‘Husband died and she has political ambitions’: HD Revanna’s sexist remark on Sumalatha

Lok Sabha 2019

Sumalatha will be contesting as an independent from Mandya. She earlier sought a ticket from the Congress-JD(S) alliance to contest from the constituency.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Energy Minister HD Revanna’s crass remark about actor Sumalatha -- the wife of late Congress MP and actor Ambareesh -- questioning her foray into politics just months after her husband's demise, is yet another example of how women in politics are treated by their male counterparts. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, HD Revanna said, “It’s not even been a month since her husband died and instead of grieving, she is already displaying political ambitions and is saying she wants to contest elections. See what level they have stooped to.” Sumalatha is going to be contesting as an independent candidate in the upcoming 2019 general elections from the Mandya Lok Sabha segment. Earlier, she approached the Congress and sought a ticket from the Congress-JD(S) alliance to contest from Mandya. This put the Congress in a spot as the pre-poll alliance with JD(S) ensured that a JD(S) candidate would contest from Mandya, and not a Congress one. Revanna added that the Mandya seat was for a JD(S) candidate and in order to fight Sumalatha, the JD(S) had no choice but pick Nikhil Gowda (CM Kumaraswamy's son) to contest from Mandya as Sumalatha was adamant that she would not contest from any other segment. “We were planning on fielding one of our workers from Mandya but she said she will contest only from Mandya. So, we changed our plan and decided to bring in Nikhil,” Revanna added. Although she was offered the Mysuru-Kodagu constituency by the JD(S), Sumalatha decided to contest the election as an independent candidate from Mandya. According to JD(S) sources, Kumaraswamy did not want Sumalatha to contest from Mandya because she may actually defeat his son. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who tried to control the damage Revanna’s words had caused, said that such comments were not to be made. “No one should make such comments about another person. Please leave all the issues regarding Mandya to me. Do not pay attention to Revanna,” CM Kumaraswamy told reporters on Friday. Despite Kumaraswamy’s statement, Revanna refused to apologise and went on to make another distasteful statement about Sumalatha. “I have seen so many such dramas. Sumalatha used to act in films and she is now doing the same in politics. Why should I apologise? When Ambareesh died, Kumaraswamy was at the hospital till 4 am. Who would have questioned him if he had gone home after making a quick visit to the hospital? Who is running the ‘Go back Kumaraswamy, Go back Nikhil’ campaign in Mandya? I know who is behind this. I will disclose their names at an appropriate time,” Revanna said. Sumalatha, who was campaigning in Mandya on Friday, said that no one could bring down her confidence and that she is not going to pay attention to Revanna’s remarks. “They cannot crush my self-confidence with such statements. It’s better not to react. Ambareesh conducted himself in a dignified manner (politically) in his life and I am following in his footsteps. They want me to react to their provocative comments, but I will not react,” Sumalatha told the media. This is not the first time Sumalatha has been attacked by members of the JD(S). In February, Kumaraswamy had questioned Ambareesh’s contribution to Mandya during the time he was an MLA, as well as when he was an MP. Transport Minister DC Thammanna, who is also from the JD(S), had stated that Sumalatha did not know how to be hospitable. “She did not offer even a glass of water or tea to people when they visited their house when Ambareesh was alive. Do not believe film actors,” DC Thammanna had told the media in February. Revanna’s remarks became fodder for the BJP, with Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje demanding that Revanna apologise. “There is no law in this country that women should not contest elections if their husbands die. There is no law which specifies how long a woman must wait to contest elections after her husband dies. I do not know the context of his (Revanna’s statement) but speaking about a woman in such a distasteful manner is not right. He must apologise,” Shobha Karandlaje said. JD(S) insiders say that Revanna’s statement comes in the backdrop of his long-standing feud with his brother Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Whilst Revanna’s son Prajwal worked for the party in Hassan for eight years before being offered a ticket to contest elections, Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Gowda, who has no experience in politics, has also been offered a ticket to contest the polls.  

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13-year-old suffocates to death due to LPG cylinder leak in Bengaluru

The boy and his 5-year-old brother, who is critical, were asleep at home at around 6am when the incident occurred.

TNM Staff

In a tragic incident, a 13-year-old boy died of asphyxiation due to a leak in the LPG cylinder in his Bengaluru house. The boy’s 5-year-old brother is currently critical and undergoing treatment. The incident occurred on Friday morning after the children’s mother had locked the door and gone to work.  According to TOI, Kalpana alias Kalavati, a widow from Nepal, who works as a domestic help and lives in Jyothinagar near HAL would lock her sons Sameer and Shasheer inside the house, before leaving for work at 6am everyday, as she felt it was the only way to keep them safe. Kalpana would return home by 8am and get her sons ready for school before heading to work again. According to The Hindu, Kalpana’s neighbours heard her scream for help on Friday morning and ran inside to see what had happened.  “When we ran inside the house, we saw Kalpana crying, sitting next to her sons. Sameer lay motionless, while Shasheer was breathing hard. We immediately summoned an ambulance. The ambulance staff declared Sameer dead. We shifted them to a nearby private hospital where doctors confirmed the death,” neighbours told TOI. Sameer was a Class 5 student at the  government school in Narayanapura and Shasheer is in Class 1. While Sameer died due to asphyxiation, Shasheer is undergoing treatment at St John’s Hospital.  According to Whitefield DCP, Abdul Ahad, Kalpana had an illegal LPG connection and would get the cylinder refilled from a shop near her house. “Preliminary investigation revealed Kalpana had turned off the cylinder knob. The gas somehow leaked and the two boys who were sleeping just 10 feet away fell unconscious,” DCP Abdul Ahad added.  Police have booked a case under 304A (death due to negligence) against certain employees of the private gas agency, which had supplied the cylinder. Abdul Ahad said that the leak may have been caused as the cylinder was defective.  “He may require ventilator because oxygen supply to his brain is reduced. Carbon Monoxide that has been absorbed through the lungs is serious, particularly in young children,” Dr Sanjay Lewin, Chief of Medical Services at St John’s, told The Hindu.

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K'taka HC overturns suspension handed over to 2 students by Christ University's ICC

Court

The two students had been accused of sending an offensive image and message to a classmate on March 22 2018.

TNM Staff

Representation photo

Two 4th semester BA LLB students of Christ University can resume their studies after the Karnataka High Court reversed the order suspending them for one year. The duo were suspended over an image and message they had sent to a classmate. The two students had been accused of sending an offensive image and message to a girl classmate on March 22 2018. The duo were barred from writing their semester exams beginning five days later and were summoned on April 6, 2018 by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) constituted by the university. While they have appeared in fourth and fifth semester examinations in the past year, their results have been withheld. The committee suspended them from one year of studies. The students filed a petition in the High Court challenging the decision and on February 27 2019, almost a year after the ban, Justice Alok Aradhe hearing the plea made by the petitioning students, reversed the university's order over irregularities in the ICC process. The judge noted that the inquiry was conducted in haste and that the  petitioners were not given an opportunity to register their response in writing nor were they allowed to produce documentary and oral evidence. The duo maintain that they had given an unconditional apology to the girl who complained and also claim that the message was sent after a prank went wrong. Christ University still has the power to take action against the accused students. Officials of Christ University were unavailable for comment on Friday. This article will be updated if a response is issued.  

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K'taka Speaker issues notice to ex-Cong MLA Umesh Jadav for quitting Assembly seat

Politics

"Though Jadhav resigned on March 4, the Speaker is yet to accept the resignation as the Congress petition for his disqualification is pending since February 11.," an official of the Assembly Secretariat said.

IANS

Karnataka Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar served a notice to Umesh Jadhav to explain the reasons for resigning from the Chincholi Assembly seat as a Congress member weeks after his party sought his disqualification under the anti-defection law, an official said on Friday. "Though Jadhav resigned on March 4, the Speaker is yet to accept the resignation as the Congress petition for his disqualification is pending since February 11. Jadhav has been given a week to clarify his position," an official of the Assembly Secretariat told IANS. Even before his resignation from the Assembly seat and the Congress formally accepting it, Jadhav joined the BJP at Kalaburagi on March 6 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a party rally. Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah wrote to the Speaker seeking legal action against Jadhav under the anti-defection law for defying the party whip, abstaining from two CLP meetings on January 18 and February 8 and skipping five days of the Assembly budget session in February. "Siddaramaiah urged the Speaker to consider his petition for legal action against Jadhav and three other rebel MLAs before accepting the latter's resignation," the official said. The other three are Ramesh Jharkiholi, B Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathahalli. Jadhav, however, maintained that he did not defy the party whip and gave reasons for his absence at the CLP meetings and the budget session. Jadhav is a two-time MLA from the Chincholi constituency in Kalaburagi district, about 600 km north of Bengaluru. Slamming Jadhav for joining the BJP, Siddaramaiah tweeted on February 6 that the latter had fallen for 'Operation Kamala', a reference to the BJP's attempt to poach rival party legislators. "People are saying Jadhav sold himself for money and power. If true, it is shameful on his part," Siddaramaia added. BJP spokesman G Madhusudan, however, refuted Siddaramaiah's charge and said Jadhav left the Congress as he was unhappy with its leadership.

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Cat got your money: To catch 30 cats in Raj Bhavan, BBMP to spend Rs 1 lakh

Civic

The process requires rented vehicles and experienced catchers who need to be authorised by concerned veterinary officers.

TNM Staff

Almost one lakh rupees for catching 30 cats. That’s exactly how the average Bengaluru taxpayers’ money goes down the drain. What the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike would spend if asked to catch 30 tigers, one might ask. The civic body recently invited tenders after the BBMP was asked by senior staff at the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state’s Governor, to control the menace of 30 odd tomcats. “We received information that the cat menace has been increasing in Raj Bhavan. The BBMP Commissioner also had a look at this issue. Based on the contractor who is looking at the problem, we have been told that it will cost Rs 3,000 to catch one cat. For 30 cats it will cost up to Rs 95,000,“ city Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun told News9. Explaining the process, BBMP Special Commissioner D Randeep told TNM, “The tender was issued by the Joint Director and the Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department. If in the tendering process, if everybody quotes more than the estimate, we might have to give them. The catching process will require rented vehicles and experienced catchers who need to be authorised by concerned veterinary officers and can catch the cats in an unharmed manner.” In December 2018, the Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture wrote a letter to BBMP Joint Commissioner of Animal Husbandry Department, G Anand, to this effect. “The cats are very aggressive and cause trouble whenever the Governor goes out for a walk, especially with his dogs. The cats have even injured the dogs. The halls and private residence of the Governor and VIPs are littered with dirt due to these cats,” a Raj Bhavan official told Deccan Herald. The BBMP was recently criticised for not doing enough to carry out animal birth control programmes in the city to curb the population growth of stray dogs and also administering anti-rabies vaccination. Read: Is BBMP’s laxity leading to an increase in stray dog attacks in Bengaluru? However, the tender is not surprising. TNM had earlier reported how the civic body floated tenders to trap 3,000 odd pigs to curb a swine menace. Read: When pigs are in town, float a tender: Why Bengaluru’s pig-trap schemes are bound to fail  

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Why Bengaluru’s toxic air needs immediate intervention

Blog

The Air Index Quality, what the government measures through its monitoring stations, is different from the actual exposure in Bengaluru.

Representational image

Yogesh Ranganath For long-time residents of Bengaluru, memories of the old city conjure up images of avenues lined with beautiful trees, iconic lakes, idyllic parks, great weather and relaxed eating joints. Unfortunately, the Bengaluru today is quite the opposite - associated with unrelenting traffic, frothing waterbodies, crumbling infrastructure and breathing problems. The bad news is that it is only getting worse. A study by the Urban Emissions estimates that air pollution from PM 2.5 particles, which are so fine that they are 30 times smaller than the diameter of hair, will increase by 54 percent by 2030, compared to today’s already-alarming levels. The body’s defence mechanisms against pollution, like nasal hair and mucous, are unable to stop these ultra-small pollutants that are less than 2.5 microns in size. They make their way, all the way, to the lungs, into the bloodstream and to the rest of the organs. The leading causes of air pollution will not surprise many - vehicular emissions and road dust.  Statistics show that vehicles are responsible for 60-70 percent of emissions in the city. Delhi is not Bengaluru and vice-versa The common narrative in Bengaluru is that “it isn’t as bad as Delhi”, however, this perception is quite misguided. In Delhi, the pollution is visible, particularly in winter, when it culminates in smog, and has implications affecting daily life. Additionally, being the national capital, the situation there invites a lot of scrutiny of the media and environmental and health activists. In comparison, Bengaluru’s moderate climate, blue skies and lower Air Quality Index (AQI) levels make us believe that we are better off. The truth is that AQI, which is what the government measures through its monitoring stations, is different from the actual exposure, which is what we actually breathe. Each one of us is constantly subject to the sources of PM2.5 in Bengaluru, that is, our exposure to vehicle emissions and road dust is high. No one is safe when they step out of the house, sometimes not even in your own house and backyard. Certain demographics such as children and old people tend to be more adversely impacted by poor air quality according to a report published by UNICEF in October 2018. In young children, even as a foetus, high levels of pollution can cause inhibited brain development, lung function impairments and increased chances of asthma. Among the elderly, bad air can affect their cognitive capabilities. If you go for a walk, jog, cycle or exercise or do yoga outdoors in the morning, you are actually causing more harm to your health – because this is when the pollution levels are highest, and exercising increases your breathing rate, and your body takes in more polluted air.      What can be done Here are some measures that the government (and the people) need to take to address these issues. Understand the problem better: The city currently has 11 monitoring stations, which give us continuous levels or ambient air quality. We need more stations in the city to understand the distribution and causes of pollution. We also need to measure on-ground exposure. Corporates can support infrastructure, technology and studies. Better Public Transport Network: Namma Metro has had some impact, but last mile connectivity and parking at metro stations need to be addressed. BMTC needs to increase the total bus fleet and improve its routes and services. Car-pooling and share taxi need to be incentivised. Promote Green Vehicles: While most auto-rickshaws in Bengaluru have moved to LPG, about 30,000 black autos (which run on diesel) are still operational in the city. To encourage all autos to make the switch, the subsidy mechanism for their shift to LPG needs to be fixed. Additionally, vehicles should be held accountable for their toxic emissions, by conducting road tests. Linking motor vehicle taxes to emission levels will be a great driver for people to explore cleaner fuel sources and non-polluting vehicles. Civic Measures: The erratic electricity supply forces citizens to rely on alternate sources of electricity such as the highly polluting diesel generators. Addressing issues around electricity procurement, transmission and distribution can help address this to a large extent. Similarly, sub-optimal waste management processes encourage harmful practices such as the burning of garbage. Regulations on construction, transporting construction material and disposal of construction waste need to be updated and enforced. (Yogesh Ranganath is the Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Platform - Bengaluru, a not-for-profit organisation working towards improving the city’s air quality..)  

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Ayodhya Dispute: SC orders mediation outside court by three member panel headed by ex-judge

Courts

Other than an ex-judge and a noted lawyer, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be part of the panel.

TNM Staff

PTI/file photo

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered mediation to settle the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid Ayodhya title dispute case by a three-member panel. The panel will be headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice FMI Kalifulla with Art of Living founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and senior advocate Shriram Panchu as its members.  The inclusion of Sri Sri evoked a strong reaction from AIMIM Chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi.  “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who has been appointed a mediator had earlier made a statement 'if muslims don't give up their claim on Ayodhya,India will become Syria.' It would've been better if SC had appointed a neutral person,” Owaisi told news agency ANI.  Meanwhile, Sri Sri tweeted, “"Respecting everyone, turning dreams to reality, ending long-standing conflicts happily and maintaining harmony in society - we must all move together towards these goals." Ordering the mediation, the five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SA Bobde, Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer barred both the print and visual media from reporting on the mediation proceedings. It also barred those participating in the proceedings from speaking to the media. The mediation proceedings would be held at Faizabad and would commence in a week.  The order pronounced by Chief Justice Gogoi did not pass any specific guidelines, leaving it to the mediators to take a call, and said that mediators could take any legal assistance that may be necessary.  The court has ordered the mediation to use the time available before the regular hearing of the matter during which all the parties to the dispute have been asked to complete the paperwork relating to the dispute. "I understand the Supreme Court has appointed a mediation committee headed by me. I'm yet to receive the order copy. I can say if a committee has been constituted we'll make every effort to resolve the issue amicably," Justice Kalifulla told reporters

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