With whispers of a possible recession on the horizon, many families and advocates fear what will befall this already fragile population.
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
After denying BJP role in their defection, all Karnataka rebel MLAs to join ruling party
Ramesh Jarkiholi, who openly rebelled against the coalition government, announced that the 17 disqualified MLAs had made a unanimous decision.
On the heels of the Supreme Court order, which upheld the disqualification of the Karnataka MLAs but allowed them to contest elections, Ramesh Jarkiholi, the former legislator from Gokak, told the media that all 17 rebels would join the BJP on Thursday. “All 17 disgruntled leaders have just had a meeting with the BJP leaders. We have all unanimously decided to join the BJP tomorrow (Thursday) at 10.30 am,” Ramesh Jarkiholi said, while adding, “Dacoits have gone on to become MLAs, can’t disgruntled leaders get re-elected? We will contest the elections and are confident of winning.” The political upheaval began in Karnataka in October 2018 when Ramesh Jarkiholi convinced two other leaders from Belagavi to rebel against the Congress. Ramesh Jarkiholi was unhappy about being dropped from the cabinet as the Municipalities Minister. In addition, Jarkiholi was bitter about DK Shivakumar’s extending his reach into the politics of Belagavi and ensuring that his rival, Belagavi rural MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar was elected as the President of the PLD Bank. Jarkiholi openly rebelled and had said on multiple occasions that he would join the BJP. In January this year, Jarkiholi began reaching out to disgruntled MLAs in the Congress and whipped up support for his cause. By the end of June, he had ensured that 14 leaders from the Congress were ready to defect and bring down the coalition government. However, several of the other rebel leaders had insisted that their dissent had nothing to do with the BJP and that the party had not approached them with an offer to defect. BJP leaders too, had maintained this stance. However, soon after the verdict, the BJP began talking about inducting the rebels into the party. In addition, three leaders from the JD(S) were also poached. By July 6, Ramesh Jarkiholi’s eight-month-long campaign to bring down the coalition government, was finally coming true. In July this year, 17 MLAs from the coalition had resigned en masse. These included ST Somashekhar (Yeshwanthpura), BC Patil (Hirekerur), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), Prathapgouda Patil (Maski), 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) from the Congress, and K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout), AH Vishwanath (Hunasuru) and Narayana Gowda (Krishanarajapete) from the JD(S). The rebels were cooped up at a hotel in Mumbai for over a fortnight until former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy failed the confidence motion, that brought down the coalition. By joining the BJP, the rebels now hope to become politically powerful. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s cabinet has several vacant spots, which the rebels are hoping to occupy if they contest and win the bye-elections on December 5.
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British-era drain delays roadwork on Cottonpet Main Road in Bengaluru
The surprise discovery of the British-era drains, and the extra work cost the exchequer an additional Rs 1.18 crore, a BBMP officials said.
The discovery of a British-era drainage system on Bengaluru’s Cottonpet Main Road has significantly delayed roadworks which are underway on the thoroughfare. Construction work began in February this year, and the deadline for completion was September. However, two months later, the work continues. Cottonpet Main Road, a stone’s throw away from the main bus station, metro and railway stations, is typically bustling with traffic. Yet earlier this week, the road wore a deserted look in the middle of the day, devoid of travellers or customers. Prahlad BS, who works in the BBMP’s road infrastructure division, told TNM that the work was severely delayed due to the discovery of the British-era drain. “While we were undertaking the work, the British drain collapsed suddenly, and we didn’t even know about its existence. It is made of red brick in an arch-shape tunnel system and was not able to hold up. We had to replace everything and that took a lot of time.” View of the British pipeline which BBMP officials encountered “We were able to complete the work for about 300 metres, and have handed over the same to the TenderSure officials. The rest of the underground drainage work should be completed in 3-4 days,” he said. The surprise discovery of the British era drains, and the extra work cost the exchequer an additional Rs 1.18 crore, according to the official. The Cottonpet road work comes under the city-wide TenderSure scheme, which is developing and improving roads around the KR Market and Majestic area at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore. The 1.3 kilometre-long road was supposed to be concreted and paved within the September deadline, but the deadline has been extended to next year. However, only a small part of the road has been concretised so far. On a recent Tuesday, electrical equipment was seen laying on the sides of the road, and a JCB earthmover was also seen digging up the site. “We are waiting for the BWSSB and stormwater drain work to be completed before we go ahead with the white-topping and paving work. We have put white topping already on about 180 metres of the road. We expect to complete it by February 2020,” Chandrashekar N, a BBMP official said. This isn't the first time that the legacy British sewers have stumped our engineers. The TenderSure roadwork on Church Street was similarly delayed by British pipelines. The changing governments in the past two years have also been one of the causes of delays. Read: 3 deadlines missed: Why Bengaluru's Church Street construction is delayed Small connecting roads, which residents use to get around without the main road, are also in bad shape. A local road parallel to the Uttarapet police station leading towards Cottonpet has been dug up. While the severely uneven stretch has been concreted on one end, the other end is still covered in gravel. Cottonpet main road is usually considered a busy business area for lodges and small eateries, due to its proximity to the railway station and Bengaluru’s main bus station. The work left incomplete has affected the quality of life in the area - dust, potholes, mosquitoes and flies have become common. “My son got dengue last month, and I spent so much money on treatment. We have no other place to go, our house and business are all here,” said Sheela, a resident. A lodge owner said that business is also slow. “Out of the 120 rooms in our lodge, there are about 70 vacant ones. Business has never been this bad before.” Other lodging establishments were affected even worse, looking empty and bereft of customers.
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Opinion: With SC verdict, rebel MLAs have to contest elections with tar on their reputation
“The Speaker has smeared tar on the disqualified MLAs. The Supreme Court has upheld that,” Congress leader Brijesh Kalappa writes.
The 17 rebel MLAs (PTI file image)
The infamous Operation Kamala which has now spread its tentacles across the length and breadth of the country began in Karnataka in 2008. Over 20 MLAs of the Congress party and JD(S) were weaned away while cocking a snook at the 52nd Amendment and the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. Rajiv Gandhi had introduced the 52nd Amendment of the Constitution of India in order to arrest the 'aaya Ram gaya Ram' (Ram came, Ram went) culture prevalent in politics at that time, wherein he mandated that only if one-third members of a political party who change the party were to move, only then such defections were possible. This law was strengthened by Arun Jaitley as the Union Law Minister under Mr Vajpayee because they too believed that the democratic principles enshrined in constitution required to be strengthened. However, in 2008, the BJP government thought of 'Operation Kamala,' by means of which opposition MLAs from political parties, upon receiving lucre, first resigned their seats, crossed the aisle, assumed office as ministers in the government and then contested elections as ministers. Now, since they were contesting as ministers, it became difficult for the electorate to reject them, considering that a minister can do a world of good for his constituency. When this was re-enacted, when Operation Kamala 2.0 began in 2018, and there were several MLAs from day one, who kept saying that they were being approached by the then opposition party (BJP) at the time, one MLA’s son (Sharanagouda Patil) held a press conference with the then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in which he released the audio of BS Yediyurappa making an open offer to give them Rs 10 crore for switching sides. This was followed up by yet another damning video of Chief Minister Yediyurappa recently which was also presented to the Supreme Court. It is in this background that the disqualification issue, which has been decided by the Supreme Court, has to be seen. The Supreme Court knew the fact that the Election Commission, based on developments in Tamil Nadu, had stated that disqualified MLAs were allowed to contest the immediate next elections. However, the Supreme Court has proceeded to disqualify all 17 MLAs while upholding the decision of the Speaker. Under 10th Schedule, which is of the year 1985, there couldn't have been a manner of dealing with the nefarious act of buying MLAs and persuading them to resign from their seats. So it was for persons operating the Constitution like the Speaker and the Supreme Court to evolve a means of making sure that more such incidents do not recur. Given the electoral mandate in Maharashtra, wherein there is a hopelessly fractured mandate, and MLAs may be poached upon, this judgement has extraordinary significance. As a political personality, I’d be failing in not mentioning that party hoppers like Alpesh Thakore and Dhavalsinh Zala in Gujarat and Udayan Raje Bhosale in Satara, who switched parties, were rejected by the people. The Speaker has smeared tar on the disqualified MLAs. The Supreme Court has upheld that. It is in this tarred condition that these 17 MLAs have to go back to their constituencies and seek a fresh mandate from the electorate. The jury is out. Brijesh Kalappa is a spokesperson of the Indian National Congress and a practising advocate in the Supreme Court. (Views expressed here are the author's own)
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‘It's a big relief’: Karnataka disqualified MLAs on Supreme Court verdict
BJP state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel said the party will decide whether the disqualified MLAs can contest on a BJP ticket.
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
The SC said Speaker cannot disqualify a MLA till the end of the term of the Assembly.
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
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.
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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