‘It's a big relief’: Karnataka disqualified MLAs on Supreme Court verdict

Politics

BJP state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel said the party will decide whether the disqualified MLAs can contest on a BJP ticket.

TNM Staff

It was a big relief for the 17 rebel legislators from Karnataka as the Supreme Court allowed them to contest the upcoming bye-polls. This even as the apex court upheld the Speaker’s order disqualifying them. The rebel leaders are now hoping to join the BJP and contest the bye-elections slated to be held on December 5. Their rebellion had not only ensured the JD(S)-Congress government to collapse in Karnataka but had also allowed the BJP to come to power. Speaking to the media after the verdict, disqualified MLA from Hunsur and the then JD(S) state President Adagooru H Vishwanath said that the law has been upheld and he was confident that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of the rebel leaders as they “had not broken any laws”. “It is a big relief. We did not break any laws. The Speaker, Congress and JD(S) had colluded to ensure that we (referring to the 17 rebel MLAs) cannot contest elections. Today, the Supreme Court has struck down the order and has allowed us to contest. People are watching the Supreme Court's judgment. The people will accept us once again when we contest elections. I have to discuss with my friends and workers and then decide whether I have to join BJP or not,” Vishwanath alleged. One of the rebel leaders, R Shankar, known as Pendulum Shankar for his party-hopping ways, said that he has to consult with his lawyers and determine his next step. “Srimanth Patil (disqualified Congress MLA) and I did not tender our resignations. Ideally, both of us should not have been disqualified. I am happy that the court has allowed us to contest polls but I have to consult with my lawyers and see what has to be done next,” Pendulum Shankar said. Soon after the judgment was announced, Nalin Kumar Kateel, the BJP Karnataka state President said that the party will decide whether or not the rebel leaders should be given tickets to contest polls as soon as possible. "The Supreme Court has said that these leaders can contest elections. We respect the court's verdict. We have to decide whether these leaders can contest on a BJP ticket. I will speak with CM Yediyurappa and also discuss it with the BJP core committee, after which we will take a call on the issue," Nalin Kateel said.  Speaking to the media, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said, "We welcome the Supreme Court's verdict. All the disgruntled leaders are coming from New Delhi this evening. We will all sit and discuss together and we will announce the decision regarding inducting the rebels into the party this evening. I will consult with state and national leaders too," Yediyutrappa said. When asked about the BJP leader Sharath Bachche Gowda rebelling in Hoskote, Yediyurappa said that the party would only retain those who want to work for it. "Everyone is with us. We will retain only those who want to be with us and those who want to join us," he said. Disqualified Congress MLA from KR Puram, Byrathi Basavaraj said that the rebels would also attend the BJP core committee meeting and decide whether they want to join the party. Corroborating Basavaraj’s statement, former MLA from Shivajinagar, Roshan Baig said, “The BJP has not been in touch with us. We are still in Delhi. We will go back and attend the core committee meeting and decide,” he said. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao took to Twitter to welcome the verdict. He alleged that the Supreme Court verdict "proved" the BJP's hand in the rebellion. “Supreme Court has upheld the disqualification of all the 17 MLA’s, who defected from Congress and JD(S). It also proves that the Karnataka BJP govt is an illegal govt. BJP had used unconstitutional means to fabricate a majority. It should be immediately dismissed. I welcome the Supreme Court verdict. The hand of BJP in toppling the coalition govt is now clear. The involvement of BS Yediyurappa and Amit Shah is now proved. If BJP has any morality left, they should not give tickets to these disqualified MLA’s to contest,” Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged. Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said, “The tenth schedule clearly states that a resignation can be accepted only if it is voluntary and genuine. They resigned with the intent to defect. The Supreme Court has upheld the Speaker’s order and this clearly proves that even the court does not believe that their resignations were not voluntary.”    

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Win for K’taka MLAs: SC upholds disqualification but allows them to contest bye-polls

Court

The SC said Speaker cannot disqualify a MLA till the end of the term of the Assembly.

Theja Ram

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the former Karnataka Speaker’s order disqualifying 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) legislators.  However, the apex court struck down the Speaker order, which barred the disqualified MLAs from contesting any election until the end of the present Karnataka Assembly term. This is a win for the Congress and JD(S) rebels as they will now be allowed to contest the bye-elections that are to be held in 15 segments on December 5. On July 28, then Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar had on July 28, disqualified 17 MLAs ST Somashekhar (Yeshwanthpura), BC Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), Prathapgouda Patil (Maski), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout), AH Vishwanath (Hunasuru), Narayana Gowda (Krishanarajapete), Munirathna Naidu (RR Nagar), Roshan Baig (Shivajinagar), Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), MTB Nagaraj (Hoskote), K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapura), Shrimant Patil (Kagwad), Anand Singh (Vijayanagara), Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Mahesh Kumathall (Athani) and R Shankar (Ranebennur).  On August 1, 14 of the 17 rebel legislators from the Congress and JD(S) moved the Supreme Court against their disqualification. The 14 rebel MLAs, include Congress leaders – Ramesh Jarkiholi, Pratapgouda Patil, BC Patil, Srimath Patil, ST Somashekar, Byrathi Basavaraj, Dr K Sudhakar, MTB Nagaraj, Shivaram Hebbar, Roshan Baig and Anand Singh – and three JD(S) leaders – AH Vishwanath, K Gopalaiah and Narayana Gowda. They had requested that the court ask for the records of the disqualification proceedings before the then Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar. They had sought that an appropriate writ, order or direction be issued by the Supreme Court to quash and set aside the Speaker’s order dated July 28, 2019, which rejected their resignations and disqualified them. The rebels stated that they had tendered their resignations on July 6, prior to the Congress filing disqualification petitions against them, which was on July 12. Ramesh Kumar disqualified 17 MLAs, belonging to the Congress and JD(S), rejecting the resignations submitted by them. The Speaker also barred them from contesting in bye-elections until the end of the present Assembly term. Defying their respective party whips, those MLAs were absent from the House on July 23 when former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy put the confidence motion to vote. The rebellion allowed the BJP to come to power in Karnataka. The disqualified MLAs moved the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker's decision claiming it was in violation of the apex court’s orders and that it was illegal and unconstitutional. The rebel MLAs said that the Speaker was overreaching the mandate of the Constitution by rejecting the resignations and disqualifying them. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Devadatta Kamat and K Shashi Kiran Shetty represented the Congress and JD(S) parties, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, CA Sundaram, VV Giri, AK Ganguli and KV Vishwanathan appeared for the disqualified rebels. The bye-elections for 15 constituencies were initially slated to be held on October 21. However, the Election Commissioner agreed to defer the polls and conduct the bye-elections on December 5 after the disqualified MLAs petitioned the Supreme Court over the matter. Bye-elections to RR Nagar and Maski are yet to be announced. A three-judge bench of Justices NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna, and Krishna Murari delivered the verdict on Wednesday. The Supreme Court upheld former Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar’s disqualification order. However, the court struck down the portion.      

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Bengaluru civic body lifts ban on telecom companies laying optical fibre cable

Civic Issues

BBMP had enforced the ban in October after it found that contractors working for companies like Airtel and Jio had allegedly dug up newly laid roads while laying OFCs.

TNM Staff

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has lifted the ban on installation of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) by telecom companies in the city. The ban was put in place in October after the civic body found that contractors working at the behest of telecom companies like Airtel and Jio had allegedly dug up newly laid roads while laying OFCs. An FIR was registered against both telecom companies and they were asked to pay a fine. Read: After Jio, Airtel slapped with fine for digging Bengaluru road without permission Subsequently, the BBMP withdrew all permissions to lay OFCs and directed telecom companies to specifically mention the areas where OFCs will be laid before permission is given.  However on Tuesday, BBMP conducted a meeting to discuss the issue after complaints from residents about internet outage in parts of the city. BBMP decided to limit the installation of OFCs to a 2 km stretch in one go with a time limit of 60 days after approval. Earlier, the civic body permitted installation of OFC for a 6 km stretch.  The BBMP, meanwhile, banned overhead installation of OFCs and asked telecom companies in the city to remove all overhead cables and take them underground, Deccan Herald reported. BBMO Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said that service providers like GAIL, BWSSB, BESCOM will be brought under the same platform as telecom companies in granting permission to dig up roads. Rajan S Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), who was present at the meeting, said that the BBMP has given adequate time to take overhead OFCs underground, The Hindu reported. 

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Udupi police official suspended for not registering FIR

Police

Ananta Padmanabha, Sub-Inspector at Udupi Town police station, was suspended for failing to report an incident that took place at a park in Udupi on November 2.

Prajwal Bhat

Ajjarkad Park

 A police sub-inspector in Udupi was suspended on Monday after an internal inquiry found that the officer had failed to register a First Information Report (FIR) or inform higher authorities about an incident which occurred earlier this month.  Ananta Padmanabha, sub-inspector at Udupi Town police station was suspended for inaction over the incident which took place at the Ajjarkad Park in Udupi on November 2. An FIR was registered in connection with the incident three days later on November 5.  As per the complaint, at around 8 pm on November 2, three men and a woman were sitting inside the park when a group of men confronted them and asked them to show their ID cards. It was alleged that the group of people including two people known to the complainants, and six others belonging to a different community, assaulted the people sitting inside the park.   According to the police, the head constable of the Udupi Town police station reached the spot and even though complaints were raised, an FIR was not registered in the incident.   "A complaint given at the time was not taken up as per procedure. The incident was not reported to any senior officer and it came to our knowledge only on November 5, three days later, when the issue was misreported in the news," Udupi SP Nisha James told TNM.  She added that the complainants approached the police station again to file a complaint in connection with the incident but an FIR was not registered. The FIR was later registered on the night of November 5 and the SI involved in inquiring the incident was suspended on Monday after an internal probe was conducted on the matter. The accused were charged under sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. The suspension of the SI, however, took a political turn when Udupi's BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat called for the suspension to be revoked.  "The suspension of the station inspector of Udupi by the SP under pressure from some groups is not right. I will inform Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai about this. Udupi SI Anantha Padmanabha should immediately return to duty. Suspend him if he has done something wrong and not due to pressure.", he said in a social media post. He suggested The SI was also publicly backed by Congress leader and former state minister Pramod Madhwaraj. "He is a good official and his suspension should be revoked. It appears he has tried to resolve the issue and did not want it to flare up," he told TNM. However, Udupi SP Nisha James said that action was initiated against the SI for not following procedure. 

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Last weavers of Karnataka’s Salikeri: The two sisters keeping the craft alive

Craft

Salikeri, a village in Udupi district, was renowned for its handloom weavers but it now has only two women still engaged in the craft.

Prajwal Bhat

Two women hum a tune over the rhythmic click-clack of a frame loom. One of them twines bundles of threads into smaller rolls using a charaka while the other wraps the thread from the rolls repeatedly around the weaving frames of the loom.  Inside the lone handloom workshop in Salikeri, an idyllic coastal village in Karnataka’s Udupi district, this is a daily exercise for Vijayashree Shettigar (56) and Mohini Shettigar (49).  The two sisters are widely considered last remaining weavers of Salikeri, a village which gets its name from the favoured occupation of its residents - weaving.  Saalayaru in Kannada means weavers and keri means colony.  But in the last three decades, Salikeri, which once flourished with weavers in almost every household, now has only two women who are still engaged in the craft. Salikeri, Udupi “Around 25 years ago, the sound (of the looms) could be heard as soon as you entered the main road leading to the village because there were at least a hundred looms here. This (points to her loom) is now only seen in our house“, Vijayashree says. Vijayashree and Mohini’s brothers and sisters were among many people in the village who quit the craft. The eldest brother Ganesh Shettigar became a teacher at a school in Kalavara, around 30 km away. Among her other siblings, Ranga Shettigar turned to agricultural work while Subraya Shettigar began doing coolie work for daily wages. Vijayashree’s sisters Prema and Ramani left the profession after getting married.  Today, Vijayashree is both homemaker and handloom weaver while her husband manages a grocery shop in Salikeri. “It allows me to stay at home and work. We know this is not enough to make ends meet but this is the work our family has been doing for generations and we will be the last ones in the family to do this,” Vijayashree says. Vijayashree at her home-cum-workshop in Salikeri Handloom weaving and its origins in coastal Karnataka Traditional handloom weaving in Udupi district traces its roots to the frame looms or Malabar looms introduced by the Basel Mission, a Christian missionary organisation, in 1844. The Basel Mission set up industrial training by bringing in looms, which are different from the pit looms seen in northern Karnataka. “Christian Missionaries introduced weaving frames that are now seen among handmade weavers in coastal Karnataka as early as the 19th century. It might be one of the first places in India where weaving was done using frame looms,” says Prasanna, a theatre personality and activist from the Grama Seva Sangha, an organisation fighting for a better price for handmade goods. Handlooms were then popularised across the region by Mahatma Gandhi in the early 20th century. By then, Salikeri had emerged as a village renowned for its handloom weavers. As many as 30-40 families operated handlooms in the village until around 20 years ago, according to Vijayashree. As many as 8 co-operative societies were formed after 1930 at different points to help handloom weavers in the erstwhile South Canara region. This became Dakshina Kannada district when Karnataka was formed and Udupi was carved out of it 1997. Mohini at her home-cum-workshop in Salikeri, Udupi But after the emergence of power looms, weavers in Salikeri slowly began turning to other work in order to compensate for the fall in demand for handmade clothes. “Our family stopped weaving because there was very little profit and it was not enough to make a living,” says Satish, a resident of the village. His parents were handloom weavers but Satish now works as a driver. “I still take the clothes woven by the Shettigars to the textile store in Brahmavar but that is my only involvement now,” he adds.  The decline of handloom weaving in Salikeri coincided with the decline of handloom weaving in the entire coastal Karnataka region. There were as many as 5,000 handloom weavers documented in this region around 25 years ago. Today, there are 32 weavers and more than 85% of them are above the age of 65, according to Mamatha Rai, who formed the Kadike Trust and is currently working towards reviving Udupi sarees.    Weaving Udupi sarees Saraswati Shettigar, mother of Vijayashree and Mohini, recalls a time when her family used to weave Udupi sarees. Saraswati continued to practice the profession until two years ago, when, at the age of 83, she was unable to continue working due to pain in her leg.  Saraswati Shettigar “I began weaving at a young age soon after my marriage. We used to weave Udupi sarees with simple designs and there were people coming to our house to buy the clothes. Whatever we would weave, we had the belief that it would be sold,” says Saraswati. Udupi sarees, cotton sarees known for its lightness and flexibility, cannot be woven on power looms. It received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2016.   But the two sisters say that they do not make sarees anymore and only make towels. “The entire family was involved in the profession when we made sarees. It is just the two of us working now,” says Mohini. They sell their products to a textile shop in Brahmavar for Rs 60 per piece. Udupi sarees | Photograph via Udupi Saree Revival, Kadike Trust Their work takes more than five days sometimes. It begins with dipping the yarn in water before leaving it to dry for three or four days. “We use maida in this stage to make the thread stronger so that they don’t break while weaving. Then the yarn is separated and rolled into big bundles. These bundles are turned into smaller rolls using a charaka,” explains Mohini. The rolls of thread are then made to pass through the weaving frames before they are loaded onto the handloom for weaving. 'Imagine a factory of handloom weavers' The duo hope that the traditional craft can survive in Salikeri even in the future. They are defiant when they are asked whether they would consider leaving the profession. “We have done this all our lives. We thought about stopping once or twice but we could never go through with it. We cannot imagine stopping something our family has been doing for generations,” says Mohini.  “We wish people in our village continued weaving. Imagine if we made a factory where handloom weavers are working to make clothes? A generation of people living here would continue weaving instead of becoming drivers, watchmen and office clerks,” adds Vijayashree.  Her ideas are echoed by activists working to empower artisans of handmade goods. “The handmade products have to compete with the machine-made products not only in production but also in marketing. For example, we should use the ideas of entrepreneurship to empower handloom workers because the biggest challenge is bringing back their confidence and make them feel that they are doing respectable work,” says Abhilash, a member of Grama Seva Sangha. But despite having hope, Vijayashree admits that if handloom weavers are not supported, the craft that put Salikeri on the map will collapse soon. “My daughters will not continue weaving. They find it laborious and never fully learnt how to handle the charaka, the weaving frames or the loom. When this is the case, it might be true that one day we will see these looms only in museums,” says Vijayashree.

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Pay disparity in film industry a dampener: 'Hondisi Bareyiri' actor Bhavanaa Raao

Interview

Bhavanaa is excited about her upcoming film 'Hondisi Bareyiri', in which she plays one of the female leads along with Samyukta Hornad and Aishani Shetty.

Pooja Prabbhan

Facebook/Bhavana

Bhavanaa Raao might come off as reticent during your first conversation with her, but the 30-year-old south Indian actor is clear about what she wants. Currently prepping for Hondisi Bareyiri, Bhavanaa speaks to TNM about the film, how she signs movies, the pay gap in the film industry and more. “I usually look for emotional connect in films. I think it’s important for people to feel a sense of connection when they watch a movie. Maybe, this is why films from smaller productions are doing so well today— because they tell stories that people can relate to. As an artiste, that’s what draws me to a certain script as well. Everything else, including the team and how big a production it is for that matter, comes later,” begins Bhavanaa, who’s juggling projects in Bollywood and the south. Quite comfortable with multi-starrers, Bhavanaa is excited about her upcoming film Hondisi Bareyiri, in which she plays one of the female leads along with Samyukta Hornad and Aishani Shetty. Speaking about her role, she says, “I essay the character of Bhoomika, a woman who goes through a lot of ups and downs. There are variations to her character— greys to her personality. But, there’s a reason why she does what she does. I wouldn’t want to divulge further and kill the suspense around my character.” While she attributes her role in the movie to sheer serendipity, Bhavanaa was convinced that she made the right choice on the day of the movie’s muhurtha. “I’ve done many multi-starrer films, and I’ve always believed that it is the content that matters. Naveen Shankar suggested my name to the filmmakers. I didn’t have a clue about R Ramenahalli Jagannatha (the director), when he contacted me and expressed his desire to narrate the story to me. I asked him a lot of questions, as I always do,” she quips. “On the muhurtha day, I felt I was in the right space. Everyone on the team was on the go. There are a lot of combination shots with the girls. It’s exciting to work with such good actors. I’m looking forward to this experience,” she adds. Bhavanaa is happy about the way things are shaping up for her in the work front after nearly a decade in the industry. However, she believes that pay disparity is a big dampener. “At the end of the day, we earn our bread and butter from this. So, it is indeed discouraging to be offered a meagre pay. I really feel a lot could be done in this regard. It would make actors more motivated about their craft,” she says. The actor, who has bagged a small role in the Bollywood flick Bypass Road opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh, is excited but clear about her path. “It is a very small role, but I’m glad that the opportunity came my way. I’d be lying if I said Bollywood doesn’t offer opportunities, because it does. But, I don’t wish to switch gears and focus on just Bollywood. I don’t see myself settling in Mumbai in search of Bollywood offers—at least not in the near future. At present, the focus is to make a mark in the south and amass the attention and love of the audiences through my work alone.” Aside from cinema, Bhavanaa admits that she also works hard to make her social media presence felt. “I wouldn’t call myself a social media addict or an inactive user. I’m somewhere in the middle. But, my team has stressed upon the importance of going out there and making a presence in the digital platform. I think I was forced into posting and updating on social media. But, I’m mostly on it for work. I keep my phone away otherwise. I’m a workout freak so that’s what takes up my free time more than mindless scrolling,” she says.   On what’s next in the pipeline, she says, “A couple of new projects… an exciting film in Kannada is on the cards and I’m really very excited about it. The team has given me a lot of homework to do, with regard to the character. I am waiting for the first look of the movie to be out!”

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Federal health contract funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump allies

Campaign, White House veterans were among 40 PR consultants on a $2.25 million contract.

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