Time is running out for Karnataka's disqualified MLAs, their hopes pinned on SC

Politics

Disqualified MLAs, who approached the Supreme Court, hope that a verdict will be delivered in their favour ahead of the last date to file nominations.

Prajwal Bhat

The Election Commission's announcement confirming bye-elections in 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka on October 21 has come as a nasty blow to the disqualified MLAs who were hopeful of contesting the bye-elections.  The resignations of the rebel MLAs, who were later disqualified, preceded the fall of the coalition government led by former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in July. Then Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar disqualified as many as 17 rebel MLAs (including all 15 MLAs in constituencies where bye-elections were announced) till the end of the current Assembly term running from 2018 to 2023. This set the stage for the BJP to form the government in the state. The disqualified leaders approached the Supreme Court to quash their disqualification but Justice MM Shantanagoudar, who was 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.  This means that the clock is ticking for the 15 disqualified MLAs who were hoping for a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court since they wanted to contest the bye-elections. The last date for parties to file nominations for the bye-elections is September 30, just nine days from now.  "I welcome the announcement of bye-elections but we are expecting a judgement from the court on Monday or Tuesday. We will discuss what we will do in the future based on the court's decision," former Mahalakshmi Layout MLA Gopalaiah told TNM. He added that the disqualified MLAs are ready to face the bye-elections. Similar views were expressed by disqualified MLAs MTB Nagaraj and Munirathna while speaking to the media after the announcement of the bye-elections.  The turn of events puts the BJP in a predicament while finalising candidates ahead of the bye-elections, as it had reportedly promised cabinet berths to a few of the rebel MLAs . The party is under pressure to win at least six of the 15 bye-elections. This is because the BJP presently has the support of 106 MLAs including independent MLA H Nagesh. The party will need to win six more seats to reach the majority mark (112) in the 222-member Assembly. The party is also yet to name a full-cabinet and sources say that the party is waiting to allot ministries to disqualified MLAs after they join the BJP and contest the bye-elections.  Party officials speaking to TNM said that this will help the party secure a majority in the full Assembly. "We welcome the elections. BJP is well prepared to contest in all 15 constituencies and win in the election. This gives a chance to win a majority number of seats in the full Assembly, which in turn will help us finalise the cabinet expansion", a BJP official told TNM.  When asked about the fate of the disqualified MLAs, the same official said, "The party will take a decision on the disqualified MLAs if they are allowed to contest and if the court gives them relief". If the Supreme Court does not give them immediate relief, these former MLAs will not be able to contest elections.   The fate of the rebel MLAs makes little difference to the JD(S) and Congress' plans for the bye-elections. Leaders from both parties said that the timing of the elections has come as a surprise to them as they did not expect it to take place as early as October.  The JD(S) has made it clear that there will be no alliance between them for the bye-elections. This was confirmed by former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda earlier this week and the message was reiterated by the party's official social media accounts on Saturday.    ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 21, 2019 ರಂದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ 15 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪಚುನಾವಣೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಆಯೋಗ ಘೋಷಿಸಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾ 15 ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಜೆಡಿಎಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವರ ನೇತೃತ್ವದ ಬಹುಮತ ಸರ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ವಾಮ ಮಾರ್ಗದಿಂದ ಕೆಡವಿದವರಿಗೆ ಜನತೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. — Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) September 21, 2019   HD Kumaraswamy said that the party is targeting to win the bye-elections in at least 8 of the 15 constituencies.  ‘Teach them a lesson’ Congress leaders also expressed surprise over the timing of the bye-elections. "We did not expect that the bye-elections would happen so soon in October but we will be ready to fight it," said former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He was speaking at an event organised in Hosakote where senior Congress leaders like Krishna Byre Gowda, KR Ramesh Kumar and Dinesh Gundu Rao were present.  The event was held in the same constituency where MTB Nagaraj, one of the richest politicians in the country, was elected in the 2018 Assembly Election on a Congress ticket. He, however, resigned from his position and became a rebel MLA in July despite repeated attempts by senior Congress leaders to make him stay in the party. "This is not the house built by MTB Nagaraj in spite of what he thinks. People voted him because he contested as the Congress leader but he has cheated the party," Krishna Byre Gowda said speaking at the event.  "We do not know what will happen in court, but whoever contests from Hosakote will lose to Congress. (Former Speaker) Ramesh Kumar has decided according to the Constitution and this has taught a lesson to them (disqualified MLAs). If people also teach them a lesson, it will be a message to the country," Siddaramaiah added.  All three parties will now have to scramble to finalise candidates for the 15 constituencies where bye-elections will be held next month. While Congress and JD(S) leaders are confident that the bye-elections will spell the end of the short tenure of the BJP government in the state, the BJP is confident about securing the six seats needed for a majority in the Assembly.  The disqualified MLAs however are caught in abeyance needing an interim relief from the Supreme Court to allow them to contest the bye-elections.           

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Bengaluru residents stand in boat to protest against bad roads

Protest

For two years, the roads that were dug up in Hormavu and Ramamurthy Nagar for various civic works, have been ridden with potholes and accident-prone ditches.

Gokul Ram

Broken roads, accident prone trenches in the middle, clouds of dust, protruding manhole lids, stagnant pools of water after the rains – this is what the residents of Hormavu had to endure for the past two years. During this time, accidents were a common occurrence.  According to the residents, the roads were dug up for multiple purposes, including for the Cauvery water supply, Underground Drainage (UGD), GAIL projects, over the past two years. Hormavu is one of the 110 villages that were projected to get water connections through the pipeline system undertaken by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Road (BWSSB). “We have no roads, no parks, no waste management, no Cauvery, nothing,” said Anuprita Rajesh, a resident of Hormavu. Tired of civic negligence, the residents decided to bring out a paddle boat and stage protests at the Jayanti Nagar signal to demand decisive timelines from the authorities to fix the roads.   “We conducted the protest because of the prevailing conditions in wards 25 and 26. We wanted the roads to be immediately motorable so that no man, woman or child will fall and get hurt anymore,” said Arunagiri P from the HARK Citizens Forum. A group of residents met the Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath on September 6. The Joint Commissioner of the Mahadevapura zone then visited the spot and submitted an initial report. Following this, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Anil Kumar came and visit the residents on September 14. “He told us that maximum patchworks will be completed within three to four months and complete restoration will take place later,” Arunagiri said.  They were also assured by the Commissioner that Chief Engineers and Joint Commissioner would visit them weekly and conduct a meeting with the residents. “The BBMP Commissioner also said he will review the status once in 15 days. On a day to day basis, we will be following up on this,” said Arunagiri.  The BBMP has identified eight major roads that fall under Hormavu and Ramamurthy Nagar to be restored immediately into motorable conditions. The residents were advised to apply for Cauvery water and UGD within 30 days. Patch works have already been started at a few of these roads. After meeting the residents, the Commissioner issued a statement: “The BBMP has identified 8 main roads where restoration work will be taken up immediately since BWSSB has completed the laying of drinking water and UGD pipes. BBMP will float a short-term tender for complete redevelopment of these identified roads, which will include shoulder drains, footpaths and road work. Meanwhile in K Narayanapura, which comes under Hormavu, the residents have also been facing bad roads which have led to multiple accidents. The K Narayanapura main road, which connects Kothanur to Hegde Nagar, is filled with deep ditches and potholes, which residents claim is the main cause for the accidents. “It’s a really pathetic situation. When it rains, the situation worsens as the drivers cannot see where the potholes are and it results with us falling over or get into an accident. My friend’s shoulder was dislocated and when we went to the BBMP, they completely ignored us,” says Cedric, resident of K Narayanapura.  The residents filed multiple complaints and when their complaints were passed from one engineer to another decided, they decided to file an online petition. “We circulated it in small group and immediately, we got around 900 signatures,” recalls Paul Ruban, who filed the petition. According to Shaktivel, even the kids are struggling because of the roads. “It has been 2 years now, we are struggling and our kids have developed wheezing problems. There is not a single road here that is good – just dust, water pools and potholes everywhere,” he said.  While the BBMP initially told the works can be started only in January 2020, speaking to TNM Raju, Chief Engineer (Major Roads), who is in charge of the Hormavu project, said, “We will be starting patch works from Monday, including K Narayanapura, as soon as the tenders have been finalized. We will be making all the roads motorable and also will be cleaning out the mud.”

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Ballari bifurcation to carve out Vijayanagar: Yediyurappa’s move starts storm in BJP

Politics

The CM agreed to disqualified MLA Anand Singh’s demand to bifurcate Ballari district and carve out a new Vijayanagar district, the constituency which Singh represented.

Naheed Ataulla

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa may not have anticipated the storm that has started brewing in his party when he magnanimously agreed to disqualified MLA Anand B Singh’s demand to bifurcate Ballari district and carve out a new one to be called Vijayanagar district, the constituency which Singh represented. Opposition to the proposed Vijayanagar district, which will be the 31st in Karnataka, has come from BJP leaders who call the shots in Ballari. While Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sreeramalu was subdued in his opposition to the new district saying he does not want to embarrass the CM and that he would raise the issue in the cabinet meeting, the BJP MLA representing Ballari city G Somashekhar Reddy, brother of former legislator G Janardhana Reddy, described the move as “selfish” and one that Yediyurappa should not have agreed to. With the CEC announcing bye-polls to 15 of the total 17 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, it has to be seen whether Yediyurappa can go ahead in implementing the proposal as the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect from Saturday. Among the Congress leaders in the district barring Allum Veerbhadrappa and KC Kondaiah, no one has come forward to support the move. Apart from sporadic protests in the district, a bandh has been called on Sunday by local organisations in Hagaribomanahalli constituency, which is proposed to be part of the new Vijayanagar district. On Saturday, an organisation called the Tungabhadra Raitha Sangha, comprising representatives from all political parties, announced a series of agitations from September 23, if the new district idea was not dropped. According to the Sangha’s president Darur Purushothamgouda, the CM had not taken the opinion of all parties leaders on the issue and had solely gone by Singh’s request. Anand Singh’s contention for the establishment of a new district is that it will help promote tourism, especially the monuments in Hampi, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hampi had once served as the capital of the Vijayanagar empire, one of the greatest in south India. Ballari district was formed in 1802 during the British regime and had 20 taluks initially. After the reorganisation of states, some taluks went to Andhra Pradesh. Now it has 11 taluks. Singh’s pitch for the new district is also said to be preparing the ground for the Vijayanagar Assembly bye-poll from where he plans to recontest on a BJP ticket, if the Supreme Court upholds the plea of the disqualified MLAs.  Singh, who was the tourism minister during the BJP’s regime in 2008-2013, was associated with the mining czars, the Reddy brothers. He quit the BJP and joined the Congress in January 2018. In July this year, when dissidence broke out among the Congress-JD(S) legislators, Singh was one of the first to raise the banner of revolt and come out. His demands then were formation of Vijayanagar district and withdrawal of the Kumaraswamy cabinet’s decision to sell 3,667.31 acre of land to JSW Steel in Ballari district. Yediyurappa’s immediate nod to Singh’s representation, when a similar demand to trifurcate the unwieldy Belagavi district has been pending since decades, has surprised all. Belagavi with 18 Assembly constituencies has been seeking trifurcation of the district into Belagavi, Gokak and Chikkodi, but the issue has been stalled due to local political pressures and also Maharashtra’s opposition in the background of the border dispute between the two states having remained unresolved. In his note to the Karnataka government chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar to make a case for the bifurcation of Ballari, Yediyurappa said some of the regions in the district are at a distance of 200 km from the headquarters. This makes it difficult for farmers, economically backward sections, labourers and others living in taluks farther away to travel for official work. For the convenience of the general public and ease of administration, the CM suggested carving out a new Vijayanagar district with Hosapete as its headquarters. Of the 11 taluks, five – Ballari, Kurugodu, Siraguppa, Sandur and Kudligi – will be part of Ballari district, while six other taluks – Hosapete, Kampli, Hagaribommanahalli, Kottur, Hadagali and Harappanahalli – will constitute the new Vijayanagar district. It is just not Vijayanagar district that has created ripples in the BJP. Yediyurappa’s largesse to the disqualified MLAs’ constituencies last week has also caused a lot of heartburn. The 17 disqualified MLAs have been meeting the CM in batches and the surplus amount sanctioned to each constituency of these former MLAs is said to be in the range of Rs 10 crore to Rs 25 crore. Naheed Ataulla is a journalist who covered Karnataka politics for over two decades and is former Political Editor of The Times of India.

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Crime Branch probes alleged fixing in Karnataka Premier League, 4 players questioned

Crime

The police had earlier questioned Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Belagavi Panthers, a team in the Karnataka Premier League .

TNM Staff

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru on Saturday summoned four players of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) in connection with a betting and match-fixing case. Earlier, the police had questioned Ali Asfak Thara, the owner of Belagavi Panthers, one of the teams in the league. Deccan Chronicle reported two of the players summoned were from a different team and added that Ali was in touch with players of other teams during the tournament. “The inquiry is still at its initial stages and a detailed investigation is required. We will seek the assistance of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the anti-corruption unit of the BCCI too,” Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil told DC. Citing sources, The Hindu reported that police have established that Ali was in touch with bookies as well.   “We are questioning the four players. There are more people involved in this scam,”  a senior official told The Hindu. The crackdown on suspected betting and match-fixing in the KPL comes after the Tamil Nadu Premier League had come under the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Sportstar had earlier reported how the ACU had received tip-offs regarding the same from some of the few players who were approached via WhatsApp during the tournament.  The magazine quoted BCCI ACU chief Ajit Singh as saying, “Some of the players involved in the KPL have reported some instances where unknown people tried to be friendly with them via WhatsApp. We have taken note of their complaint and are looking into the matter.” However, KSCA officials denied knowledge of an ACU probe on the league. KSCA Secretary R Sudhakar Rao said, "We have not received any official communication in this regard. Once we do, we will take further action."

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‘Cyanide’ Mohan convicted of killing music teacher at Bengaluru bus stand

Crime

This is the 16th such case where he has been convicted – Mohan would lure women with the promise of marriage, rape them, and then ask them to take a cyanide-laced birth control pill.

TNM Staff

Convicted serial killer ‘Cyanide’ Mohan on Saturday was found guilty in a 2007 Bengaluru murder case where a 33-year-old music teacher from Kerala who was based in Mangaluru was killed. The Sixth Additional District and Sessions Court in Mangaluru will announce his punishment on September 25. This is incidentally 16th case that he has been convicted of.  Cyanide Mohan was found guilty under sections 302 (convicted of murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison), 392 (robbery), 394 (causing hurt in robbery), 417 (punishment for cheating) and 201 (causing disapperence of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, based on 38 witnesses and 49 documents. According to police, Mohan had befriended the woman in 2007 after introducing himself as a forest department official. He had promised to give her a recording assignment with a recording company in Bengaluru.  It was when they travelled to Bengaluru and stayed in a city hotel in Cottonpet Road. According to police, Mohan convinced her to sleep with him and on the following day Mohan asked her to leave her jewellery behind on the pretext of going for a puja. It was then at a KSRTC bus stand, Mohan gave her a cyanide-laced contraceptive pill and left her to die at the bus stand in Upparpet. Police had found the victim’s body at around 9 am and registered an unnatural death case. As planned, Mohan returned to the hotel and made off with her jewellery.  ‘Cyanide’ Mohan was first arrested in 2010 after which police uncovered as many 32 murders allegedly committed by him following the same modus operandi. The victims were all women, who had been poisoned with cyanide and found in the restrooms of bus stations. Mohan would lure them with the promise of marriage, rape them, take them to the nearest bus stand where he would ask them to take a birth control pill. The pill was laced with cyanide. The women went to the restrooms to take the pill as he had told them it would make them sick. Although the bodies of these women were being found in various towns across the south and coastal Karnataka, the police had never connected the killings. They were all declared suicides, even after the autopsy of two victims showed traces of cyanide in them.

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Karnataka govt reduces new steep traffic fines, issues notification

Traffic

The fines for crimes like overspeeding, drunken driving and racing remained unchanged.

Prajwal Bhat

The Karnataka government on Saturday reduced the high traffic fines introduced as per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 at the start of the month. This was confirmed in a notification issued by the Transport Department specifying the new reduced fines for traffic violations.  Penalties for riders not wearing a helmet and seat belt was both reduced to Rs 500 from Rs 1000. The fine for driving without a license was reduced from Rs 5000 to Rs 1000 for two-wheelers and three-wheelers and Rs 2000 for 4-wheelers. While there were a number of fines reduced in the notification issued by the Transport Department in the state, the fines for crimes like overspeeding, drunken driving and racing remained unchanged.  The fine for overspeeding (Rs 1000 to Rs 2000) also remains unchanged. The fines for racing and trials of speed under section 189 of the MV Act was retained at Rs 5000. There was also no revised fines specified under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, which lays down a penalty of Rs 10,000 for riders caught driving under the influence of alcohol. The fine for driving without an insurance was reduced from Rs 2000 to Rs 1000 for two-wheelers. The same fine will be Rs 2000 for 4-wheelers and Rs 4000 for heavy goods vehicles. The fine for allowing unauthorised persons to drive the vehicle has been reduced from Rs 5000 to Rs 1000 for two-wheelers, Rs 2000 for 4-wheelers and Rs 5000 for other vehicles. The penalty for offences where no penalty is specifically provided was reduced from Rs 1500 to Rs 1000 for a second offence. The same fine however remains Rs 500 for the first offence. The fine for Disobedience of orders of authority and refusal to share information was reduced from Rs 2000 to Rs 1000. This is specified under Section 179 (1) and (2) of the MV Act. The traffic fines were revised after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa asked Transport Minister Laxman Savadi to reconsider the high fines which came into effect at the start of September. While the high fines led to positives including more than 5 lakh people in the state obtaining their PUC certificates (emission certificates) for their vehicles in just two weeks, some fines have now been reduced to give relief to citizens. Karnataka followed Maharashtra and Gujarat in reducing the fines. Incidentally, the high fines were approved by the BJP-led NDA government at the centre, and all three states now revising these fines to lower them are BJP-ruled. The  Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by both the Houses of Parliament with three major amendments recently.  

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No alliance with the Congress says JD(S), party will contest in all 15 bye-election seats

Politics

The 15 seats will go to the polls on October 21, with counting set to take place on October 24.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Moments after the dates were announced for the bye-elections to 15 seats in Karnataka, the JD(S) party confirmed that it will not be contesting the elections in an alliance with anyone. “The Election Commission has announced that by-elections will be held on October 21, 2019 for 15 assembly constituencies in Karnataka. The JDS party candidates will contest all 15 constituencies. Those who brought down HDK led coalition have been taught a lesson by the public,” reads the tweet from the party’s official Twitter handle. ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 21, 2019 ರಂದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ 15 ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪಚುನಾವಣೆ ನಡೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಆಯೋಗ ಘೋಷಿಸಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಾ 15 ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಜೆಡಿಎಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ. ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಅವರ ನೇತೃತ್ವದ ಬಹುಮತ ಸರ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ವಾಮ ಮಾರ್ಗದಿಂದ ಕೆಡವಿದವರಿಗೆ ಜನತೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. — Janata Dal Secular (@JanataDal_S) September 21, 2019 The official announcement of the bye-elections has come as a big blow to the 15 rebel MLAs who were earlier disqualified by the former Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar until the end of the current Assembly term which ends in 2023. The MLAs had went to the Supreme Court against Ramesh Kumar's decision to disqualify them and if the apex Court does not give them immediate relief, these former MLAs will not be able to contest elections. The 15 seats will go to the polls on October 21, with counting set to take place on October 24. It has also been announced that the last date for filing nominations for the elections is on September 30. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda had earlier predicted that mid-term polls would be held in the state, and had announced that the party would stand alone and would not form a coalition again. The JD(S) and Congress had first come together after Assembly election results in May 2018, despite the deep rooted rivalry between the two parties. "Mid-term polls are inevitable in Karnataka. In January or February, it may occur, so let's contest independently without going for an alliance with anyone. We will not dip our fingers in the same oil and will not commit that mistake again. Let’s face all the elections independently,” the former Prime Minister had stated at the time. However, it now seems that JD(S) does not want to be in alliance with Congress even for the bye-elections. The Congress leadership too feels the same way and both parties estimate that the failure of the coalition in convincing even party cadres had resulted in the Lok Sabha debacle. Gokak, Athani, Ranebennur, Kagwad, Hirekerur, Yellapur, Yeshwanthpura, Vijayanagara, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, Hunsur, Krishnarajpet, Mahalakshmi Layout, KR Pura and Chikballapura are the constituencies which will go to polls.

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