'Will take a decision which benefits all students': Education minister Madhu on hijab ban

Bengaluru, Sept 22: Former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy met BJP national president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Friday, to officially join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA. This will further strengthen NDA and vision of Hon PM @narendramodi Ji for “New India, Strong India,” said Nadda on X (formerly Twitter).

Kumaraswamy said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda also may hold talks on this, if required.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Kumaraswamy said, "Today formally we discussed about joining hands with the BJP. We've discussed the preliminary issues formally. There is no demand (from our side)."

Talks on alliance between the two parties have been in the limelight ever since veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, who is also a parliamentary board member of the party, had earlier this month said his party will have an understanding with JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections, and the regional outfit will contest in four LS seats in Karnataka, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

JD(S) had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Congress, as both parties were then running a coalition government under the Chief Ministership of Kumaraswamy.

Canadian tourists, business travelers and even some former Indian citizens are rushing to change flights and inquire about their trip deposits after India abruptly suspended visa applications in the country amid an escalating diplomatic row.

A day after the Indian government warned its citizens in Canada to “exercise utmost caution” and hinted that their safety is threatened, BLS International — an agency that processes visa requests in Canada — posted an online notice saying services have been “suspended until further notice.”

“This shouldn’t happen for the innocent people,” said Jothy Ilangovan, standing in line outside the BLS office in Toronto. She was there to help her brother, a Canadian citizen who has lived in the country for 33 years, obtain a visa for a Hindu pilgrimage back to India. He had already booked his vacation time from work and feared the trip would be canceled. “We want to go to the temple and pray, that’s it.”

Ties between Canada and India are at their lowest point in decades after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of orchestrating the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian activist who was pushing for an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region. 

India has denied the allegation, calling it “absurd” and hitting back with measures aimed at curbing travel between two nations.

Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., which now operates under the brand name of AtkinsRéalis, has limited travel to India for Canadian employees to “essential reasons only” until further notice, the firm’s spokesperson, Laurence Myre Leroux, said in an email. There hasn’t been any impact on operations so far, she added, but the situation is being monitored “closely.”

India’s move means most Canadians won’t be able to travel there if they don’t already have a visa. Travel agents said e-visa applications online were also not being processed for Canadians. And while Canadians who previously held Indian passports are eligible for Overseas Citizen of India cards — which allow visa-free entry — many do not hold them.

“This is going to impact Canada, and its trade and economy, where India has played a big role,” said Unnati Oza, a Toronto-based travel agent. “I used to work with a client who used to go there twice a year for business — to Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. Where are Canadians going to go after this?”

It’s not just business travel. The visa suspension is also hitting leisure travelers: Canadians made 280,000 tourist arrivals in India last year, according to Indian government data, making it the No. 5 source of such visitors.

“I already have four or five people calling me this morning. They’re due to go in October and November for eight to 10 days of sightseeing. Now, they’re worried because the tours are non-refundable,” said Ottawa-based travel agent Lalit Sharma, who specializes in India. “If they don’t have the visas, they can’t go.”

At the BLS office in Toronto, a sign told visitors that visa services were suspended for “operational reasons.” Most of the people in line on Thursday morning were there to renew their Indian passports, but others were trying to get advice on the visa suspension.

Mithun Ganguly’s prospects were better, having come to the BLS office to renew his passport. A recent arrival to Canada, he said he doesn’t feel unsafe in the country, regardless of the current Indian advisory. 

“Canada is a nice country to stay in, as well as India, so I think we should talk,” he said. “The tensions are not good for either of the countries.” 

Mangaluru, Sept 9: Minister for Medical Education Dr Sharanaparakash Rudrappa Patil said that a tender for the construction of the regional centre of Rajiv Gandhi University for Health Sciences (RGUHS) in Mangaluru will be floated shortly.

Following an appeal by Mangalore City North MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty, the Minister inspected the proposed site for the regional centre at Mary Hill in Mangaluru on September 8.

"Work will commence once the tender is finalised. The MLA said that land for the project has been earmarked. Now, the work has to commence. It is a Rs 40 crore project. The regional centre will have a skill development centre, sports centre and other facilities," Patil said.

The setting up of the regional centre in Mangaluru will benefit students of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, and Kodagu districts.

RGUHS members Dr Shivasharan Shetty and Dr Sharan Shetty appealed to the minister to complete the work on the regional centre at the earliest. The Minister directed RGUHS Vice Chancellor Dr Ramesh M K to take note of the same.