The cost of medicine is a rare bipartisan goal — but impeachment got in the way.
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Thursday, December 12, 2019
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Missing sisters from Nithyananda ashram say they will depose from US
In an earlier hearing, the police had told the court that Lopamudra Sharma (21) and Nandhitha Sharma (18), daughters of Janardhana Sharma, may have escaped abroad.
The two sisters who have gone missing from the ashram of absconding godman Nithyananda in Ahmedabad told the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday that they are ready to depose before the court through video conference from the Indian High Commission in either West Indies or USA. The court, however, coming down heavily on the counsels of the state and the woemn insisted on a personal appearance of the two sisters. Through their lawyer, the two daughters of Janardhana Sharma, who filed a habeas corpus after finding them missing from the ashram here, stated that they cannot appear in person as there is a threat to their lives from their father The division bench of Justices SR Brahmbhatt and AP. Thaker insisted on their appearing in person in the court and assured full protection to them. The court directed the sisters' lawyer to file a reply on their behalf in affidavit by December 19, and the further hearing will take place on December 20. In an earlier hearing, the police had told the court that Lopamudra Sharma (21) and Nandhitha Sharma (18), daughters of Janardhana Sharma, may have escaped abroad. Janardhan, in his habeas corpus plea, claimed his daughters were being "illegally confined" in Nithyananda's ashram in Ahmedabad. The petition filed by Janardhan Sharma, the father of the women, alleged that authorities of the 'Yogini Sarvagyapeetham' did not allow parents to meet the children. The children were initially enrolled at the Nithyananda Dhyanapeetham at Nithyananda Nagara, Bidadi, Bengaluru in 2013. Janardhana said that all four children were shifted to Ahmedabad without notice last year. Two minor children were returned but the two adult daughters were kept in the ashram.
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‘Namma Bus Super’: Citizens, top cop cheer bus priority lane in Bengaluru
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, BMTC MD C Shikha, BBMP Special Commissioner D Randeep also hopped onto a bus to drive home the message.
There was a sense of overwhelming optimism and proactiveness among those who gathered, shouting slogans on Wednesday morning at the busy Silk Board junction in Bengaluru ahead of the Bus Yatra, which was also attended by Bengaluru City Police Commissioner (CoP) Bhaskar Rao. Armed with placards, banners or on their cycles, activists gathered to promote the bus priority lane (BPL) system that has been put in place from Silk Board to KR Puram. “Left Lane, Bus Lane. Nimma Bus, Namma Bus Super Expressu. Saku Saku, Pollution Saku,..Beku Beku Nimbus,” volunteers of Citizens for Bengaluru, Bellandur Jothege, Go Green Initiative among many other citizen groups shouted. “Bengaluru fights back”, “Ditch the car, catch the bus”, read some of the placards. Other top government officials who joined the yatra were BMTC MD, C Shikha; BBMP Special Commissioner, D Randeep; and BMTC Director of Security and Vigilance, Anupam Agarwal. Top government officials including the CoP hopped on to a bus from Silk Board to Ecospace Tech Park on the Outer Ring Road, along with some activists and journalists. The CoP and other top officials even posed for photographs with placards, to drive the message home. Rather than complaining about the city’s perennial traffic problem, the activists vowed to make the plan work and offered their help to ensure implementation. There was music too as Swarathma, Bengaluru based popular folk-rock band also lent their support to the cause. Under this BPL system, the left lane of this entire stretch is reserved only for BMTC buses named as Nimbus (short for Nimma Bus, meaning your bus in Kannada). This is done to ensure that BMTC buses travel faster than the rest of the traffic and people are motivated to ditch private vehicles in favour of the bus, and, in the process, reduce congestion and pollution. Vehicles, other than ambulances and fire engines, are liable for fines if they stray onto this road, as per a notification issued by the Police Commissioner on November 15. The event was held in association with various citizen groups, working to create awareness among the road users about the new scheme and promote public transport usage as the most sustainable mode of intracity commute. At present, with low awareness and lack of sufficient enforcement, the bus lane system is yet to fully kick in as there are instances of non-BMTC vehicles in the bus lane. The Traffic Police are expected to levy fines of Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent offences from the next year for violating the bus lane rule. Currently, Traffic Police officials say that efforts are on to sensitise other vehicles about the initiative. Once fine-tuned, the authorities have said that BPL will be implemented in other high-density corridors of the city like that in Hosur Road, Old Madras Road among others. Activists hailed the promptness of the multiple departments to put in place the system in a relatively short period of time. With this, activists are also hopeful that other long-pending pro-public transport measures will also be accepted by the government. Some of them include lowering of bus fares, increasing the fleet and rationalisation of routes.
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After Dinesh Gundu Rao's resignation, DK Shivakumar eyes KPCC President post
Dinesh Gundu Rao’s resignation came after the Congress’ abysmal performance in the Karnataka bye-polls, where the party won only two of the 15 seats.
Intense lobbying has begun for the post of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President after Dinesh Gundu Rao resigned on Monday. Dinesh Gundu Rao’s resignation came after the Congress’ abysmal performance in the Karnataka bye-polls held in 15 segments, where the party won only two of the 15 seats. Sources close to DK Shivakumar, the former Water Resources Minister, say that he is lobbying for the post of the KPCC President. Party insiders say that DK Shivakumar held a telephonic conversation with Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel, who is also an advisor to interim President of the All India Congress Committee, Sonia Gandhi. “Shivakumar has informed Ahmed Patel that he is capable of taking care of the party and building it from ground up. There are many important posts that are vacant and he has assured the high command that he can be trusted with the responsibility,” the source said. This is not the first time DK Shivakumar has lobbied for the post of KPCC President. In July 2018, when former Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara resigned from the post of KPCC President, DK Shivakumar had lobbied for the post. However, at the time, there were many warring factions within the party, who wanted their candidate to become the President. This had led the party to choose Dinesh Gundu Rao, a neutral figure, hoping that his ‘please-all nature’ would help quell the rebellion. Ahead of Dinesh Gundu Rao’s resignation, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, too, had resigned as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP). Siddaramaiah and Dinesh Gundu Rao had both accepted moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the state. “DK Shivakumar was kept out at the behest of Siddaramaiah (former CM). Siddaramaiah has chosen to take a step back even though many are asking the high command to not accept his resignation and reinstate him as the CLP leader. There is a position open for aspirants to take over and Shivakumar is making use of it,” the source said. Shivakumar is flying to New Delhi on Thursday to hold talks with his attorneys in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering case against him. Sources say that Shivakumar is likely to meet the high command and discuss his candidature as the KPCC President too.
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Fake marks card racket busted in Bengaluru, lakhs allegedly charged for certificates
Police recovered hundreds of fake marks cards from over 40 universities across the country at an office in Mahalakshmi Layout.
The Bengaluru police busted a fake marks card racket in the city on Wednesday after arresting the owner of Sri Venkateshwara Educational Institute. The Central Crime Branch sleuths received a tip that a fake marks card racket was being run in Mahalakshmi Layout. The sleuths raided the premises of Sri Venkateshwara Institute in Mahalakshmi Layout late on Tuesday night and arrested Sandeep Reddy (45), the owner. The police also recovered over 45 stamps belonging to several open universities across the country and marks card printing material. CCB sleuths say that Sandeep Reddy allegedly came to Bengaluru 14 years ago and worked as an IT consultant. However, five years ago, he allegedly started the Sri Venkateshwara Institute, which allegedly provided career counseling services and also training for those pursuing various degrees like engineering and commerce. Police say that Sandeep Reddy allegedly duped people by stating that the institute would help them obtain their degree certificates from the college of their choice and also act as an examination centre for those who wanted to do correspondence courses. “We are still trying to figure out his modus operandi. So far, we have reason to believe that Sandeep Reddy duped some people who were seeking degrees through correspondence course. However, there is suspicion that there were people who knew about his activities and paid for the fake degree marks cards,” a CCB official said. Investigating officers say that Sandeep allegedly charged Rs 2.5 lakh for a Bachelors degree in engineering and charged up to Rs 8 lakh for an M.Phil degree certificate. “We suspect that he has made crores of rupees. Since we arrested him only today, we are yet to find out the extent of the scam. We have recovered hundreds of fake marks cards from over 40 universities in the country at his office. We also raided his house on Tuesday night and recovered the stamps used for these marks cards,” the police added. The police have booked Sandeep Reddy under sections 420 (cheating) and 419 (cheating by impersonating) of the IPC.
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With bye-poll victory Yediyurappa becomes more powerful, expects no internal rebellion
Though making all rebel MLAs ministers has left many in BJP disgruntled, Yediyurappa camp says the government will be stable.
From being labelled a two-day Chief Minister to dealing with internal power struggles and then ensuring a resounding victory in bye-elections, BS Yediyurappa has come a full circle. BSY, as he is popularly known, had to take on several disgruntled leaders within his own party to give tickets to turncoats from the Congress and JD(S), and also promise them all ministerial berths. But Yediyurappa has a tough task ahead of him – to quell infighting and to keep the rebels happy at the same time. With 11 newly elected MLAs to be accommodated in the cabinet, several senior leaders and former ministers are likely to lose an opportunity. Seventeen rebels had resigned to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition and their condition to the high command before quitting was just this -- that Yediyurappa remain the Chief Minister and leader of the party in the state. In return, he would make them part of his cabinet. This mutually beneficial agreement to help each other retain power is working for Yediyurappa, sources say. However, several seniors like Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavalli, MLA from Honnali Renukacharya and MLA from Hukkeri, Umesh Katti will have to remain out of the cabinet and sources say that they are not happy about the outcome. “There has been a faction within the BJP with leaders like Jagadish Shettar and KS Eshwarappa, who have been trying to usurp power and replace Yediyurappa as the BJP’s face in the state. Yediyurappa has consolidated more support from the high command after ensuring this victory. But his detractors aren’t happy,” a BJP leader told TNM. Although, the government seems stable for now, if Yediyurappa fails to maintain the peace within the party’s state unit, insiders say that there may be a repeat of 2011, where an internal power struggle had proverbially divided the BJP into two. Yediyurappa had backed Sadananda Gowda as the Chief Ministerial candidate after he was forced to step down due to the fallout of the Ballari mining scam in 2011. Sixty-five of the BJP’s MLAs were taken to resorts and Yediyurappa had prevailed. The national leaders had to pick Sadananda Gowda as the CM. The faction backing Jagadish Shettar had failed. However, a BJP source from the Yediyurappa camp says that any move against the CM would only backfire and therefore they don’t anticipate any trouble for at least a year.
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NRC fallout: Mosques in Karnataka urge members to keep identity documents handy
The Jamia Masjid in Bengaluru even opened a 'Citizen Centre' three months ago to assist people to keep their documents ready
Anticipting the nation-wide roll out of NRC (National Register of Citizens), mosques in Karnataka have given a call to Muslims to keep their documents up-to-date. Imams and Moulvis have been appealing to the community to set right their documents. The Jamia Masjid in Bengaluru even opened a 'Citizen Centre' three months ago to assist people to keep their documents ready and help in addressing the anomalies, if any. "It is essential for every citizen of India to keep their documents up to date. Keeping that in view, an effort has been made through the Jamia Masjid where we are asking Muslims to properly maintain their records," Maqsood Imran, the Imam of Jamia Masjid in Bengaluru, told PTI on Wednesday. "We have also set up in the Jamia Masjid 'Citizen Centre' where we are asking people to keep certain documents ready and ensure that they don't have any mistakes," he added. The Imam said sometimes there are differences in the names in Aadhaar, PAN Card, Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and other documents. These anomalies should be corrected to avoid any problems in future, he added. Imran, however, claimed that this drive has nothing to do with NRC because, according to him, infiltration is not an issue in South India and hence, there is no need to get scared of or worried about the NRC. "NRC is not an issue. It will not affect us in any manner. Hukoomat Ke Paas Paise Zyada Hain To Kharch Kare (If the government has money in excess then let them splurge)," the Imam added. Mohammed Shahnaz, resident of Basaveshwaranagar, confirmed that the mosque in his area has asked the Muslims tokeep all the documents ready and rectify any mistakes in them. These measures come against the backdrop of the Centre making it clear that the NRC will be rolled out across India before the 2024 polls. At a public meeting in Jharkhand during an election rally on December 2, Home Minister Amit Shah said he has set a 2024 deadline for implementing the NRC across the country, asserting that "each and every" infiltrator will be identified and expelled before the next general election. Home Minister of BJP-ruled Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai too had expressed his views favouring the NRC in the state. Bommai had said that he would discuss the matter with the Union Home Minister.
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