Red alert in coastal Karnataka as monsoon gains momentum

The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP for criticising it over the delay in deciding the chief minister of Karnataka, and cited examples when the BJP declared its chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh and Assam several days after winning the polls.

"Just to refresh memories of PM's drum-beaters especially. 2017 UP Vidhan Sabha election results out on March 11th. Yogi appointed CM 8 days later on March 19th. 2021 Assam Vidhan Sabha election results out on May 3rd. Himanta Biswa Sarma became CM 7 days later on May 10th," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.

"There are many more such examples," he also said.

Several BJP leaders are criticising the Congress for the delay in deciding on the chief ministerial candidate in Karnataka amid hectic lobbying for the top post. 

The results in Karnataka were declared on May 13 but the party has not finalised its chief ministerial face yet and the process of consultations is on.

Karnataka's two chief ministerial aspirants Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar held separate meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday as the party held hectic consultations to decide on who would lead the government in the southern state.

BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said a sorry state of affairs prevails in Congress where president Mallikarjun Kharge sees himself more as a "postman".

"Want to watch circus? Watch the Congress select their CM in Karnataka," he said on Twitter.

Referring to the lobbying by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the post of chief minister, he said, "The BJP also holds discussions and deliberations to elect its CMs and has often ensured smooth transition of power, even between CMs. Despite elaborate consultations, you will never find BJP aspirants falling over each other, rallying supporters and issuing veiled threats to the Party through the media".

"On the contrary, last evening, Lutyens journalists, who D K Shivkumar hosted at the Claridges, almost appointed Siddaramaiah as the Karnataka CM. Sorry state of affairs in the Congress, where President Kharge sees himself more as a postman, let alone being a decision maker or even part of the decision making team… He keeps referring to some High Command," he added.

A court in Punjab’s Sangrur has summoned Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a Rs 100 crores defamation case filed by Hitesh Bhardwaj, the founder of Hindu Suraksha Parishad.

Mallikarjun Kharge is accused of “making defamatory remarks against Bajrang Dal" during the recently concluded Karnataka elections.

The mention of Bajrang Dal by parties in their election rallies during the Karnataka assembly poll was quite frequent after Congress proposed in its manifesto that it would “ban" some organisations like “Bajrang Dal" for “promoting enmity".

Congress Karnataka election manifesto was in the eye of the storm since its release for its proposal to impose a ‘ban’ on individuals and organisations like “Bajrang Dal and PFI" or others “promoting enmity or hatred".

The party was at the receiving end of massive backlash from BJP and right-wing organisations for bracketing Bajrang Dal with the Popular Front of India (PFI) in the manifesto for the May 10 polls.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Assembly, Congress scored an emphatic victory with 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19, respectively. 

Mangaluru, May 25: Mangalore University has approved and introduced job-oriented diploma, certificate, and undergraduate courses during its first academic council meeting for the year 2023-24 on Monday.

The meeting was presided over by Mangalore University vice-chancellor PS Yadapadithaya and other officials. Yadapadithaya said that job-oriented courses have been introduced in line with the National Education Policy- 2020. The colleges can start those courses this academic year.

Kishore Kumar CK, registrar, MU, said, “Two certificate and a diploma programme have been introduced. One among them is the certificate programme in ‘Retail management in gems and jewellery’. It is offered in association with a jeweller.

The MU has approved a certificate programme in hair and beauty therapy (HBT) and a diploma programme in designing and treating hair. The duration of the certificate course and diploma programme is six months and one year, respectively. Both newly introduced certificate and diploma courses have high demand in the job market.”

With demand for the UG programme in Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) at an all-time high post-pandemic, MU has introduced two specialisations— BCA in Artificial Intelligence and BCA in Data Analytics. “Each course can be started in any college with an intake of 60 students,” Kumar said. Besides this, a lot of colleges under MU have requested an additional BCA batch this academic year and the same was approved during the meeting.