Karnataka polls: JDS family spilt over Hassan seat? Gowda’s daughter-in-law keen to be in fray

News Network
January 28, 2023

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Hassan, Jan 28: There seems to be a conundrum within the JD(S) and its 'first family' led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda over selection of the party candidate to Hassan assembly segment for the upcoming Karnataka polls.

The seat is turning out to be a major bone of contention, as Gowda's daughter-in-law Bhavani Revanna, who had thrown her hat in the ring, has not relented, despite JD(S) legislature party leader and her brother-in-law H D Kumaraswamy making it clear that she will not be fielded.

Bhavani Revanna, a former Hassan zilla panchayat member, is the wife of Kumaraswamy's elder brother and former minister H D Revanna. Two days after Bhavani Revanna publicly claimed that her name had been finalised by the party for the Hassan seat and a formal announcement will be made soon, Kumaraswamy on January 25 said her contest was not necessary there (in the constituency) as the party has a capable candidate.

JD(S), which has already announced a list of 93 candidates for the assembly polls due by May, is yet to finalise one for Hassan constituency. Hassan is the home district of Deve Gowda and the party in 2018 assembly polls had won in six out of seven segments other than the Hassan seat, which BJP's Preetham Gowda secured, making it the first ever win for the saffron party in the Vokkaliga-dominated district.

Despite Kumaraswamy's statement, according to party sources, Bhavani Revanna has not backed down and continued her tour in the constituency as she took part in a temple event on Friday. Some sources even said the Hassan candidate issue has now reached JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda, who will now have the final say on the matter.

Bhavani's husband H D Revanna's conspicuous silence on the developments has led to some amount of speculation about the predicament within the Gowda family on the issue. Though Revanna's elder son and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna had, soon after his mother's claim to be the candidate, maintained that Deve Gowda will decide and everyone will abide by it, he hasn't reacted after Kumaraswamy's statement that she will not be the candidate.

When reporters tried to speak to her after the temple event, Bhavani Revanna said she did not wish to give any reaction for now. "Let whoever say anything, I will not react... I will not speak politics, I have come here for worship... I don't know much about the developments as of now. Let's see in the days to come," she said.

When a question was put to her that people had a desire that she should contest from the seat, Bhavani said: "Let's see in the future how the god's and everyone's grace will be... Let's see, I will speak in the future." As she served food to people who attended the temple event, announcements were made on the loudspeaker calling her "Next MLA Bhavani Amma".

Kumaraswamy on Thursday and Friday too reiterated his stand making it clear that when there is a "capable" candidate in a constituency, there is no question of imposing someone from the Gowda family. "Why are you (media) in a confusion on this, I have already said...our family members will contest where we don't have a capable candidate, to protect the interest of our workers. Where there are suitable candidates, such a need won't be there. If such a situation comes, I will tell you," he told reporters on Friday.

Stating that he has said what he had to regarding the Hassan ticket issue and that the rest will sit in the family and decide within the party framework, Kumaraswamy said, "Ultimately Deve Gowda is the one who issues the B-form for the candidate. There is a parliamentary board and there are leaders," he said, rejecting any misunderstanding or conflict within the family.

"Everything will be resolved smoothly," he added. H P Swaroop, a former Hassan zilla panchayat vice-president and son of former MLA late H S Prakash, is said to be the "capable candidate", whom Kumaraswamy is keen to field.

Swaroop too has been visiting villages along with his supporters. Stating that he is trying to get a ticket from JD(S), Swaroop earlier this week said "there seems to be confusion among people and workers following this announcement by Bhavani Revanna, but I'm saying let the ticket be officially declared..." He said that he has high regards for Deve Gowda and Revanna, and there is no question of him looking at an option of going to another party.

Meanwhile, taking a dig at the JD(S) on the whole issue, BJP national general secretary C T Ravi mockingly said he has a desire to invite Bhavani Revanna to contest from Holenarasipur (her husband Revanna's seat) on the party's ticket. "I have seen Bhavani Revanna's statement, also Kumaraswamy's. I don't want to create a rift within the family, or else I had a desire to tell Bhavani akka (elder sister) that there is no better candidate than her for Holenarasipur and become a candidate for the seat from our party. But I don't want to create a fight between Revanna and Bhavani akka, so I won't say anything," he said.

Asked about C T Ravi's statement, Bhavani Revanna said, "You (media) should ask him, I don't know about it..." Kumaraswamy, in response to Ravi's statement, said the BJP is "used to dividing the house". "They are someone who divide the country. Won't they look for dividing a house? But they won't be able to divide Deve Gowda's house, they might be thinking they can, but it is not possible. They cannot divide us," the former chief minister said.

Some political observers are of the opinion that the perception about JD(S) being too family centric is one of its major drawbacks. According to JD(S) sources, Kumaraswamy wants to beat this perception. It is with this intention that he had tried to justify his earlier decisions to give ticket to his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy to contest polls in 2008, 2013 and 2018 by citing lack of suitable candidate, party pride and demand by workers as the reason for her contesting the seat, while denying the same for Bhavani.

However, he has already announced his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy as the candidate from Ramanagara for the assembly polls. Eight members of Gowda's immediate family are in active politics. Gowda, who is the JD(S) supremo, is also Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, while his son Kumaraswamy is a former chief minister and sitting MLA from Channapatna. Kumaraswamy's wife Anitha is MLA from Ramanagara segment, and his son Nikhil, who is the JD(S) youth wing president, had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Mandya.

The party supremo's elder son H D Revanna is a former minister and current MLA from Holenarsipura, his wife Bhavani Revanna was a member of the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, and their sons Prajwal and Suraj are MP from Hassan and an MLC, respectively. The Gowda family has its representation in all the four major houses of public representatives - Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council.

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News Network
March 11,2024

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The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The move to notify the rules of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act came before the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Notably, the CAA was an integral part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The law was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 after Modi government 2.0 came to power.

“Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on X.

“The applications will be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided,” it added.

RULES NOTIFIED BEFORE LOK SABHA POLLS

The issue of CAA has drawn massive protests across India in 2019, with some parties calling the legislation divisive.

The government has debunked such narratives and called CAA a “law of the land” that would be implemented.

Speaking at a business summit last month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the CAA rules will be implemented before the Lok Sabha polls.

“Our Muslim brothers are being misled and instigated (against the CAA). The CAA is only meant to give citizenship to those who came to India after facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It is not for snatching anyone’s Indian citizenship,” he had said.

ABOUT CAA

The notification of the rules is set to pave the way for the migrants from neighbouring countries to find citizenship in India.

The CAA amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide Indian citizenship to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who belong to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian communities and had entered India on or before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in their home countries.

The CAA will help refugees from these neighbouring countries, who don’t have documents.

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News Network
March 11,2024

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The Karnataka government on Monday prohibited the use of artificial colours in 'Gobi Manchurian' and 'Cotton Candy' in the state, citing presence of cancer causing chemicals. The state government has also said that its usage can cause adverse effects on public health, especially children. 

Violation of the ban can lead to imprisonment and fine, said the food safety and quality department.

Samples of Gobi Manchurian and Cotton Candy sold across Karnataka were collected by the department and analysed in laboratories. 

Based on the results, the Food Safety Commissioner ordered a ban on usage of any artificial colours in preparation of 'Gobi Manchurian'. While for 'Cotton Candy', the Commissioner prohibited the use of artificial colours, like 'Rhodamine B', over and above the prescribed limits. 

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that banned chemicals are being used in many food products. 

"We have done a survey across Karnataka and found that these chemicals (Rhodamine-B food colouring agent) are still being used so we are issuing another notice that nothing which is banned should be used and if used strict action will be taken," he added.

The order stated that "prolonged usage of artificial colours in food and its consumption can lead to deadly diseases like cancer". So, the public has been advised not to use any artificial colours in food or to use them in limited quantities.

According to an official, in case of any violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act – 2006 rule 59, the department can file a case in court which can lead to imprisonment from seven years to life term and fine up to ₹10 lakh.

In February this year, Tamil Nadu also banned the sale of cotton candy after finding Rhodamine B and textile dye in it.

What is Rhodamine B?

Rhodamine B is synthetic compound and a fluorescent dye. It is commonly used in microscopy, flow cytometry, dye lasers and fluorescence imaging. It is also used as a colouring agent in products like inks and cosmetics. It is pink to reddish-brown powder or crystals.

However, it is usually associated with health concerns and regulatory restrictions. Some reports suggest prolonged exposure to this chemical may make it carcinogenic for humans.

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News Network
March 12,2024

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Congratulating the Muslim world on the occasion of Ramadan, Iran calls on Muslim countries to unite against the Israeli regime's ongoing genocidal war against the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the arrival of the holy fasting month.

"I cordially congratulate the honorable Iranian nation, the entire Muslims of the world, and my counterparts in Muslim countries on the occasion of the emergence of the blessed month of Ramadan," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

"Gaza's developments showed that, as the common ideal of all Muslims, the issue of Palestine rests at the top of the Muslim world's [list of] priorities," he added.

The holy month, he added, can serve as a "premium opportunity" for Muslim countries "to effectively take the initiative, under the aegis of all-out unity and convergence, towards stopping the apartheid Zionist regime's genocide and war crimes in Gaza."

Amir-Abdollahian, meanwhile, expressed confidence that "the resistance and the Palestinian people are the main victors of this arena."

Israel launched the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a surprise retaliatory operation into the occupied territories.

Concomitantly with the war, the regime has been enforcing a near-total siege on Gaza, which has reduced the flow of foodstuffs, medicine, electricity, and water into the Palestinian territory into a trickle. Earlier this month, the United Nations warned that in the absence of any changes in the regime’s ongoing genocidal war, the coastal sliver was on course to experience all-out famine.

So far during the military onslaught, the regime has killed more than 31,112 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents.

Also on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Israeli regime to honor the spirit of the holy month by "silencing the guns."

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