Jindal land row: Yeddyurappa says CM Kumaraswamy is either 'lying or ignorant or both'

Politics

Meanwhile, two more Congress MLAs have publicly opposed the controversial land deal.

TNM Staff

In the latest development on the controversial Jindal (JSW Steel Ltd) land deal in Ballari, BJP state President BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday accused Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy of “lying or being ignorant”. BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday tweeted, “Either the @CMofKarnataka is lying or ignorant or both. It a well-known fact that CBI Court cleared me & my family members of blatantly false, politically motivated charges that were heaped on us.” “Failing to have answers to the daylight robbery of our farmer's lands, a panicked CM is trying to mislead the people with more lies and false accusations,” he added. Either the @CMofKarnataka is lying or ignorant or both. It a well-known fact that CBI Court cleared me & my family members of blatantly false, politically motivated charges that were heaped on us. pic.twitter.com/uNsD6Mz0Bj— B.S. Yeddyurappa (@BSYBJP) June 18, 2019 The statements from Yeddyurappa came in response to the CM accusing him of receiving kickbacks from Jindal in the tune of Rs 20 crore. The CM’s allegations came as it became apparent that Yeddyurappa wouldn't accept the CM’s offer to discuss the issue. "Why did Jindal give him Rs 20 crore cheque? Whether it was Yeddyurappa or who did the lease-cum-sale for Jindal? Who signed it? So I invited them, let's not discuss on streets, come let's discuss. Still, my government is open (for discussion)," the CM told reporters on Monday. Although Yeddyurappa was indicted by the Lokayukta, a special court had acquitted him and his family members of all charges. Meanwhile, in addition to senior Congress MLA HK Patil, two more Congress MLAs Anand Singh and Anil Lad have objected to the government’s proposal to go ahead with the absolute sale deed of iron-rich land in Ballari to Jindal’s JSW Limited at a throwaway price. Echoing the BJP line, Anand Singh in a press conference flanked by Anil Lad, said, “The government should stop giving lands to companies through lease cum sale deed. If such decisions were taken in the past, the government should annul it." The controversy In 2006, the state government had allotted 2,000 acres of land to Jindal on a lease-and-sale agreement for six years at a rate of Rs 90,000 per acre, in addition to another 1,700 acres for 10 years at Rs 1.22 lakh per acre. Accordingly, these two land parcels were to be sanctioned for sale based on conditions of employment generation. In the cabinet meeting on May 27, the cabinet gave a nod to the sale deal, setting the price at Rs 1.22 lakh per acre for the first parcel of land and Rs 1.5 lakh per acre for the second parcel of land triggering protests from the BJP. Even senior Congress MLA HK Patil publicly opposed the decision and met the Chief Minister on the issue. He also claimed that JSW Steel Ltd owed Rs 1,200 crore to Mysore Minerals Ltd as of May 27. According to activists opposing the deal, the price of the land at the present rate is around Rs 1 crore per acre. Since the government’s announcement of the same, the BJP had opposed it and even held a three-day protest on the issue. Under pressure, HD Kumaraswamy who was initially silent on the issue chose to refer the matter again to a cabinet sub-committee.

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Ambulance driver involved in accident that killed 5 on B'luru airport road denied bail

Crime

The ambulance driver, driving a government-run ambulance of the National Ambulance Service, jumped the median of the Ballari road elevated expressway and hit a car coming in the opposite direction on May 27.

TNM Staff

A Bengaluru sessions court denied bail to an ambulance driver who was arrested earlier this month after his vehicle hit a car coming from the opposite direction killing a family of five near Yelahanka, according to reports.  The ambulance driver, driving a government-run ambulance of the National Ambulance Service, jumped the median of the Ballari road elevated expressway and hit a car coming in the opposite direction on May 27. The ambulance was heading towards the airport.  Channabasappa, the 30-year-old ambulance driver, told the sessions court that he was attending an emergency case when the accident took place. He also said that he swerved towards the median to avoid hitting another vehicle which had suddenly braked.  However, a probe into the incident found that even though Channabasappa was on official duty, he was heading to his residence in Devanahalli.  The sessions court cited the famous Alister Anthony Pereira case of 2012 in its judgement. In the case, Alister was accused of mowing down seven persons in Mumbai's Carter Road and the Supreme Court, in its decision, noted that his negligent driving amounted to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. "Here is a case where the accused being a responsible government servant and having knowledge of the consequences of his act of driving, drove his vehicle in a rash and negligent manner, crossed the divider and hit an oncoming vehicle which resulted in the death of five innocent lives. Hence the act of the investigating officer in pressing section IPC 304 at this stage is valid," said K Narayana Prasad, 55th additional city, civil and sessions judge, as per Times of India. The force of the accident was such that the car was mangled following the incident and firemen had to be brought in to lift the bodies out of the car.  Dipankar Dey (46); his wife, Swagata Chaudhury (42); their son, Dhruva Dey (14); Swagata’s sister, Sujaya (45) and their mother Jayanthi (65) lost their lives in the accident, as per The Hindu. 

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Congress suspends Bengaluru MLA Roshan Baig for 'anti-party' activities

Politics

He had recently criticised senior Congress leaders over the poor results in the Lok Sabha elections and was also linked to a Ponzi scheme in his constituency involving IMA Jewels.

TNM Staff

Congress leader and former minister Roshan Baig, who recently criticised senior Congress leaders over poor results in the Lok Sabha elections and has been linked to a Ponzi scheme in his constituency, was suspended by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday. He was suspended for indulging in 'anti-party' activities. "All India Congress Committee has approved the proposal sent by KPCC to take action against Roshan Baig on account of his anti-party activities. He has been suspended from the party with immediate effect on the basis of an inquiry conducted on the matter," according to a release by the party. Baig had criticised All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader and Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal, KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. In particular, he had termed Siddaramaiah as 'arrogant' and Dinesh as 'immature' in an outburst against the party's functioning.  He had also hinted at leaving the party and reports had suggested he was joining the BJP. Congress had given him a showcause notice to which he had not responded.  Roshan is a seven-time MLA in the Congress and he had also expressed his unhappiness at being left out of the coalition cabinet under Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy  Recently, he has been linked to a Ponzi scheme in his Shivajinagar constituency run by the founder of IMA Jewels, who allegedly defrauded hundreds of investors, mostly Muslims, in Bengaluru.  Even though Roshan dismissed his link to the scheme, senior Congress leaders have said that Roshan had approached them along with Mansoor Khan, the founder and owner of IMA Jewels. Mansoor, in a widely circulated audio clip, claimed that he had paid Rs 400 crore to Roshan Baig which had not been returned to him, an allegation denied by Roshan. KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that Roshan's links to the scam will be brought to the notice of the AICC.  A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is currently probing the case and the number of complaints from investors has risen to more than 38,000.   

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‘2 teams with two visions’: Health friction worsens between Trump aides and HHS

Despite the tensions, Alex Azar is not perceived to be at risk of losing his job.

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Two arrested in Mangaluru after video of man abusing hospital staff goes viral

Crime

In the video, Deekshit can be heard complaining that the hospital was apathetic to his friend, who is on a stretcher after a bike accident, and was waiting for an ambulance for further care.

Prajwal Bhat

A medical superintendent in Mangaluru's Wenlock Hospital has filed a police complaint alleging that a person filming a video with his phone and a group of his friends threatened doctors on duty at the hospital in the early hours of Monday morning. Mangaluru police arrested two persons including Deekshit, who is seen filming the video, and his friend Nikhil, in connection with the incident.  The complaint was filed after video footage of a man complaining about the medical facilities at Wenlock Hospital was widely shared on social media. The man is heard complaining that his friend was not treated for over an hour-and-a-half  and is also heard abusing doctors working inside the hospital in Tulu in the three-minute video. The man in the video claimed that his friend, who is seen lying on a stretcher, did not receive timely treatment from the hospital authorities and was made to wait over an hour-and-a-half. “Let’s make a video and post the condition of the government hospital. The public must know that even after one and a half hours, the patient is made to sleep here (on the stretcher) and no treatment is being provided to him. The police are here (he said pointing at a police personnel), but even he can’t do anything he says,” the man is heard saying. In the video, a patient is lying on the stretcher unattended. The man with the mobile phone in hand then walks into the hospital and begins hurling abuses and expletives at the staff and doctors working inside. He alleges that the doctors treating his friend have neglected him and are asking him to take his injured friend to AJ Shetty Hospital, a private hospital around 6.3 km away from Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru. The police official present in the hospital attempts to calm Deekshit down, and asks him to leave the hospital premises. The man however continues to rant. He is heard saying, "This is my friend and it has been one-and-a-half hours," while pointing at wounds on the patient's head.  The patient’s wounds are dressed in the video, and a nurse is seen tending to the patient at the end of it and giving him an injection.  Dr HR Rajeshwari Devi of Wenlock Hospital, in her complaint filed at Mangaluru (South) police station, stated that the person filming the video – Deekshit – was inebriated and arrived at the hospital at 4.15 am on Monday with a friend who had fallen from a bike. Hospital authorities maintain that the patient was treated immediately. “The doctors administered primary care, including X-ray, but when they advised the patient’s friends to take him for a CT scan, they demanded an ambulance to take him to a private hospital and abused the hospital staff,” she said. Dr Rajeshwari added that the patient had arrived at the hospital with injuries in his scalp and neck. "The patient was assessed immediately after being brought in, in a method known as triaging (wherein airway, respiration and circulation of the patient are assessed). He was found to be normal. He underwent scans to rule out any internal injuries and had been placed on intravenous fluids," she said. However, it is at this point that hospital authorities admit that there was a delay in moving the patient to the CT scan facility next to the building. "It was decided that a CT scan would be needed to rule out a head injury. He was not in need of any active help and as seen on the video, he had already been dressed by the doctors. However, at this point the patient's friend began filming a video and abusing doctors working in the hospital at the time.The group was close to physically assaulting our staff," Dr Rajeshwari said. According to her, the patient was made to wait since the ambulance which takes patients to the CT scan facility next to the hospital was transporting another patient at the time. "We did not suggest that the patient should be transferred to another private hospital," she said. A case under section 504 of the IPC (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and sections 3 and 4 of Karnataka Prohibition of Violence against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act, 2009 was registered by police officials in Mangaluru (South) police station. Police officials are investigating the claims made by Deekshit in the video. They are also looking for others accompanying him. The incident has come to light amid the nationwide protests over the assault on doctors working at NRS Hospital in Kolkata. In the last two days, medical services in Karnataka and across major Indian cities were hit after the Indian Medical Association's call for a nationwide strike. A black badge protest was also held in Mangaluru on Friday. The protests have been called off now.  

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Bengaluru steel flyover project scrapped, Karnataka govt tells HC

Controversy

The proposal for the project, which was scrapped in March 2017, was being relooked by the new government.

TNM Staff

In another victory for Bengaluru residents opposing the proposed controversial steel flyover between Hebbal and Chalukya Circle, the Karnataka government told the High Court on Monday that it has shelved the project. The Karnataka High Court was hearing a plea by Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) which had asked that the project be scrapped on grounds that it was not sanctioned through the mandatory procedures. During the previous hearing, the government counsel had also confirmed that the government had not asked for environmental clearance. This project was proposed by Bangalore Vision Group, which the HC deemed as an extra-constitutional body and scrapped it. Following this, the NBF had insisted that the project be approved through the constitutionally mandated Metropolitan Planning Committee. NBF had approached the court after the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) allegedly did not answer their Right to Information applications on the project.   Big victory to the unrelenting legal battle of NBF & citizens' fight against #SteelFlyover project. After denying several RTI applications & bypassing the constitutionally mandated BMPC the GoK has dropped the project & submitted it's proceedings to Hon'ble HC in today's hearing pic.twitter.com/lY5EQ4FvMx — NBF (@Namma_Bengaluru) June 18, 2019   Proposed to be built at the cost of Rs 1,791-crore, the 6.7 km long flyover was to be constructed to improve connectivity to the Bengaluru International Airport. From the time the proposal to build the flyover was announced, residents have been staging protests. In February 2016, 8,000 people had formed a human chain along the route of the proposed flyover from Chalukya Circle to Esteem Mall in protest. Those opposed to the project had argued that the elevated corridor would be futile and will not solve Bengaluru’s never-ending traffic problem. A study by urban mobility expert and IISc professor Ashish Verma has predicted that at the current rate of private vehicle ownership, the steel flyover would likely end up getting congested on the first day itself.  Moreover, 2,000 trees were planned to be axed to make space for the project, this at a time when the green cover of the once called Garden City is already fading. In the face of the protests, the controversial project was scrapped by the Siddamramaiah government in March 2017. It had become a non-issue until it was reintroduced in January 2019 by Deputy CM G Parameshwara, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio.

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Tumakuru man's attempted backflip stunt goes horribly wrong

Accident

The man has been admitted to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru where he is being treated.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

A young man runs towards a friend who has his arms held together in a clasp, the man uses his friend’s hands to boost himself into the air and into a backflip, but he is unsuccessful and his head and neck crash first into the ground. This is a video of 19-year-old Kumar, a resident of Tumakuru in Karnataka, as he attempts a backflip. He has sustained a severe spinal injury and is being treated at Victoria Hospital in the city. Disclaimer: Graphic content, viewer discretion is advised According to sources from the hospital, the young man was allegedly recording the stunt to upload to a popular social media platform. As he attempted to do a backflip in air, he faltered and his head hits the ground first. This has resulted in extensive damage to his spinal cord. Following this, he was taken to a nearby hospital and stabilised before being shifted to Victoria Hospital. “He was brought in earlier today from a local hospital in Tumakuru, where they assessed him. We have examined him and have asked for some scans, as of now we cannot say how bad the damage is,” said one doctor from the hospital’s emergency department who tended to the man. The spinal cord is a structure which is responsible for a range of sensory and motor functions. Damage to the spinal cord can result in either temporary or permanent distortion in these functions. This incident is not the first time that people have been injured attempting to perform stunts for social media. Several deaths have earlier been reported as the result of people attempting to recreate various stunts or photos to post to social media. In one such instance in 2017, a 13-year-old boy from Hyderabad died after he took a selfie from the top of a railway coach. The boy, identified as Kumar, was taking selfies atop an empty, stationary railway coach at Moula Ali railway station, when he came into contact with a high-tension wire and was electrocuted. He succumbed to burn injuries he sustained later at Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad.

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