Contest from Bengaluru North; we'll ensure your victory: Cong tells Deve Gowda

Agencies
March 22, 2019

Bengaluru, Mar 22: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundurao on Friday said his party wants JDS Supremo H D Deve Gowda to contest elections from Bengaluru North constituency.

"I spoke to Deve Gowda ji and requested him to contest from Bengaluru North constituency... Congress has five and JDS two MLAs, who can ensure his victory," he told PTI. Gundurao said the former prime minister's representation from Bengaluru North will have a huge impact in the region, given his stature in public life. The 85-year-old JDS patriarch is yet to decide on contesting the Lok Sabha polls and has been thinking about his "usefulness" in the national capital. Gowda has said he lacked the strength that he had in 1996, when he became the Prime Minister, but there is "enthusiasm".

Under a pact between ruling coalition partners for Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, Congress has been allotted 20 seats while eight sets will be contested by Janata Dal-Secular (JDS). Asked if actor-turned-politician Sumalatha Ambareesh, wife of late actor and Congress leader Ambareesh, can pose a challenge to the coalition partners due to a possible sympathy wave, Gundurao said winning as an independent is difficult with JDS having a strong presence in state assembly, zilla panchayats and municipalities of Mandya district. Sumalatha is contesting as an Independent after she was denied ticket by the Congress from Mandya seat which had been allotted to the JD(S).

Gundurao also said that the Congress would make extra effort to see that Nikhil Gowda, grandson of Deve Gowda, registers a win from Mandya constituency. Asked about the BJP's plan to make "instability" an electoral issue in Karnataka, Gundurao dismissed it as ridiculous saying Modi himself is leading a coalition government at the centre. Also, the BJP is in alliance with NDA partners in several states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, he said. If Modi and BJP are against coalition, they should do away with it, he added. Gundurao said there have been some hiccups in the coalition setup, but the government has been stable. "Congress-JDS alliance has given a stable government but unfortunately BJP has been making efforts to destabilise it by horse-trading," he alleged. 

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state Congress chief alleged that Modi "is diverting people's attention from real issues like failure of GST, demonetisation and joblessness, to emotional issues like Ram Mandir and nationalism". The dialogue of nationalism is very divisive and dangerous as it has already cut India into pieces on grounds of religion, ideologies and nationalism, he said. "We are seeing people taking law onto their hands and killing people including rationalists M M Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh," he said.

The Congress' efforts will be to expose Modi in all these fronts, he added. Asked if the BJP was in an advantageous position due to declaration of Modi as the prime ministerial candidate, Gundurao said "the appropriate question is who should not be the prime minister as there are a huge number of people who do not want Modi to continue". "It will not be easy for the BJP to sell the fake success stories perpetrated in media and social platforms to the people because the truth is that almost all the schemes including Ujwala has not done anything good to them," he claimed.

On the other hand, the Congress had helped people by implementing MREGA and bringing in legislations on food security and tribals right, besides Aadhaar, Gundurao added. Rejecting suggestions that his offer to Congress president Rahul Gandhi to contest from Karnataka is due to any fear of loss in Amethi seat, Gundurao said it was aimed at strengthening the party in the south. "There is no design in this. I wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi suggesting he contest from Karnataka as it would strengthen the party in southern states and retrieve the lost charm from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Let us see what decision the party takes," he said. Gundurao said Rahul Gandhi would address two rallies each in the two phases of Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.

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News Network
April 27,2024

Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has taken a step towards enhancing aircraft safety and has planned to install a Precision Approach Lighting (PAL) category 1 system near Sri Kordabbu Daivasthana, Unile.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday. The project involves various works related to the PAL system and aims to be completed in 20 months.

The airport has undertaken this project in accordance with safety recommendations from the ministry of civil aviation and the civil aviation safety and security regulator. The PAL CAT 1 system will provide pilots with improved visibility of runway 24 and guidance during their final landing approach. The system will be installed 900m from the threshold of runway 24, as this end of the runway accounts for 90% of aircraft landings at the airport.

The PAL will be mounted on approximately 18 lattice structures, which is a unique feature of the project. The lights will be fixed to frangible T-shaped structures. The project will complement the installation of runway centerline lights, which has already been completed and is awaiting approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for commissioning.

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News Network
April 29,2024

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Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday, April 29, shared a letter purportedly written by BJP leader Devaraj Gowda to the Karnataka state president of the saffron party expressing concern about the pendrive containing sleazy videos of JD(S) leader and Lok Sabha MP Prajwal Revanna.

The letter was apparently written on December 8, 2023.

The letter, written in Kannada by the Hassan BJP leader states that 2,976 clips were already with Congress leaders and would be ammo for the grand old party during the Lok Sabha elections. The letter also states that if Revanna is allowed to contest under the NDA banner, it is likely to negatively impact the BJP's image in the state.

Sharing this letter, Khera launched an attack on the BJP, asking why the party had chosen to enter into an alliance with JD(S) despite knowing about the pendrive. He also questioned the lack of action, sharing the stage with Prajwal Revanna, and asked who helped him 'escape to Germany'.

Khera also questioned PM Narendra Modi's silence on the matter. Notably, the PM has been vocal about women suffering sexual abuse elsewhere in the country, when a leader of the opposition party has been involved. Modi attacked the TMC government over Sheikh Shahjahan's actions in Sandeshkhali, which allegedly involve sexual harassment and illegal land grabbing.

The Congress leader, however, remained confident that Modi would stay mum on the Hassan sex scandal issue.

"Modi ji will be in Karnataka the entire day today. I can guarantee that he won’t find the courage to utter even a single word on this horrific case in the state wherein his alliance’s politician went around recording thousands of sex videos of several women in his pen drive, and has now absconded abroad!," Khera said on X (formerly Twitter).

While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has ordered a special probe into the incident, the JD(S) has distanced itself from Prajwal with H D Kumaraswamy saying that while he wanted to wait for facts to come out after the probe, there was no question of forgiving someone who had committed a crime as per the law.

A sexual harassment and stalking case has been filed against former Karnataka Minister H D Revanna and his son Prajwal, who is at the centre of the Hassan scandal.

A woman complainant said that she worked in Revanna's house from 2019 for three and a half years. During her time there, Revenna allegedly misbehaved with her, as did Prajwal, according to the woman's claims. She also claimed Prajwal sexually assaulted her repeatedly.

She also claimed the MP had used obscene language with her daughter during video calls, forcing her to block the number and quit her job.

H D Revanna is the elder son of JD(S) supremo and former PM H D Deve Gowda, and Prajwal is the party patriarch's grandson.

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News Network
April 20,2024

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New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being pushed towards a “slow death” inside Tihar jail by denying him insulin and consultations with his doctor.

Kejriwal, who has Type-2 diabetes, has been asking for insulin and a video conferencing with his family doctor but his requests are being denied by the jail administration, party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a press conference.

"I want to say with full responsibility that a conspiracy is underway for the slow death of Kejriwal," Bharadwaj claimed citing blood sugar readings of the Chief Minister in jail.

He also slammed the Tihar administration, BJP, Centre and Delhi LG for allegedly denying insulin to Kejriwal and said the Delhi Chief Minister had been suffering from diabetes for the last 20-22 years.

On Friday, the chief minister council Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi said Kejriwal has not been administered insulin to control his sugar levels since his arrest, terming it “shocking” and “alarming”.

The ED had on Thursday claimed before the court that Kejriwal was eating food high in sugar like mangoes and sweets every day, despite having Type-2 diabetes, to create grounds for medical bail.

Kejriwal, however, refuted the ED’s claims by asserting before a court that the food he consumed was in conformity with the diet chart prepared by his doctor.

“Out of 48 meals sent from home, only three times mangoes were there…,” Singhvi told the court.

Bharadwaj said Kejriwal was allowed by the court to use a machine in the jail to monitor his daily blood sugar levels.

"Overall, it was a conspiracy to finish Kejriwal so his multiple organ damage and when he comes out of jail after 2-4 months he goes for treatment of kidney, heart and other organs," said Bharadwaj, who holds the portfolio of health in Delhi government.

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