Grandson rise in DMK and JD(S): Udhayanidhi and Nikhil Kumaraswamy elevated on same day

Politics

Though both Udhayanidhi and Nikhil have been appointed as head of youth wing, many wonder how advantageous this move will be.

Priyanka Thirumurthy

Theja Ram

Dynasty politics is not new to politics in India and certainly not to the regional or sub-regional parties. On Thursday, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumarasway was appointed as the President of the Karnataka Yuva Janata Dal. Parallelly in Tamil Nadu, DMK Chief MK Stalin’s son Udayanidhi Stalin was appointed as the party’s Youth Wing President. Both Deve Gowda and Stalin have openly made statements in the past that their family members would not enter politics. Deve Gowda, had especially maintained that apart from his sons – Kumaraswamy and Revanna, no other family member would be given the chance to climb up party ranks. Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2018, Deve Gowda had openly told the media that none of his extended family members, who were vying to enter the political sphere were going to be encouraged. He even declared that one of his grandsons Prajwal Revanna would not be given a ticket to contest polls. Three years ago, Stalin too had said something similar. In an interview with Vikatan, he had said, “Neither will my son, nor will my son-in-law join politics. For that matter, I can assure that no one from my family will be joining politics.” Deve Gowda’s volte face and his decision to field not one, but two grandsons in the Lok Sabha elections, alienated the party from the public and even its cadre to an extent. While Prajwal Revanna went on to become an MP, Nikhil Kumaraswamy lost to independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh. In Karnataka, the JD(S) has been infamously dubbed as ‘Just Deve Gowda and Sons’ by political opponents. Deve Gowda’s son is the Chief Minister of Karnataka. His eldest son HD Revanna is the MLA from Holenarasipura, the family’s home town. Revanna is also the PWD Minister. Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy is the JD(S) MLA from Ramanagara. HD Revanna’s wife Bhavani is a gram panchayat member, whilst her son Prajwal is the Hassan MP. In Tamil Nadu, the Youth wing secretary post is quite an important posting in DMK and according to senior journalist TN Gopalan, the post was created in 1985 with the sole purpose to make Stalin the Secretary and gradually bring him into the party's hierarchy. After holding the post for more than 30 years, Stalin had stepped down as Secretary of the Youth Wing, in 2017. Former Minister and three-time MLA Vellakkoil MP Saminathan replaced him until his son Udayanidhi was roped in to take up the task. Last month however, over 40 district secretaries wrote to Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters demanding that Udaynidhi be posted as the DMK Youth Wing secretary. But according to multiple sources in the party, this was merely a ploy often used by the top leaders to create an illusion of approval for their decisions. “The district secretaries are ordered to send letters and they cannot refuse the leadership,” says a source in the DMK. “Even those around the party President are failing to read the risks of promoting his son so quickly. But this has become the norm in the party, for the son or daughter to be given a post while those who have worked for years watch on,” he adds. In fact in the recent Lok Sabha elections, six of DMK’s 20 contestants were the wards of senior leaders in the party. Udayanidhi was not given a seat but was largely in the limelight as he campaigned for the party without an official post. A senior party leader opines that Udayanidhi’s promotion could have been done a little later. “We may have swept the Lok Sabha polls. But our performance was not satisfactory in the bye-elections. This shows that we have a lot of introspection to do and positive changes to make. The party can’t afford to face charges of nepotism in this juncture,” he says. “Once we win the Assembly polls and establish ourselves, such appointments will not be received negatively by the public,” he adds. Similarly, in Karnataka JD(S) insiders say that Nikhil’s appointment is only meant to further the family’s interest and not the party’s. “Nikhil Kumaraswamy is seen as the child who was offered everything on a platter. By appointing him as the Youth Wing President, Deve Gowda is giving him an opportunity to work with the cadre and become a face that would be well-known not only in Mandya but also the entire state. The publicity he received during the Lok Sabha polls has spiralled him into national fame. He is being groomed to step into Kumaraswamy’s shoes. By refusing to nurture any other leaders in the party, this move will hurt JD(S),” a JD(S) leader told TNM.    

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Teenagers accused in Dakshina Kannada rape case are not our members: ABVP

Crime

Following the arrests of five men on Wednesday, speculation was rife that the men belonged to the ABVP and were involved in the activities of the organisation.

Prajwal Bhat

The Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Puttur of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka issued a statement distancing the student organisation from the five men accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old student in the town. The incident came to light on Tuesday when a video of the sexual assault was circulated after which police officials approached the woman to file a complaint. Five men, Prajwal, Kishan, Prakyath, Gurunandan and Sunil, who are all 19 years old and studying in the same college as the victim, were arrested by Dakshina Kannada police later in the evening.  The five men have been charged under section 376 D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Read: Sexual assault video of young woman circulated in K’taka, 5 college students held Following the arrests, speculation was rife that the five arrested men belonged to the ABVP and were actively involved in the organisation. However, the organisation's secretary in Puttur has now issued a statement attempting to distance itself from the arrested men.  "Regarding this investigation, miscreants are alleging that they are ABVP workers and this misinformation has come to our notice. The accused in this case have no connection with the ABVP. They are not even members of our organisation. In spite of this, the names of the accused are being linked to the name of ABVP in a case of misinformation," read a statement by Shivaprasad KP, Secretary, ABVP, Puttur. The statement further asks the police to apprehend the miscreants spreading this information and to block their social media accounts.   "The police department should immediately apprehend those spreading this false news and misinformation and take action against them and we request that the social media accounts of such people should be blocked," the statement says.  Police officials in Dakshina Kannada said that they will investigate the political affiliations of the accused if it becomes relevant to the case. "It is being investigated at the moment. In case the police needs to look at their (accused men) affiliations, we will definitely look into it. We have not found any relevance of that in this case right now," BM Laxmi Prasad, Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police, told TNM. According to Muneer Katipalla, State President of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the social media accounts of the accused men suggested they were part of the ABVP.  "There are photos uploaded on social media in which they are seen taking part in activities of the Sangh Parivar. Regardless of their political affiliations, this is an incident that needs to be taken seriously. I request both the coalition government in the state and BJP leaders like Nalin Kumar Kateel and Shobha Karandlaje to focus on crime against women in Dakshina Kannada," Muneer said. 

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Bengaluru traffic cops want Ola, Uber to have own parking spaces for cabs

Civic Issues

Speaking to TNM, an official with Ola said that it would be logistically impossible for Ola to construct its own paring spaces.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Traffic Police is now in talks with cab aggregators including Ola and Uber regarding parking spaces for cabs in areas with high commercial activity. On Friday, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) met with Ola and Uber representatives and discussed various policy-related issues of cab aggregators including parking spaces. The meeting comes in the wake of the Karnataka Transport Department’s decision to ban share taxi services. “There was a discussion on a proposal where Ola and Uber would have to provide parking spaces for their cabs in commercial areas like CBD, Koramangala, Jayanagar and the like. We have also discussed various passenger-safety issues and have asked Ola and Uber to give us an action-taken report,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) South-East division, Siddalingappa ST said. Speaking to TNM, an official with Ola said that it would be virtually impossible for Ola to construct its own paring spaces. “This is logistically impossible. Ola will have to register itself as a real estate company. There are no properties available to convert into parking spaces. Besides, this is the job of civic agencies. In larger vehicular zones like airports, major bus stations, it would make sense to have a designated parking spot but not in commercial areas, especially in Bengaluru,” the Ola official said. However, traffic police say that the proposal was meant to reduce vehicular congestion on the roads, especially in commercial areas where the roads are small and vehicle count is high. “Ola and Uber cab drivers have their vehicles parked along the roadsides. In commercial areas, this becomes a hassle for pedestrians and vehicles to move. Besides, the roads are not wide enough to allow for parking. So, it was discussed. If Ola and Uber find alternatives then we welcome suggestions,” a senior Traffic Police official said. An Ola spokesperson, however, said that the company had introduced the share taxi service as a measure to fight vehicular congestion in the city, which was recently banned by the state’s Transport Department. “We have always focused our efforts to build mobility solutions that ease traffic congestion. Shared mobility offerings such as Ola Share and Ola Bike had reduced the number of vehicles on the road and are also popular in cities where regulation exists. We are engaged in constructive conversations with relevant authorities and look forward to collaboratively build a sustainable transport ecosystem for Bengaluru,” a statement from Ola said.

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Amidst speculation of poaching, JD(S) MLA claims BJP offered him Rs 40 cr to defect

Politics

Periyapatna MLA K Mahadeva also claimed that Ramesh Jarkiholi who recently resigned from his assembly seat, demanded Rs 80 crore from the BJP to defect.

TNM Staff

Amidst speculation that the BJP is trying to poach legislators from the ruling coalition in Karnataka, a JD(S) MLA has claimed that he was offered Rs 40 crore by the BJP on multiple occasions to jump ship. Periyapatna MLA K Mahadeva, who attended a public meeting in Mysuru also claimed that MLA from Gokak, who had recently resigned – Ramesh Jarkiholi demanded Rs 80 crore from the BJP to defect. “Ramesh Jarkiholi has asked BJP leaders to pay him Rs 80 crore to switch over. They (referring to BJP leaders) also offered me money to switch sides thrice. They also kept Rs 40 crore in my hotel room. When I found out, I informed them that I would call the ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau),” K Mahadeva said. Mahadev alleged that the BJP leaders were trying to poach both Congress and JD(S) MLAs by offering them huge sums of money and that the legislators in the coalition are “not weak-willed to accept the offer”. “If I wanted money, I would have accepted the Rs 40 crore, moved away from Periyapatna and lived somewhere else for the rest of my life. I chose not to sell my body and soul for Rs 40 crore,” K Mahadeva added. Meanwhile, JD(S) leader AH Vishwanath, who recently resigned from his post as state President, set off speculation after he met with BJP leaders BY Raghavendra and BS Yeddyurappa in New Delhi on Wednesday. JD(S) insiders say that Vishwanath was unhappy when he was not offered a ministerial berth during the cabinet expansion, which happened earlier in June. “I did not go to meet the BJP leaders. They came to meet me. They have not asked me to join the BJP. If I decide to quit JD(S), I will inform everyone,” Vishwanath told the media. Soon after the Lok Sabha election results were announced on May 23, speculation was rife that Vishwanath was being lured by BJP leaders. Vishwanath had also met with Chamarajanagar BJP MP V Srinivas Prasad, who had joined the BJP earlier in 2017 after an open fight with his former party man and Congress leader Siddaramaiah. Soon after this meeting, Vishwanath had resigned from his post as state President. With party supremo HD Deve Gowda’s attempts to pacify Vishwanath being unsuccessful, the party is now mulling over appointing HK Kumaraswamy, a Dalit MLA from Sakleshpur, as the new state President. HK Kumaraswamy is a six-time MLA from Sakleshpur, a reserved constituency in Hassan. JD(S) sources also say that Madhu Bangarappa, JD(S) leader from Shivamogga, will be appointed as the party’s working President. Bangarappa is currently heading the youth wing and is being removed in order to make way for Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, sources said.    

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Appeals court takes up fresh challenge to Trump abortion 'gag rule'

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Sexual assault video of young woman circulated in K’taka, 5 college students held

Crime

After the video surfaced, in which the identity of the young woman is quite evident, the police approached her to file a complaint against the men.

Prajwal Bhat

The country has barely recovered from the horrors of the Pollachi sexual assault case, in which four men had assualted and videographed women in a bid to blackmail and silence them. A similar case has now surfaced from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The case came to light when a video of a 19-year-old college student being sexually assaulted by four men began doing the rounds on Tuesday. The video shows the young woman lying in a car, with four men surrounding her and assaulting her. After the video surfaced, in which the identity of the young woman is quite evident, the police approached her to file a complaint against the men. The incident occurred sometime in late March or early April. An FIR has been registered in the case and police have arrested five men – Prajwal, Kishan, Prakyath, Gurunandan and Sunil - in connection with the incident. All of the accused are residents of Puttur, and all of them are 19 years old. "According to the woman, the incident occurred at the end of March or the start of April. She did not reveal this to anyone at home since she was scared. They were threatening her with the video," BM Laxmi Prasad, Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police, told TNM. According to police officials, the five men and the victim were students of a college in Puttur and were friends with each other, although they were not classmates. The district police decided to take suo motu action in the case to stop the circulation of the video. In a statement issued on Wednesday, BM Laxmi Prasad said, “We have taken note of a video involving 3 to 4 boys with a girl is being circulated via WhatsApp. The police will take up a suo motu case in this regard. We urge members of the public not to broadcast referenced videos on social media or to save referenced videos on their phones /computers." The statement further said that those found circulating the video, including admins of WhatsApp groups, will be charged under section 354 C (voyeurism) of the IPC, and sections 66 E (violation of privacy) and 66 A (sending offensive messages through communication service) of the IT Act. The police have also registered an FIR at the Women's Police Station in Puttur, under section 376 D(gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections under the The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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IISc Bengaluru students protest, demand justice for security guard who died on campus

Protest

The students are calling for action to be taken against authorities after the death of 23-year-old old security guard Gowtham Biswal.

Geetika Mantri

On June 30, Gowtham Biswal, a 23-year-old security guard at Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, died after a sliding metal gate weighing about 500 kg fell on him. A case of negligence was registered at the Sadashivnagar police station against the concerned authorities under section 304A of the IPC. Three days since however, students allege that no action has been taken by authorities to punish those responsible. Hundreds of students have been protesting against the IISc Director Anurag Kumar since Monday, demanding justice for Gowtham and that the Centre for Campus Management (CCMD) engineer Col Arun Sharma be suspended for approving the installation of the gate, and not heeding complaints by students as well as security personnel that the gate was not functioning properly. On Wednesday, police officials were called to campus, allegedly by college authorities. "We do not understand why this has been done. It is a peaceful protest," one student told TNM.  No action taken  Some of the nearly 600 protesting students spoke to TNM on the condition of anonymity, describing the developments since Gowtham’s death. There appears to be little official communication from the authorities. Students have been protesting on the campus since Monday, and Wednesday marked the third day of protest. They alleged that the name CCMD engineer’s name on the FIR is incorrect – the first name is recorded as Ajay instead of Arun. However, when some students went to the Sadashivnagar police station to get officials to rectify the same, they were turned away. Seema*, a student protester and PhD student, told TNM that the director had been delaying taking action against Col Sharma. “He says that they will have a council meeting and then take a few weeks to decide on the matter. We don’t want them to wait for 2-3 weeks. Justice delayed is justice denied.” Transparency in investigation Student have also been demanding that the committee that will be set up to investigate the circumstances behind Gowtham’s death should have some student representatives. However, this has not been accepted. Towards the evening on Wednesday, after hundreds had been protesting with cries of “We want justice!”, director Anurag Kumar told students that they will form an internal committee with two external representatives and a report will be given within two weeks. But they are not willing to make the minutes of the meetings public or include any student representatives or even as an observer. Student protester Hari added that the director had told students that Col Sharma would be suspended, but nothing had been given in writing. “The request for transparency is turned down,” he said. Previous incidents of negligence In December 2018, IISc had made news for an accident at the Aerospace Engineering Department’s Laboratory for Hypersonic where a cylinder blast killed a research student, Manoj Kumar, and injured two others. Seema alleges that as a premiere institute in the country, there are protocols for storing sensitive equipment that are to be followed. She alleges that this too was likely a case of negligence. Another student told TNM that a month ago, a part of the ceiling in the new Biological Sciences building had also fallen. There were no injuries, however, students allege that projects are being approved without proper safety measures in place. “It happened to a Gowtham under that gate, but it could have been anyone. It could have been one of us too,” Hari points out. Students also say that they have been receiving indirect threats from authorities against their protest, with authorities saying their degrees and doctorates will be held ransom if they don’t disperse. No clarity on compensation to Gowtham’s family Ramesh*, a PhD student at IISc, says that there has been no clarity on whether Gowtham’s family is going to be given any compensation. Another student, Hari, says that the director had verbally told the protesters on Tuesday that they would award a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the deceased, but still, there is nothing concrete. 

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