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Karnataka to issue fresh guidelines to contain spread of mutant variant of coronavirus

News Network
December 26, 2020

Bengaluru, Dec 26: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Saturday said that the state Health Department will discuss matters concerned with prevention and containment of new variant of coronavirus and come up with the guidelines regarding the same.

Speaking to the media, the Health Minister also said that there will be new guidelines for New Year celebrations and he will conduct a meeting with the Home Department regarding this soon.

Dr Sudhakar said that third stage trials are being conducted including in Karnataka. "Anyone can volunteer to take the vaccine at this stage. I have personally appealed to many frontline warriors, especially, medical students to volunteer for trials," he added.

"A total of 1,638 out of 2,500 returnees from the UK have been tested and 14 of them have been found positive. Their swab samples have been sent to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) for gene-sequencing to find out whether it is a new strain of the virus.

This process needs 48 hours. Once we get the reports it will be sent to the central government. About 38,500 people have returned from the UK to India. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will collate reports from all states and then come up with a report," Dr Sudhakar explained.

"All necessary precautions are being taken at airports. We have also made arrangements to test people who do not have a negative report at airports itself," the Health Minister added.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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