime, Theresa May indicated that the strikes were also intended as a message to Moscow over its own use of a deadly nerve agent against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury last month.

“We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised either within Syria, on the streets of the UK or elsewhere. We must reinstate the global consensus that chemical weapons cannot be used,” she said.

In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the air strikes as an “act of aggression” by the three western allies, which would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The UK’s Opposition Labour party branded the strikes as “legally questionable”, conducted without the backing or vote in the UK Parliament. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn condemned the government’s involvement in the US-led strikes, saying it “makes real accountability for war crimes and use of chemical weapons less, not more likely”.

May said that due to “operational security reasons” it had been “right and legal” to take the action in the way that the US, France and Britain had.

The strikes, which had been expected since Trump had tweeted a series of warnings to Syria over the past week, follows reports last Saturday of up to 75 people, including young children, being killed in the Syrian city of Douma.

Theresa May stressed that after assessments, alongside the US and France, all the indications were that it had been a chemical weapons attack which led to some harrowing images of men, women and children lying dead with foam in their mouths.

The British PM had received her Cabinet’s backing for military action during an emergency meeting on Thursday. The UK asserts that the action is not about interfering in a civil war or about regime change.

Earlier on Saturday, UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson also described the air strikes as a “highly successful mission”, adding that the UK, France and America had played an important role in “degrading the ability of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons”.

Anupama Shenoy to contest from Kaup

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Anupama Shenoy, Secretary General of Bharathiya Janashakti Congress, has confirmed that she will be contesting from the Kaup legislative assembly constituency in the upcoming state elections.

She confirmed her contest, speaking to the press at a press conference on Friday, April 13th. “Since Kaup is my native constituency, I will not be contesting from Bellary or any other constituency,” she affirmed.

“My party was registered on February 18 and ladies finger is allotted by the election commission as our symbol. Around 80 people have shown their interest to contest from my party in the state elections. The list is being scrutinized. We will definitely contest in 30 constituencies. I have formed Bharathiya Janashakti Congress party with the intention of building a political party and is not limited the forthcoming elections,” informed Shenoy.

“Anyone with no criminal background can join our party. That aspirant should be able to read and write in Kannada language. We will only charge Rs. 20 as membership fee from them and nothing else. If anyone willing to contest with a mindset to fight for the rights of people, will be given ticket in Udupi constituency,” she added.

Now, BJP becomes Kannada-centric, CM terms it ‘election gimmick’

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After criticizing Congress government for adopting a pro-Kannada approach to gain an edge in the upcoming polls, BJP has now suddenly taken a u-turn and become Kannada-centric.

KPN Photo


From tweeting in Kannada to paying tribute to Kannada icons, BJP leaders seem to be playing the Kannada card, as they have realized that ignoring Kannada in Karnataka could create a negative impact in the upcoming polls.

BJP national president Amit Shah during his latest poll tour in Karnataka has visited Kumaravyasa’s birthplace, D R Bendre’s house, freedom fighters Sangolli Rayanna and Kittur Rani Chennamma memorials in the last two days. Shah during his Shivamoga visit took a helicopter ride to Kuppalli, the birthplace of Kannada poet Kuvepmu during his visit.

Shah has also tweeted a Kannada poem of one of the all-time greats of Kannada literature, D R Bendre who was from Dharwad. Even party election in-charge, ministers Piyul Goel and Prakash Javadekar have also started tweeting in Kannada.

Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar also displayed his love for Kannada and its literature by tweeting a few lines from Kumaravyasa’s ‘Mahabharatha’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to utter a few words in Kannada and also paid tributes to Kannada icons in his speeches.

Sources reveal that BJP’s pro-Kannada approach is to convince people that they are not an anti-Kannada party. The BJP earlier had blamed Congress for dividing Karnataka on language lines and sentiments, when the state had objected the centre’s imposition of Hindi rule. Some of its leaders on social media handles had criticized activists who were demanding the removal of Hindi signboards from Bengaluru Metro.

The BJP had also opposed Siddaramaiah government’s demand of Kannada flag for the state.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah called BJP’s new found love for Kannada as an election gimmick and said that the people can see through it.

“Did they not oppose the Kannada flag?” he questioned and added that the state is aware that BJP and RSS has always distanced itself from regional languages, cultures and diversity. “No one will believe them. They are good at fooling people but they have been exposed this time,” he added.

Meanwhile, JD(S) state chief H D Kumaraswamy has attacked both the Congress and BJP for using Kannada for the votes. “Both are national parties and will forget Kannada after the elections. Kannadigas should be careful about Delhi people,” he told media.

Pratibha Kulai files criminal case against Yeddy, Shobha and others

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State secretary of women Congress Pratibha Kulai filed a criminal case against former chief minster and senior BJP leader Yeddyurappa and others on Friday, April 13 at second JMFC court here for using her photo in a chargesheet published by BJP against state government.

B S Yeddyurappa, Shobha Karandlaje Union minister Ravishankar Prasad, publisher Narasimha Murthy, printer Dinesh Hegde are named in the complaint as accused.
As per the complaint, the accused used a photo of Pratibha Kulai in a chargesheet brought out by BJP against the government led by Siddaramaiah.
The complaint was filed for the offences under section 34, 499 and 500 of Indian penal code, informed Kulai.

The case will come up on April 19 for hearing.

Government speaks less, works more: Minister on rape cases

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Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP-government “speaks less and works more” and has taken speedy action in the Unnao and Kathua rape cases.

NEW DELHI,INDIA SEPTEMBER 17: Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi addressing a press conference in New Delhi.(Photo by Yasbant Negi/India Today Group/Getty Images)


“You sometimes think that if we are silent it means we are doing nothing. There have been arrests in both the cases. The government has taken every required step. It is not necessary that we speak first and then act. Our government speaks less and works more,” Gandhi told reporters.

On Friday, Gandhi had said the central government was planning to amend the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act to ensure death penalty for those convicted of raping children below the age of 12.

Why is Bashar al-Assad still in power?

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The Syrian leader has survived seven years of conflict that has devastated much of the country he presides over.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has survived seven years of a devastating war and intense international pressure to step aside.

While Saturday’s US-led air strikes on Syrian government facilities will be a blow to his attempts to unify Syria under his rule, there’s been little suggestion that they are aimed at ending his presidency.

After rapid rebel gains in the early years of the uprising against his authoritarian rule, the possibility that he would join a growing list of deposed Arab rulers was real.
But today, it’s the rebels on the back foot, having lost key strongholds inside the Syrian capital, Damascus, and in the northern city of Aleppo.

Even senior diplomats from states opposed to his government, such as the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, have said Assad can continue running for Syria’s top office.

Here, Al Jazeera looks at some of the reasons why he has lasted so long:

1. Foreign backing
In the summer of 2012, it was the rebels who had the momentum. A bomb blast in central Damascus had killed senior Syrian officials including the country’s defence minister and Assad’s brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat.

The rebels thought victory was near.

“The Syrian army had all but collapsed,” the Free Syrian Army Commander, Bashar al-Zoubi, told Al Jazeera.

It was at around this time that Iran stepped up its intervention in the country, providing training, experienced commanders, and foot soldiers in the form of Shia militias.

Iranian media outlets put the number of fighters Tehran has provided to the Syrian government in the tens of thousands.

The Iranian-trained National Defence Forces militia had a peak strength of 90,000 fighters and is widely credited with turning the tide of the war.

For Iran, Assad is a crucial ally and pivotal to protecting its interests in the region.

But while Iran’s contribution has come largely in the form of boots on the ground, it is the Russians who have provided Assad with arguably his biggest boost.

Starting in September 2015, Moscow began air strikes against Syrian rebel targets.

Their aerial campaign helped force Syrian rebels to abandon their strongholds in Aleppo, as well as in Eastern Ghouta.

2. Rebel divisions
Assad has benefited from divisions within the rebel ranks, as the loosely aligned Free Syrian Army broke up into rival factions, and harder line groups took up the anti-government cause.

Opposition groups initially welcomed the support of the fledgling Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS), but soon found themselves fighting it, drawing resources and fighters away from the campaign against Assad.

ISIL won out against the rebels in key cities, such as Raqqa, and forced the opposition from vast tracts of the country.

While rebel groups did regain some territory from ISIL, former rebel territory was recaptured from the group by Kurdish fighters and the government forces.

ISIL was not the only thorn in the rebels’ side, today there are dozens of rebel factions who are divided over regional affiliation, ethnic identity, political stance, and religious affiliation.

3. International stance
While Western countries and regional powers, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have been vocal in their opposition to Assad, none have taken decisive action to remove the Syrian leader.

Despite rebel appeals, the US has avoided the kind of military intervention that it launched in Libya, which helped rebels there bring down long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

While arms have come through to rebel groups, opposition leaders say they are insufficient to counter the threat of the Syrian government’s air power.

The US decision not to supply weapons capable of doing so is influenced by fears that they could fall into the hands of groups like ISIL and, then later, be used against Western interests.

As the war has dragged on, an increasing number of officials in the West have deprioritised the importance of removing Assad.

In March 2017, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley said that getting rid of Assad was no longer the main focus of US policy.

Two months earlier, the British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said Assad could stay as part of a peace deal.

4. Internal support
Despite widespread opposition to his rule, Assad continues to maintain significant levels of support within Syria.

Such support extends beyond his own Alawite community, and also includes members of the Sunni community who have benefited financially during his rule and have little interest in changing the status quo.

ALjazeera

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