BJP MLC A H Vishwanath to appeal in SC against HC decision to disqualify him from becoming minister

News Network
December 1, 2020

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Bengaluru, Dec 1: Former Karnataka Minister and BJP Legislative Council member A H Vishwanath on Tuesday said he will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order disqualifying him from becoming a Minister since as per law he continues to be a disqualified member until he gets elected from the public.

Speaking to media here, he said “I am waiting for the full text of the High Court ruling. I will discuss with my lawyers and question the order in the Supreme Court in the coming days”.

While ruling that Mr Vishwanath was “ex-facie disqualified” from being appointed as Minister, the High Court had pointed out that no such disqualification was in operation against two other MLCs – R. Shankar and N. Nagaraju (MTB) – who had been duly elected to the Legislative Council from the Assembly in June 2020.

Vishwanath, who was among the aspirants for a Ministerial berth in the present BS Yediyurappa government, publicly bemoaned the dropping of his name from the list of candidates chosen by the BJP’s State Core Committee for nomination as candidates for elections to Legislative Council from the Assembly.

“My name was the first in the list of four candidates along with BJP candidates N Nagaraj (MTB), Shankar and Pratap Simha Nayak. But, when the approved list came back (from Delhi), my name had been replaced with Sunil Vallyapure”, Vishwanath alleged and said that when he confronted the Chief Minister over the development, the Chief Minister blamed it on some people in Delhi, but promised to nominate him to the Council.

Had his name not been dropped from the list of the candidates and had he been elected to the Legislative Council from the Assembly along with the three others, Vishwanath said the situation would have been different.

Vishwanath lashed out at the State Advocate General for allegedly failing to defend properly in the High Court. “The Advocate General did not take up our case seriously. He has not even spoken to us”, Vishwanath regretted.

Without naming anybody, Vishwanath regretted that the very people who had benefited from their actions by forming an alternative government in Karnataka had “failed to come to their rescue in difficult times”.

He said he had been nominated to the Legislative Council because of the support extended to him by the Sangh Parivar. He replied in the positive when he was asked if all the 17 new entrants to the BJP were in his support.

Former JDS State President Vishwanath sought to clarify that he and 16 other MLAs who quit Congress and JDS did not resign to prop up an alternative government to become Ministers. The Congress-JDS Coalition government fell because of internal contradictions that surfaced later with the then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy blaming the Congress while former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was holding Mr Kumaraswamy responsible for the collapse.

“What happened those days was a mutiny against the ‘demon government’. We did not bring down the government so that we can ourselves become Ministers in the new government”, he added.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Work from home to using toilets in malls, residents of India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru are exploring all options to combat the unprecedented water crisis. People across various neighbourhoods have been forced to order food from restaurants and take bath on alternate days due to the water scarcity.

Even those in high-rise apartments equipped with water harvesting systems now find themselves reliant on water tankers for basic needs, leading to stringent usage restrictions.

Eateries are mulling over use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

Educational institutions are also feeling the pinch. Recently, a coaching centre in the city asked its students to attend classes online due to an 'emergency' for a week. Similarly, a school on Bannerghatta Road was also closed, asking students to attend classes online just like they did during the Covid pandemic.

Residents have come with up new methods to try and conserve water. With temperature rising, it is difficult to avoid a daily shower but they are left with no option but to take bath on alternative days, said Sujatha, a resident of KR Puram.

"What to do? Clean vessels, cook food, wash clothes....so, we have started using paper plates, that way we have cut down on our water usage. And we order food twice a week. We are using the washing machine only once in a week now," she said.

Some others have resorted to visiting a mall to take a shower or use the toilet facilities.

Lakshmi V, an IT professional living in Singasandra, has been requesting her firm to allow WFH option so that she and her family can temporarily shift to her native place in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu until the situation becomes better.

"If the situation persists, we are thinking of seeking a work from home option. We are planning to move to our native place in Tamil Nadu temporarily till rain arrives here," she said.

Bengaluru primarily gets its water supply from two sources - Cauvery river and groundwater. For most non-drinking uses, recycled water processed by sewage treatment plants is used. With no rain for a while now, the primary sources have been stretched to their limits. Bengaluru needs 2,600-2,800 million litres of water daily, and the current supply is half of what's required. The result is a daily struggle for the city's residents.

The brunt is also being borne by people living in the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially in 110 villages that were merged with the city in 2007.

The crisis has also turned into a political battle between the state's ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP with Lok Sabha just weeks away. While the BJP has held several protests blaming the government, the Congress has accused the BJP-ruled federal government of not providing financial assistance to drought-hit Karnataka.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Bengaluru: The Vokkaliga heartland of the old Mysuru region consisting of several southern districts will be the testing ground for the recently forged BJP-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka in the Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling Congress will now look to consolidate its gains that it made in the assembly elections in May last year when it made inroads into the strongholds of the regional party headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in these districts.

In the 2019 Pariamentary elections, the Congress and JD(S) fought together but secured only one seat each in the state. The BJP bagged 25 out of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress and JD(S) win, in fact, came in the old Mysuru region -- Bangalore Rural and Hassan, respectively, while Mandya seat went to an independent backed by the BJP.

This time, the JD(S) has an alliance with BJP. According to sources, the JD(S) is likely to be alloted Hassan, Mandya and Kolar seats in the region, from where Deve Gowda's party draws its strength from in Karnataka.

The JD(S) is now looking to bounce back after the drubbing it received in the May assembly polls.

The Congress and JD(S) are considered to be traditional rivals in the region, where the BJP has also been improving its vote-share.

The BJP-JD(S) alliance hopes to counter the Congress' surge in the region, determined to consolidate Vokkaliga votes in their favour and banking on the Modi charisma. Both parties also hope to gain from each other with this alliance.

The Congress is hoping to further its prospects and continue its dominance in the region, with the help of its strong local leadership and riding on its five guarantee schemes.

Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress state President D K Shivakumar, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister come from this region, and so does JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, a former CM and that party's state President.

According to a political analyst, 'coordination among local leaders and transfer of votes between the parties are going to be key for the BJP-JD(S) alliance to click.' Lack of trust between sizeable workers and leaders of both parties on the ground had proved to be counterproductive for Congress and JD(S) combine in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, resulting in their rout and helping the BJP.

Both Congress and BJP have announced candidates for some seats in the region for the 2024 polls.

The Congress has re-nominated D K Suresh, brother of Shivakumar, from Bangalore Rural.

Interestingly, the BJP has fielded the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysore and noted cardiac surgeon and Deve Gowda's son-in-law, Dr C N Manjunath, from Bangalore Rural.

In Karnataka, the Lok Sabha elections will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7.

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News Network
March 22,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 22: An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over a provocative hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post apparently targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities.

He also made a similar post on March 19 on X and YouTube which went viral. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act, the officials said.

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