Big blow for disqualified Karnataka MLAs: 15 seats to go bye-elections on Oct 21

Politics

The bye-elections will also be crucial for the survival of the BS Yediyurappa government in Karnataka.

Prajwal Bhat

In what has come as a blow to 15 rebel MLAs, who were later disqualified by the former Karnataka Speaker, the Election Commission on Saturday announced bye-elections to the Assembly constituencies. The bye-elections are also crucial for the survival of the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government, which needs to win at least six seats to stay in power. The 15 seats will go to polls on October 21, just a month from now, while the votes will be counted on October 24. The last date for completing the elections is October 27. The last date for filing nominations for the by-elections is September 30. These are the constituencies in which JD(S) and Congress leaders resigned from their position as MLAs triggering the collapse of the coalition government led by former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in July. Significantly, the announcement of the bye-elections mean that the 15 disqualified MLAs will not be able to contest.  Former Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar disqualified as many as 17 rebel MLAs till the end of the current Assembly term running from 2018 to 2023, a day before the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly which set the stage for the BJP to form the government in the state.  The constituencies going to polls are Gokak, Athani, Ranebennur, Kagwad, Hirekerur, Yellapur, Yeshwanthpura, Vijayanagara, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, Hunsur, Krishnarajpet, Mahalakshmi Layout, KR Pura and Chikballapura. However, bye-polls to RR Nagar, the seat of former Congress MLA Munirathna, and Maski, constituency of former Congress MLA Pratapgouda Patil are yet to be announced by the Election Commission.   The disqualified MLAs had approached the Supreme Court to quash their disqualification, however, Justice MM Shantanagoudar presiding over the case recused himself earlier this week citing that he is from Karnataka and that his conscience is not permitting him to hear the case. The rebel MLAs were hoping for a favourable verdict as they want to contest the by-elections. The strength of the Karnataka Assembly will be 222 after the bye-polls. The BJP presently has the support of 106 MLAs including independent MLA H Nagesh. The party will need to win six out of the 15 seats to get to the majority mark in the Assembly.  

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Land denotification cases: Fmr K’taka CMs Siddaramaiah, HDK move court against summons

Politics

Siddaramaiah’s petition will be heard by the court on Monday, according to reports.

TNM Staff

Congress stalwart and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah filed a writ petition with the Karnataka High Court on Friday with regard to a 20-year-old land denotification case. His petition will be heard by the court on Monday, according to reports. According to reports, Siddaramaiah was summoned by a special court for the trial of MLAs and MPs to appear before the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on September 26. It all began in June 2018, when activist A Gangaraju, filed a complaint with a court in Mysuru stating that the former Chief Minister built a house in the city in direct violation of MUDA rules. Around 30 guntas of land were denotified for a landowner, Papanna. Lakshmipuram police in Mysuru filed an FIR at the time. The police had filed a ‘B’ report that was rejected by the Special Court, which issued summons to the senior Congress leader. In another land denotification case, JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy too challenged the summons issued by a special court for people’s representatives. The summons requires him to appear before a court in Halagevaderahalli on October 4. He has contended that the ‘B’ report by Lokayukta police exonerates him. On October 1, 2007, Kumaraswamy passed an order that denotified certain sites in Halagevaderahalli. As part of this, a reported total of 2 acres and 24 guntas were denotified in favour of the landowners who sold the sites to builders. The land which was denotified also included a portion  intended for the formation of Banashankari 5th stage. Rejecting the ‘B’ report filed by the Lokayukta police at the time, the Special Court had issued summons to the former Chief Minister.

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Bengaluru teen crashes father’s car into parked auto rickshaw, killing driver

Accident

Police are likely to take action against the boy’s father for allowing a minor to get behind the wheel.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

A Bengaluru teenager in class 10 crashed his father’s car into a parked auto rickshaw, killing the driver of the auto. The incident took place on Kalpana Chawla Road in Bengaluru’s Bhoopasandra on Friday at around 1.30 pm. The minor teen was taken by RT Nagar police for questioning. Upon investigation, it was revealed that he took the keys of the car when his parents were not at home. According to reports, he first drove to Sanjaynagar to meet some friends and on the way back lost control of the car and crashed into the auto rickshaw, which was parked on the side of the road. The driver of the rickshaw, who had been sitting inside the vehicle, was killed on impact and another man who was sitting inside the auto was injured critically. The driver, who was killed, has been identified as 47-year-old VC Nagaraj, a resident of Patelappa Layout in Nagashettihalli. Another man who was sitting in the auto, 68-year-old Nathan Lourdes, a resident of Basappa Layout in the same area, has been taken to MS Ramaiah Hospital for treatment. As per reports, he remains in critical condition. “We are very sorry and know that irreparable damage has been done to the family of the auto driver. But this should serve as a warning to parents. Such accidents should not occur again,” said the teen’s mother to TOI. Police are likely to take action against the boy’s father for allowing a minor to get behind the wheel. Earlier in 2017, in a similar incident, the parents of a minor were arrested for allowing him to drive, after a joyride the boy and his friends took turned fatal. The boy and his friends were in the car and driving on the Elevated Flyover on Hosur Road when they lost control of the vehicle and crashed the car. The impact of the accident was so severe that the boy was decapitated.

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‘We want Climate Justice now’: Hundreds turn up in Bengaluru to support global rally

Climate Protest

Students and professionals from across the city turned up to show solidarity with the Global Climate Strikes taking place around the world starting Friday.

Prajwal Bhat

“What do we want? Climate Justice! When do we want it? Now!” The cries reverberated in the autumn evening air outside the Town Hall in Bengaluru as hundreds of young students and working professionals from across the city skipped school and work to turn up and show show solidarity with the Global Climate Strikes taking place around the world starting Friday. "We are here to fight for climate justice", declares Karen, a member of Fridays for Future, an organisation started by 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg. Behind her, a placard looms with the words - "There is no Planet B". This is the third such global rally organised by school students and led by Greta, who is from Sweden. Protesters across the world including in major cities like New York, London, Bangkok and Sydney, took to the streets on Friday, demanding that their respective governments take steps to tackle the climate crisis urgently. Greta began solo protests outside the Swedish parliament by skipping school every Friday before quickly rising to become the figurehead of the movement of youth climate activists. The strikes are happening just as the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 is set to take place in New York on September 23, where Greta has been invited. Karen says that in India, the movement has spread to as many as 25 cities. "In India, the movement began in cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi and has spread to 25 cities and this week, there are protests in as many as 129 cities and towns in the country. Our collective demand is to urge the Indian government to adhere to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) budget and the Paris Agreement," she adds. Many students were seen at the strikes organised on Friday, a considerable shift from earlier climate protests. "Our generation should be much more worried about the Climate Change that is happening. The people in power in the country are not doing enough to address the issues of Climate Change that is right in front of us. But the repercussions of their inaction will have to be endured by my generation and not them. So it is important that we step out on the streets and raise our voice against this,” says Joanna Hashmi, class 11 student of Legacy School in Bengaluru. In Bengaluru, the climate strike was supported by a number of organisations including Jhatkaa, Citizens for Bengaluru and Amnesty India. "Transport is a key area. 60% of Bengaluru's carbon dioxide emissions are from the transport sector alone and what we need to do is push the BMTC to introduce electric buses that were promised and replace the diesel-run buses currently in the city. We should also use rooftop spaces to install solar panels", says Avijit Michael, of Jhatkaa. He highlighted the city's traffic woes and said that residents of the city should call for the government to set up infrastructure to push more citizens to turn to solar power and electric vehicles.” Similar climate strikes were conducted in cities and towns across the country including in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi. In New Delhi, protesters gathered near Lodhi Garden and also marched to the office of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, where they were halted by the police. In Kochi, the climate strike was held at the Durbar Hall ground on Friday morning. Speaking to TNM about the importance of the event in Kerala, Abhirami says that the protest holds special significance to people of Kerala. “We have seen the effect of Climate Change through the recent flood. I hope that more people will support us and be part of the event,” she says. The strikes will continue in other parts of the country until September 27 and after the relative success of Friday's event, there is hope that climate activists from across the country will join the global protest demanding urgent action against climate change. 

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Karnataka HC: Police cannot refuse to register FIRs citing location of crime

Law

The HC observed that even though there were multiple advisories since 2013 from the Union Home Ministry, only oral instructions were given to police stations until now.

Soumya Chatterjee

Image for representation.

Police telling you to register your complaint at a different police station will soon hopefully be a thing of the past, as the Karnataka High Court has reiterated that any complaint made to a police station cannot be rejected based on the jurisdictional issue. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Mohammad Nawaz on Thursday asked the state government to issue a direction within a month to the Director-General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) to receive complaints and lodge FIRs in all police stations without insisting on the jurisdiction of the police station. Based on this, now police will have to register FIRs for cognizable offences regardless of whether the offence took place under the local police limits. The HC observed that even though there were multiple advisories since 2013 from the Union Home Ministry, only oral instructions were given to police stations until now. “Not only in Bengaluru but in the entire state, police were rejecting genuine complaints citing this jurisdictional issue. FIR is the first point of the criminal justice machinery. Because once police file an FIR they have to start the investigation, record statements and another process. In order to avoid these things, the police were trying to avoid registering complaints, “ said Advocate S Umapathy, the petitioner of the PIL based on which the order was passed told TNM. He had also demanded that FIR centres in Karnataka be brought. They were shut down by the Siddaramaiah government soon after they were launched. But the court did not allow the prayer citing it was a policy matter. Other objections by the state government were rejected. Umapathy said, “That facility was working very well but the government closed it down realising that their work was adding to their burden so now again people are forced to knock on the doors of different police stations. Now the HC has directed to  to give wide publicity about such measures to citizens and police officials.”  The court also noted that advisories from the Ministry of Home Affairs had suggested police stations to register “zero” numbered FIRs in case of offences falling outside their jurisdiction and later transfer them. Failing to do this police officials will be punished under Section 166A of IPC in addition to attracting a departmental enquiry, the HC said.

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Plan to go for India-SA T20 match in Bengaluru on Sunday? Full list of extra buses

Cricket

India is currently leading the series 1-0 after winning the second T20 at Mohali, while the first T20 at Dharamshala was washed out.

TNM Staff

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will operate additional buses for fans travelling to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the heart of the city to watch the 3rd T20 International between India and South Africa on Sunday.  Flanked by Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, and MG Road, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is located in the central part of the city. It can be accessed by metro at Cubbon Park Metro Station.  With the match set to begin at 7 pm, BMTC will operate buses from different parts of the city at 5 pm to bus stops near the stadium. Extra buses will also ply fans watching the match to areas in the city after 11:30 pm, a press release by BMTC stated. Full list of additional bus-routes for Sunday:  Route no: SBS 1 -  Kadugodi Bus Stand to Shivajinagar stand via Trinity Circle, Domlur, HAL, Marathahalli  Route no: G2 Sarjapura to Mayo Hall via Vivek Nagar, Koramangala, Agara Route no: G3 - Electronic City to Brigade Road via Adugodi, Madiwala and Bommanahalli Route no: G4 - Bannerghatta National Park to Brigade Road via  Adugodi, Jayadeva, Hulimavu Gate Route no: G6 - Kengeri KHB Quarters to Shantinagar via Mysuru Road, Nayandanahalli, Kengeri Route no: G7 - Janapriya Township to Kempegowda Bus Stand via Magadi Road, Sunkad katte, Gollarahatti Route no: G8 - Nelamangala to MG Road Metro Station via Shivajinagar, Mekhri Circle, Yashwanthpura  Route no: G9 - Yelahanka 5th phase to MG Road Metro Station via Shivajinagar, Mekhri Circle, Hebball Route no: G10 - RK Hegde Nagar to KR Market via Shivajinagar, Tannery Road, Nagawara Route no: G11 - Bagalur to MG Road Metro Station via Shivajinagar, Lingarajpura, Hennur Cross This is the first international cricket match at Chinnaswamy since the T20 international between India and Australia that was played on the same ground in February. Australia won the game in the last over after successfully chasing a target of 190 set by India.  India plays South Africa in the 3rd T20 match with a chance to win the series. India is leading 1-0 while the first match in Dharamshala was washed out due to rain. Captain Virat Kohli led India to a win in the second match played in Mohali. South Africa is in India to play 3 T20s followed by 3 Tests and 3 ODIs. 

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40% Uber ride requests remain unfulfilled during peak hour in Bengaluru

Transport

Uber claims the situation is due to the existing policy regarding pricing of cab fares.

Soumya Chatterjee

There are more chances of Uber ride requests not getting completed in Bengaluru compared to any other city in India during peak hours. According to Uber, 40% of ride requests on Uber during peak hours in areas of high demand are not fulfilled. Compared to this, in Hyderabad, the completion rate is much higher closer to 80% under very similar conditions as found by the company’s data science team. The number of unfinished rides includes cancellations made both by the driver and riders due to longer waiting times. For this, Uber claims that the existing policy of the Karnataka government which does not allow surge pricing beyond 3x and pricing based on the time taken for the journey is to blame. “For a vehicle in Karnataka which costs Rs 5-10 lakh which is the bulk of the fleet, riders can’t be charged more than Rs 24/ km + GST. Second, there can’t be any time component as well. From a driver’s side, there is lower motivation to drive during the peak hours as there is more fuel expenditure and more time spent but not getting compensated adequately,” Prabhjeet Singh, Head of Uber India and South Asia, said during an interaction with reporters on Thursday.  “So, for example, for a 4-km ride Uber cannot charge more than Rs 100 even when the customer may be willing to pay. This results in on average 15-18% lower income for a driver in Bengaluru compared to any other driver doing the same hours of work in any other city. On top of that, the cost of operations in Bengaluru is much higher due to the low availability of CNG infrastructure in the city compared to others,” he added.   For Bengaluru, this peak demand area is mostly concentrated in the Central Business District (CBD) and the IT corridor in the eastern fringes of the city. Read: With longer waiting times on Ola and Uber, Bengalureans are turning to other options Bengalureans have been experiencing longer waiting times or not getting a cab at all during office hours. The experience by commuters is similar for Ola as well, with both companies subjected to the same regulations. However, Ola refused to comment on the specific issue. Read: No easy exit as Ola and Uber drivers in India face spiralling debt trap Prabhjeet Singh explained that in Hyderabad the surge pricing may go as high as Rs 35/km which might motivate the driver to go through heavy traffic, while the commuter is ready to pay that. So, Uber says the waiting time and availability of cabs in Hyderabad is much better. Uber argues that due to the cap on surge pricing in Karnataka, more drivers are willing to sit out during peak hours when they feel that they won’t make enough money. This, in turn, the company says is leading to a rise in private vehicles on Bengaluru’s roads, increasing congestion. However, a recent paper by San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) in the US stated that cab aggregators like Uber were responsible for the growth of more than half of the cars in the city.  Similar studies done in other cities like London, New York and Boston show the same results.  The trend can also be traced in Bengaluru with the rising percentage of cabs registered in the city. According to the Karnataka Transport Department, the number of cabs added per year has increased to 1,70,000 for 2018-19 from 80,000 in 2014-15.      

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