Mumbai train blast 2006: Court acquits five Muslim men

Mangaluru: Former minister and KPCC vice-president B Ramanath Rai stated that the NEET-UG should be conducted again and a high-level probe guided by the Supreme Court should be initiated.

“Being a Congress leader from Dakshina Kannada, which is an educational hub with a large number of medical colleges, I have to raise concern towards students and parents.

While a few students were becoming toppers in the exam earlier, this time 67 students scored 720. The grace marks were awarded, though it was not in the NEET guidelines. The govt has been playing with the future of lakhs of students. There should be a transparent and unbiased probe. The Congress will launch a nationwide protest,” he told reporters on Monday.

Stating that the NEET-UG result, which was scheduled to be released on June 14, was released 10 days earlier on June 4, Rai said, “The govt may have announced the results of NEET-UG and the Lok Sabha polls on the same day with the calculations of diverting the people’s attention. While many have made suicide attempts, the issue also has reached the court. Congress demands a high-level probe guided by the Supreme Court.”

Stating that the CET was introduced in Karnataka during the tenure of then-chief minister M Veerappa Moily in 1984, Rai said that a large number of students from the state were able to get admission to medical seats. 

“The previous system of holding medical entrance at the state level should be reintroduced. There is a need for a united fight along with other states for the re-introduction of the CET at the state level. Meanwhile, a fresh NEET-UG exam should be conducted for this year,” he said.

Congress candidate Padmaraj R Poojary, who contested the recent Lok Sabha poll, said a mass protest will be held if the central govt does not respond. He added that none of the students’ unions, except the NSUI, has raised their voice against the NEET-UG controversy.

Mangaluru: A woman from Andhra Pradesh drowned in the sea off Ullal beach. The locals were successful in rescuing four others from drowning.

The deceased was identified as Parimi Rathna Kumari (57), wife of P L Prasanna from Serilingampally. When a group of women were on the shore of Ullal beach, a huge wave washed them away.

A group of five women from Hyderabad had gone to Mysuru on June 6. After touring in Mysuru, they hired a car to travel to Kodagu on June 7. On June 9 they visited Kukke Subrahmanya. On Monday, they had visited Dharmasthala and Ullal beach where the mishap occurred, said a member in the group.

The locals rescued four women, however, Parimi Rathna lost consciousness in the water. Later, her body was retrieved and taken to the hospital where she was declared dead. 

Bengaluru, Jun 10: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointing him as Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries in the union government.

The former Karnataka chief minister took oath as the Cabinet Minister in the NDA government headed by Modi on Sunday.

“I am deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri @narendramodi , for appointing me as the Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, in its third consecutive term,” Kumaraswamy posted on ‘X’.

The 64-year-old Vokkaliga leader had earlier made no secret of his desire to become Agriculture Minister.

Kumaraswamy defeated Venkataramane Gowda of the Congress by a margin of 2,84,620 votes in the Mandya Lok Sabha segment.