DKS urges Swamiji to take lead against BJP’s communal agenda in Karnataka

Mangaluru, May 26: Over a hundred Bengaluru-bound passengers were left stranded at Mangaluru International Airport on Thursday, May 25, after Mangaluru-Bengaluru IndiGo flight (6E5347) was diverted to Dubai. The flight was to depart to Bengaluru at 9.10 am.

The development occurred after 160 passengers of a Dubai-bound IndiGo aircraft (6E 1467 IXE-DXB) were deplaned after it suffered a bird hit at the runway while moving at around 8.25 am. 

The pilot immediately informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the take-off was aborted. The plane returned to the airport apron and the passengers were deplaned. The aircraft was declared 'aircraft on the ground' (AOG) for a thorough engineering inspection.

Soon, the passengers were accommodated on another IndiGo aircraft that had arrived from Bengaluru. The rescheduled Dubai flight left at 11.05 am.

Lokniti Network National Coordinator Sandeep Shastri, in a tweet, urged the Union Minister of Civil Aviation and DGCA to initiate a probe as over 100 domestic passengers, including his in-laws, were forced through many inconveniences and hardships without receiving any compensation.

Bengaluru, May 19: Congress has not invited AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BSP’s Mayawati, BRS’ K Chandrasekhar Rao, BJD’s Naveen Patnaik and YSR Congress’ Jaganmohan Reddy for Siddaramaiah’s swearing in on Saturday in Bengaluru where the party intends to display a show of strength of the Opposition.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will not attend the ceremony despite being invited to the ceremony in Kanteerava stadium but deputed Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the event. 

Mamata, who “conveyed her best wishes” after Siddaramaiah and other leaders personally invited her, not sending Sudip Bandhyopadhyay or Derek O’Brien is seen as a signal by the Trinamool Congress that it is not so much thrilled by the Congress victory and it does not want to give much lee-way in Opposition politics.

Congress’ decision not to invite at least five parties to the function, sources said, is part of positioning in respective states. The Congress is at loggerheads with AAP in Punjab and Delhi where state leaders are up in arms against any sort of link with the Kejriwal-led party and had vehemently opposed when central leadership leaned towards it.

Though BRS was its comrade-in-arms in Parliament, the upcoming Telangana elections and Rao’s allegiance to the regional party bloc has generated suspicion in Congress circles. The state unit is also against any signal to BRS. 

BSP’s Mayawati is another leader the Congress has not invited. BSP has so far kept itself away from any Opposition grouping in the recent past and the Congress does not consider that Mayawati is in any way inclined to join the Opposition.

YSR Congress and BJD have also scrupulously kept themselves away from the Opposition and though there are demands from a section of the Opposition, they have not given any signal.

Leaders from parties like DMK, NCP, RJD, CPI(M), CPI, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, National Conference and Samajwadi Party have been invited to the function. Some more parties are also on the list.

With the Congress inviting Chief Ministers like MK Stalin, Nitish Kumar, Mamata and Hemant Soren, the omission of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has raised eye-brows. Congress sources said nothing much should be read into it, as only party leaders are invited and an invite has gone to CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.

However, there are indications that the Congress kept the political situation in Kerala in mind during discussions while preparing the invitee list. 

Bengaluru, May 24: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will leave for New Delhi on Wednesday evening, where they are expected to meet the Congress high command and discuss cabinet expansion, and allocation of portfolios to existing Ministers.

As per the Chief Minister's official schedule, Siddaramaiah will be leaving for Delhi by a special flight at 6:30 pm, and will halt in the national capital tonight.

According to Shivakumar's office, the Deputy CM will accompany Siddaramaiah.

Details of the Delhi visit has not been shared with media, but party sources said they are expected to meet Congress leadership to discuss allocation of portfolios to Ministers and cabinet expansion.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively along with eight legislators as Ministers on May 20. Portfolios have not been allocated to the Ministers since then.

According to Congress sources, the party high command approved the first list of eight ministers, against the earlier plan of inducting a much higher number of legislators into the cabinet, as there were allegedly differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over some names, during the discussions held in New Delhi last week, ahead of swearing-in.

Allocation of portfolios to the new Ministers and expanding the cabinet with the right combinations that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities, regions, factions, and also from among the old and new generation of legislators, is the daunting task ahead of Siddaramaiah. With the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka Cabinet being 34, there are too many aspirants for ministerial berths.