With cabinet expansion on hold, dissent back in Congress

TNN

October 8, 2018

Bengaluru, Oct 8: The lull was brief. Dissent is again brewing in the Congress following the Election Commission’s announcement of byelections to the three Lok Sabha and two assembly seats in Karnataka. Leaders are peeved since the announcement has provided an opportunity for the party high command to postpone the much-awaited cabinet expansion.

While some leaders, who were aspirants for ministerial berths, are openly expressing dissatisfaction over the postponement, others are miffed over the pact with JD(S) for the byelections.

B C Patil, Congress MLA from Hirekerur, was the first to react. In a tweet on Sunday in which he tagged AICC president Rahul Gandhi, KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and former chief minister Siddaramaiah, the actor-turned-politician said: “Dragging the expansion of cabinet in Karnataka is an act of insult (sic) to legislators, killing democracy, upholding the dictatorship in the name of party.”

Earlier too, Patil had openly castigated the party for overlooking him the first time the H D Kumaraswamy cabinet was expanded.

The cabinet was set to be expanded between October 10 and 12. Several other leaders are aspiring to head boards and corporations. These posts were to be filled immediately after the cabinet was expanded.

Adding fuel to the fire, Congress leader and former minister N Cheluvarayaswamy said the Congress should not have a pact with the JD(S) for the Mandya Lok Sabha bypoll. “The party should look to fight independently in the best interest of the Congress,” he said.

Former Congress MLA C M Lingappa, who is sulking over the party’s decision to ally with JD(S) for the Ramanagara bypoll, is reportedly in talks with the BJP. Sources say he could switch to the saffron party in case it gives him the ticket.

However, Congress party sources say Lingappa will not join the BJP since he is a loyal Congressman, but he could ask his son Shekhar to support M Rudresh, the BJP’s likely candidate.

The opposition BJP is trying to exploit the trouble that has erupted in the Congress, following its decision to give up the constituency for JD(S), but is finding it hard to field a strong candidate.

JD(S) is likely to field Anita Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara. A bypoll has been necessitated following the resignation of chief minister Kumaraswamy, who was elected from two seats — Ramanagara and Channapatna.

Senior Congress leaders, who were upset with the party’s decision to postpone the cabinet expansion, reportedly met Siddaramaiah on Saturday to vent their anger.

“I will meet Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in New Delhi soon to convince them to go ahead with expanding the cabinet without worrying about the bypolls,” Siddaramaiah is reported to have assured them.

AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal will be in Bengaluru on Monday. He is scheduled to meet senior Congress leaders on Tuesday where a decision on whether to appoint chairpersons to boards and corporations will be taken.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

News Network

December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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