Expats dismayed as AIE reduces Kuwait – Mangluru weekly flights to one

Bengaluru, May 26: JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday slammed the "hypocrite Congress" for boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building. 

The Congress and some other political parties have decided to shun the inauguration of the building on May 28 saying that it should have been done by President Droupadi Murmu and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A day after former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda announced his decision to attend the inauguration, his son and the JD(S) second-in-command Kumaraswamy said the call given by Congress showed its double standard to advance its "trivial politics" to turn votes in its favour by "pleasing certain communities".

The JD(S) leader, however, clarified that the stand taken should not be perceived as his party's soft corner for the BJP.

Addressing reporters here, Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) had a detailed discussion on the topic and finally it was agreed upon that it will attend the inauguration on May 28.

The former chief minister said the Parliament building has not been built by a party but rather using the taxpayers money. However, Congress and a few other parties have decided to boycott the inauguration saying that it should be unveiled by the President, who belongs to the tribal community, he added.

Kumaraswamy reminded the Congress that the foundation stone of the Chhattisgarh Assembly building was laid by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and not the Governor.

"In Karnataka too, the foundation of the Vikasa Soudha was inaugurated by the then Congress Chief Minister (Dharam Singh) in 2005 and not the Governor (at the time). This is the doublespeak of Congress, which seeks to turn votes in its favour by raising trivial political issues to appease certain communities," Kumaraswamy said.

He also sought to know why the Congress had fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha against Murmu during the presidential election if it had so much respect for a tribal woman.

"If you truly had respect for a tribal woman, you should have elected her unopposed since it's a presidential election. Why did you field Yashwant Sinha? Now, you have developed respect for her! We can see through your hypocrisy behind the respect for President Murmu," Kumaraswamy said.

He also advised the Congress not to spoil its respectful position by indulging in petty politics. 

Bengaluru, May 20: As many as eight Congress MLAs were sworn in as ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet during the oath-taking ceremony of Karnataka’s new chief minister and his deputy in Bengaluru on Saturday.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the MLAs at the swearing-in ceremony held at the jam-packed Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge, party's MLAs G Parameshwara and MB Patil were among the eight MLAs.

The other MLAs who took oath included KH Muniyappa, KJ George, Satish Jarkiholi, Ramalinga Reddy and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan.

Congress leader Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the second time on Saturday after the party's thumping victory in the Assembly elections.

This is the same stadium where Siddaramaiah took oath in 2013 when he became Chief Minister for the first time.

DK Shivakumar was sworn in as sole Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Top brass of the Congress party including the Gandhi family members - Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge were present on the occasion.

The Chief Ministers of the Congress-ruled states including Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel attended the event.

The party had also sent an invitation to numerous opposition parties and their leaders.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Deputy Tejashwi Yadav, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah were also present during the swearing-in ceremony.

Other opposition leaders who were present include Sharad Pawar, and Kamal Haasan.

Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan attends the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected Karnataka Government in Bengaluru.

Ahead of the ceremony, Rahul Gandhi, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were seen holding each other's hands in the air as a show of strength and unity.

Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) secured 19 seats in the results declared on May 13.

Mangaluru, May 22: A condolence meet in memory of the 158 passengers who lost their lives in the Air India Express crash that happened here on May 22, 2010 was organized today by the Dakshina Kannada district administration, New Mangalore Port Authority and Airports Authority of India at the air crash memorial site in Kuloor, here.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Kumar M R, MCC Commissioner Channabasappa K and Additional DC Krishnamurthy were among those who paid homage by offering floral tributes.

DK DC Ravi Kumar said that observing the anniversary of the crash was painful. "It is an occasion to remember that all are with the families of the deceased," he said.

Recalling the incident, one of the family members of a victim said “we realised that a mishap has happened only after reaching the airport on that fateful day. By the time we reached the airport, everything was over''.

Air India Express flight IX 812 from Dubai overshot the table-top runway in Mangaluru and plunged into a gorge before bursting into flames.  Only eight passengers survived the crash. Twelve bodies could not be identified. After DNA tests failed, the 12 bodies were buried at the site near Kuloor bridge, adjacent to River Phalguni, and a memorial was constructed.