BJP loyalists upset as CM Yediyurappa gives minister berths to former Cong-JD(S) rebels

Politics

The Karnataka CM will expand his cabinet on February 6. His decision to reward the newly-elected BJP MLAs has caused heartburn among the old-timers in the party.

Naheed Ataulla

File photo

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s ‘give back’ in the form of cabinet berths to former Congress and JD(S) MLAs who rebelled against their erstwhile parties to help him realise his dream to form the government is fuelling anger among senior party legislators who were ministerial aspirants. Yediyurappa announced that he would be filling 13 cabinet berths on February 6 by taking 10 of the 12 BJP MLAs who got elected in the Assembly bye-polls last December and another three legislators from the party. This will be his second expansion of the cabinet after the previous one on August 20 last year. In the 34-member ministry, there were 16 vacancies that Yediyurappa had deliberately not filled as he was waiting for the Supreme Court order on the disqualified MLAs. After Yediyurappa announced the cabinet expansion’s date on Sunday, the anger and disappointment was not confined to just the old-timers in the party, but also engulfed disqualified MLAs who were defeated in the bye-polls. The reason: at the time of admitting the 16 turncoat former MLAs into the party Yediyurappa had introduced them as “future MLAs and ministers” irrespective of bye-poll consequences. Defeated former MLAs AH Vishwanath and MTB Nagaraj have put up a chorus that Yediyurappa will not let them down on the promise. “In the BJP, I don’t know anyone except Yediyurappa and I have complete confidence that he will keep his word,” Vishwanath said. On the other hand, elected MLA Mahesh Kumathalli, who is speculated to miss the bus, is upset. “I’m deeply hurt and willing to do whatever Yediyurappa assigns me, including sweeping the BJP office floor,” he maintained. As deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, also a Lingayat like Kumathalli, hails from Athani constituency in Belagavi district represented by him, the latter is expected to be kept out of the cabinet. Savadi, who is not a member of either Houses of the Karnataka legislature, will be accommodated in the legislative council in the lone vacancy, for which poll is scheduled later this month. “Politics is like flowing water, things have to be accommodated according to time. There is change in the situation now from what it was then. Yediyurappa will be able to convince all those who are going to be disappointed,” state BJP spokesperson Vaman Acharya said. According to party sources, the BJP central leadership is not in favour of taking the defeated MLAs. “When the constituents did not accept them, why should they be in the cabinet, barring an exception made in the case of Savadi, who was made the deputy CM,” they added. Party insiders said Savadi along with Govind M Karjol (Scheduled Caste) and CN Ashwathanarayana (Vokkaliga) as deputy CMs were the central leadership choices. The party wanted to project an upcoming, Lingayat face and Savadi was the best bet. “In Maharashtra the party selected Devendra Fadnavis for the CM’s post, someone who had never been a minister despite being an MLA. He had functioned as mayor of Nagpur and did a good job as the CM,” they added. BJP loyalists upset Discontent is seething after it became known that only three amongst them will be taken, with Umesh V Katti, Aravind Limbavalli, Halappa Basappa Achar, V Sunil Kumar and CP Yogeeshwar (former legislator) tipped for the berths. Seniors like Basannagouda Patil (Yetnal), Murugesh Nirani, Nehru Olekar (north Karnataka), KG Bopaiah and Appachu Ranjan (Kodagu), S Angara (coastal), GH Thippa Reddy and Gulhatti D Shekar (Chitradurga), and SA Ramdas (Mysuru) are among the aspirants who have pinned hopes from the beginning. A party insider said cabinet formation or expansion is usually preceded by the party’s core committee shortlisting names before they are forwarded to the high command. The core committee meeting scheduled recently was cancelled by Yediyurappa. “The simmering discontent can be contained if the central leadership takes ownership of the cabinet formation, but the situation is not so. In the event of dissent, there is no core committee that can quell it nor does the writ of any of the 25 MPs from the state runs large to check any rebellion,” sources said. Seniors say it is now or never A ministerial aspirant said there was no hope for them in the three vacancies, which Yediyurappa will keep after the expansion. Of the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs who were disqualified, bye-polls were not held for Maski in Raichur district and Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru due to court cases. The CM is said to be waiting for these two constituencies to be filled and also reward former minister R Shankar, who quit the Kumaraswamy government but was not given a ticket from Ranebennur in the bye-poll. The travails of cabinet expansion are likely to spill over during the portfolio allocation. The sure shots have started lobbying for portfolios, such as Yelahanka MLA ST Somashekar, who has set his eyes on urban development. This has also rattled the present ministers in the cabinet with the CM hinting that he is yet to take a call on expansion along with reshuffle. “With Yediyurappa finally setting a date for the expansion, the only exercise now will be push and pull by the legislators. It is unlikely that those who lose out will give up easily. They will exert pressure and it has to be seen to what extent,” a party insider said. Naheed Ataulla is a journalist who has covered Karnataka politics for over two decades, and is a former Political Editor of The Times of India. Views expressed are the author's own.

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The world of sarees: One woman's mission to document the handlooms of India

Human Interest

Sowmya Reddy Shamanna documents various types of sarees and handloom weaves in her coffee table book released in India weekend.

Neetha John

Clad in a white Kaziranga saree inspired from Assam, adorned with motifs of the one horned rhinoceros, Sowmya Reddy Shamanna looked like a paragon of the saree-loving community she is a part of.   “Sarees, I believe, are the vital spirit of India. It is the strength, versatility and the beauty of it that represents the cultural heritage of India.” she stated. Born and raised in Karnataka, Sowmya Reddy Shamanna who has been living in Germany for over thirty years, launched her book Tana Bana - The World of Sarees last weekend in Bengaluru. To celebrate the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian Consulate in Frankfurt had decided to put together something meaningful, relevant and “highlighted the pride of India in some way which is relevant to today’s time,” she said.  Out of the 120 varieties of handloom weaves from across India, Sowmya, in her book, has documented 50 - including the popular Kanjeevaram, Chanderi and Tussar sarees. All the sarees photographed in the book are from her own personal collection and the models include herself, her family and whom she likes to call her 'saree sisters' - her other acquaintances with a keen interest in sarees. The book is airy and easy to read. It has lithe descriptions of the sarees regarding its making, its history and its place of origin. The book is an attempt to “showcase our cultural heritage to the world,'' she said, as India is known for its spicy food, its population and democracy but the handlooms of India which are just as unique, do not make the cut.  “I don’t want to make sarees as just associated with India. A saree is a beautiful thing. It doesn’t have a dogmatic identity. It is something which is very versatile and anybody can adapt to it. There is no strict or fixed idea of how a saree should be - you just have to reimagine the saree.” she said. Sowmya put forth the idea of reinventing and reviving this rich endowment of hand woven sarees as she believed that the handloom weavers of India are not exposed to the world as they ought to be, that they are in dire need of being promoted lest they perish from negligence. The inherent skills of the weavers are being forgotten and the legacy of skill is dying, she says “Tana Bana - The World of Sarees is a coffee table book. I thought of a coffee table book because it is non academic, has lots of pictures and is appealing to everybody. It is also a light read, which makes it very interesting,” she said. As a young girl, the former clinical researcher had adored her grandmother’s sarees - especially a particular red Banarasi saree that her grandmother had worn when she got married. But later as the years passed, her passion for sarees got buried. It was rekindled, she says, when she came across pictures of saree-wearing women on Instagram - posing with poise and pride, one of whom is Vijaya Laxmi Chhabra, the former director general of Doordarshan.  “It has been an on and off thing. But of late, I feel it is like a reconfirmation to my roots,” she said about her reinstated love for sarees. Chhabra had been like a mentor to her through her journey of penning the book. “She guided me through a lot of things. She is one of those iconic people I look up to. Every time I saw a new weave, I’d be fascinated. I would read and research about it and look it up on the internet. But then I used to have these conversations with her. She would really teach me and her teachings helped to enrich the book,” she said. She said that since millenials are diversifying in their pick of clothes and “as a child I used to see my mother and grandmothers wearing sarees but the youngsters and millennials of today are not exposed to such beauty anymore”, the pride of India [sarees], she says, has to be instilled in the minds of the youngsters. “Most millenials and youngsters do not want to wear a saree,” she declared. “Unless we do it, we revive it, it will die.”  

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Four arrested after mob vandalises BMTC bus, attacks conductor in Karnataka

Crime

Police say that an altercation took place after the conductor had an argument with a senior citizen who refused to give up his seat which was reserved for ladies.

TNM Staff

Image for representation

An angry mob attacked a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus and its conductor in Sulibele, located in Karnataka’s Hoskote taluk. According to reports, the violence started when the conductor of the bus, which was travelling from Hoskote and Doddaballapur, asked a male senior citizen, who was sitting on a seat reserved for ladies, to get up.  Bangalore Mirror reported that a woman on the bus had approached the conductor, Basavaraju, who then asked the man to give his seat to the woman. He, however, refused, and an argument ensued. Some young men who were present on the bus began to question the conductor’s behaviour, and joined the argument. The senior citizen also reportedly alleged that the conductor had pulled his beard. TOI reported that at this point, the bus driver drove to the Sulibele police station, sensing danger. At the station, the two sides reportedly reached a compromise. However, the young men on the bus were not satisfied and while the bus was on its back to Hoskote, a group of around 100 men surrounded the bus in Sulibele. They forced the passengers to alight and then dragged out the bus conductor. They reportedly thrashed the bus conductor and threw stones at the bus. The conductor has been admitted to a local hospital and a case has been registered against the attackers for rioting, attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, destruction of public property, and assaulting a public servant on duty. Four people, all aged between 20 to 29 years, have been nabbed by the police while the rest are on the run. The police have arrested Shoaib, Khaleel Pasha, Mohammed Yasin and Sheikh Aseem from Sulibele.  Further investigation is underway. The Hindu reported that the police has formed a special team to catch the culprits who are on the run.

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K’taka CM promises Bengaluru suburban rail in 3 yrs, officials say it may take 6 yrs

The Karnataka Chief Minister made the announcement after the government announced that suburban rail project in Bengaluru will cost Rs 18,600 crores.

TNM Staff

File photo of a suburban train

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday announced that the long-awaited suburban rail project in Bengaluru, with 56 stations across the city, would be completed in the next three years. However, the government agency in charge of the project, KRIDE (Rail Infrastructure Development Company-Karnataka) has said that the suburban rail project may take a total of six years to complete. The Chief Minister made this announcement at a press conference in Bengaluru, alongside the Union minister for Railways, Suresh Angadi. Yediyurappa said that the project will be undertaken on a priority basis, as it is a long pending one and is the dream of the late BJP MP HN Ananth Kumar, TOI reported. Meanwhile, KRIDE also issued a press release, stating that the project will take a total of six years from the date of sanction. However, the release noted that the stretch from Bengaluru city railway station (KSR) to the airport would be undertaken on a priority basis and that this would be completed within three years, The Hindu reported.  According to Deccan Herald, the suburban rail has been delayed due to the clashes between the state and Centre, as well as the fact that the railway line was clashing with the metro line. However, it was later proposed that the railway line will take a different route, which stops short of the airport, and will have a frequent shuttle bus for last-mile connectivity to the airport. The railway connection is supposed to completed by March this year. Chief Minister Yediyurappa’s announcement came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the suburban rail project in Bengaluru will cost Rs 18,600 crores and added that the government will hold 20% equity after contributing 60% of the project cost.  READ: Budget 2020: Bengaluru suburban rail finds mention yet again, but will it kick-off soon?

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Watch: Animal rescuer in Mangaluru saves stray dog stuck in well

Human Interest

Rajani Damodar Shetty has been feeding stray dogs for almost a decade. She takes care of 14 stray dogs at home and feeds hundreds of other stray dogs living in her neighbourhood.

TNM Staff

A woman is seen at the bottom of a deep well. Even as she holds on to a rope tied to her waist, she manouevres herself, hovering inches above the water, and ties the rope onto a dog stuck in the well. The dog is pulled up and rescued and the woman pulls herself up and out of the well. The visual is from Mangaluru and the woman is 40-year-old animal rescue Rajani Damodar Shetty.  Ambassador of #Humanity Salute to this woman Rajani Shetty from Mangalore who went down in the well & saved a stray dog.@D_Roopa_IPS @ParveenKaswan @RandeepHooda @ARanganathan72 @anandmahindra @Iyervval @YRDeshmukh @ActorMadhavan @PawanKalyan @TandonRaveena @ShefVaidya @ndcnn pic.twitter.com/e5uKoZkV5k — IMShubham (@shubham_jain999) February 1, 2020 On Thursday, Rajani was alerted by children playing near an old well near Ballalbagh in Mangaluru that a stray dog was stuck inside the well, which was 30 feet deep. Despite not knowing to swim, Rajani decided to enter the well to rescue the dog. With the help of a rope tied to her, Rajani entered the well and tried to cajole the stray dog stuck in one corner of the well. Rajani said that the dog was scared and even tried to bite her but after a few attempts, she managed to tie a rope around the dog. "I was a bit nervous but at the same time, I knew I could not allow the dog to die. I did not want to take a second chance," Rajani told Times of India.  ' The dog was pulled up by a group of people standing on the edge of the boundary of the well. Rajani then pulled herself up and out of the well.  Rajani's efforts to save the stray daug were lauded on social media with many describing her act as heroic. Meet Rajani Damodar Shetty, from #Mangaluru who rescued a dog that fell into 30 ft well. She didn't knew how to swim, still this dog lover tied rope & rescued the dog. Happy to see that humanity is still alive.@Iyervval @amritabhinder @PetaIndia @AartiTikoo @BeautifulBluru pic.twitter.com/hE2yHuxoKT — Farah Khan (@FaraaahKhan) January 31, 2020 Brave lady with a heart of gold, from Mangaluru rescues a dog which fell in the well. pic.twitter.com/6veLtwmQwp — Vibhinna Ideas (@Vibhinnaideas) February 2, 2020 This brave woman, Rajani Shetty of Mangaluru, deserves an award for risking her life to rescue a dog from a well. https://t.co/zPRUXicyA5 — Gautham Machaiah (@GauthamMachaiah) January 31, 2020 Rajani has been feeding stray dogs for almost a decade. She takes care of 14 stray dogs at home and feeds hundreds of other stray dogs living in her neighbourhood. 

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Court tells media houses to refrain from using Kumaraswamy’s 'mini-mini powder' remark

Law

This comes after social media users posted memes and puns, jeering at HD Kumaraswamy after he referred to the substance used by Mangaluru airport suspect to ‘mini mini powder’.

Prajwal Bhat

Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's use of a colloquial Kannada phrase — 'mini mini powder' — triggered a series of memes and puns on the phrase on social media. He used the term to describe the white powdery substance, which was retrieved from the bank locker of Aditya Rao, the man who is suspected to have planted a bomb at the Mangaluru airport on January 20. However, it looks like the memes have not gone down well with the JD(S) leader or his supporters. Based on an injection suit filed by advocate Ismail Zabiulla, the City Civil and Sessions court in Bengaluru issued an order directing media houses that Kumaraswamy should not be mocked for his statement.  The interim order was issued on February 1 against Vijayavani newspaper and 46 other media houses. It restrains the publications from "defaming, derogating and disparaging the image name and reputation of (Kumaraswamy)”. Any reference of words ‘mini-mini powder’, which links Kumaraswamy, is barred under the law — either by writing, airing, printing or uploading any article or morphed and distorted images or videos and making sarcastic remarks, memes, jokes, comic ads or reckless statements, said the order.   Akshit Suvarna, a member of the JD(S) in Dakshina Kannada, had filed a complaint in the Cyber Crime police station over the issue. "We submitted a complaint to the Commissioner and the Cyber Crime police about how social media pages and individuals were poking fun at what Kumaraswamy said and making it viral," Akshit told TNM. Kumaraswamy made the now-infamous remark during a press conference over the bomb scare in Mangaluru. Aditya Rao, a resident of the city, was arrested after he surrendered, claiming he had planted an explosive in the Mangaluru International Airport. At the press meet, the former CM was trying to make a point that it was not a bomb but a firecracker, which had “mini-mini powder”.  The usage of the remark was ridiculed by social media users, with many posts making references to talcum powder.  Taking to Twitter, Kumaraswamy said, "'Mini mini' is an expression used for anything that glimmers in Kannada in rural areas. If the BJP is making fun of that word, it is insulting Kannada and rural parts of the state.” ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಳೆಯುವ ಪದಾರ್ಥಕ್ಕೆ ಮಿಣಿಮಿಣಿ ಎನ್ನಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದು ಶುದ್ಧ ಕನ್ನಡ, ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಪದ. ಅದನ್ನೇ ಅಪಮಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಬಳಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಅದು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ, ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಅಪಮಾನ. ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಆಗಲಿ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಗರ ಜೀನ್ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನದ್ದಲ್ಲವೇ. ಅದಕ್ಕೇ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪದಗಳು ತಾತ್ಸಾರ. 4/4 — H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) January 28, 2020 This is not the first time the JD(S) leader has been the target of ridicule for something he has said. During the audio release of his son's movie, he had remarked: "Nikhil Yellidyappa" (where are you, Nikhil?). This became the subject of many social media memes and puns in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, as Nikhil was one of the candidates from the party.

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13 new ministers for Karnataka on February 6, including 10 rebels

Politics

Thirteen MLAs, including 10 rebels from Congress and the JD(S), will take oath on February 6.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said that the Cabinet expansion will take place on February 6, with 13 MLAs taking oath of office as ministers. "The cabinet expansion will take place on February 6 with the oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhavan at 10.30 AM," he told reporters in Bengaluru on Sunday. Thirteen MLAs, including the 10 rebel MLAs who had joined the BJP from Congress and the JD(S), will take oath, he said. The Cabinet expansion has been on the cards for nearly two months, ever since the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 5, 2019 bye-polls and got a majority in the Karnataka Assembly. In the bye-elections held in December 2019, 12 BJP candidates won seats in 15 constituencies. Among the 12 winners, 11 candidates were former MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) who resigned and paved the way for the BJP to take power in the state in 2019. Arun Kumar, who won from the Ranebennur constituency, contested in place of R Shankar of the KPJP. Shankar had also resigned as an MLA in 2019. This means that all rebel leaders, barring one, will be made a minister when the Cabinet expansion takes place. The Assembly session is set to begin in Karnataka on February 5.  The date for the Cabinet expansion was announced after Yediyurappa held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Friday.  Sources privy to the meeting stated that Amit Shah had cleared the list of BJP leaders recommended by Yediyurappa for a place in the Cabinet. The same was reiterated by Yediyurappa in a press conference on Saturday. 

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