Can't replace me as long as I have PM Modi and Shah's support: Yediyurappa

Politics

Yediyurappa made this statement in response to the Congress seeking his resignation on account of a legal case against the CM.

IANS

File image

Hitting out at his detractors, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday claimed that he would continue as chief minister as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are backing him. In his reply to the motion of thanks for the Governor's address, Yediyurappa said few leaders are day-dreaming and almost everyday, they are saying that he will be replaced with someone. "I want to use this opportunity to scotch such rumours by asserting that as long people are with me, and PM Modi and Home Minister Shah are backing me, nobody in the state will be able to ever replace me," he said. He added that he will come out of all legal battles as long as Shah is backing him. "I am ready to face 100s of legal cases. I am not worried at all as none other than Modi and Shah have reposed faith in me. That will not be shaken by anyone," he said. The CM added that Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah is aware of the things, how cases are being filed falsely against politicians. "With prejudice, people are filing cases against politicians, so no party leader will believe just because someone files cases against me or anyone. I want to remind Congress leaders who often seek resignation from me on the grounds of cases being filed against me should know that several of their national leaders are on bail and facing cases, hence, it is futile to ask resignation from me," he said.

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Leopard cub and dog fight to death in Karnataka

Wildlife

A senior forest official said both carcasses have been sent for an autopsy.

IANS

Representational image

A stray dog which had apparently killed a young leopard in a fight later succumbed to his injuries in Karnataka's Mandya district on Friday. "Prima facie it appears that both the animals fought hard before their deaths but the exact cause of the leopard's death is yet to be ascertained," Deputy Conservator of Forests (Mandya) Ravishankar told IANS. He added that both the animal carcasses have been sent for autopsy. "Though the leopard appeared to be only 6 months old and the dog was robustly built, still I would bet on the former's victory, but never know that in a jungle circumstances and luck completely dominate laws," Ravishankar said. According to another forest official, with the livestock being closely guarded by men, the leopards are going after dogs. "They also relish canines and it's easy for the leopards to hunt down dogs. Generally, villages with a good population of dogs attract leopards. They attack and catch dogs by the throat leaving no chance for them to bark and raise an alarm. But in this case it is clear that both the prey and the predator have fought hard. At least such signs are visible," an official said. While a local resident, Thimme Gowda told IANS that a local stray dog, regularly fed by the villagers had grown into a strong adult dog, which villagers used to fondly call 'kariya' (blackie). "It was a well built dog, whereas the leopard that died was small but still a strong one. This confrontation may have taken place in the wee hours of the morning as that is the time when animals like leopards come out to hunt their prey," he added. He added that due to the prevailing cold weather, the villagers shut their doors while sleeping though some of them may have heard but ignored the sound of the barking dog. "We only came to know about the incident in the morning when some villagers on their way to the fields noticed both the carcasses," he added. Earlier this week, a dog and a leopard were stuck inside a toilet for seven hours. Fortunately for the dog, it was left unharmed. Visuals showed the dog cowering in one corner, trying its best to stay away from the leopard, with just one commode to separate the two. Hours later, forest officials arrived at the scene to tranquilise the leopard, but the big cat managed to escape into the jungle. Video: Dog trapped with leopard inside toilet in Karnataka for at least 7 hours  

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Leopard cub and dog fight to death in Karnataka

Wildlife

A senior forest official said both carcasses have been sent for an autopsy.

IANS

Representational image

A stray dog which had apparently killed a young leopard in a fight later succumbed to his injuries in Karnataka's Mandya district on Friday. "Prima facie it appears that both the animals fought hard before their deaths but the exact cause of the leopard's death is yet to be ascertained," Deputy Conservator of Forests (Mandya) Ravishankar told IANS. He added that both the animal carcasses have been sent for autopsy. "Though the leopard appeared to be only 6 months old and the dog was robustly built, still I would bet on the former's victory, but never know that in a jungle circumstances and luck completely dominate laws," Ravishankar said. According to another forest official, with the livestock being closely guarded by men, the leopards are going after dogs. "They also relish canines and it's easy for the leopards to hunt down dogs. Generally, villages with a good population of dogs attract leopards. They attack and catch dogs by the throat leaving no chance for them to bark and raise an alarm. But in this case it is clear that both the prey and the predator have fought hard. At least such signs are visible," an official said. While a local resident, Thimme Gowda told IANS that a local stray dog, regularly fed by the villagers had grown into a strong adult dog, which villagers used to fondly call 'kariya' (blackie). "It was a well built dog, whereas the leopard that died was small but still a strong one. This confrontation may have taken place in the wee hours of the morning as that is the time when animals like leopards come out to hunt their prey," he added. He added that due to the prevailing cold weather, the villagers shut their doors while sleeping though some of them may have heard but ignored the sound of the barking dog. "We only came to know about the incident in the morning when some villagers on their way to the fields noticed both the carcasses," he added.

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Biden administration deploys more than 1,000 active-duty troops to aid vaccination efforts

Some of the military members will arrive for deployment in California within the next 10 days.

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Many Indian footballers voice support for protesting farmers

Farm Laws

Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh also sent out a loud message by tweeting “Stop hate for profit”. He also used the hashtag #StandWithFarmers.

TNM Staff

While several Indian cricketers have tweeted with #IndiaTogether hashtags to counter international voices speaking in support of the farmers' protest, many footballers have chosen a different goalpost. With celebrities kicking the ball this way and that after the Ministry of External Affairs (over)reacted to pop singer Rihanna's tweet, many footballers like Former Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters midfielder Darren Caldeira have made it clear that they support the farmers. “Students are paid. Protestors are paid. Farmers are paid. Now, Rihanna is paid as well. You’d require quite the budget for her. She is worth USD 600 mil according to Forbes. Just saying. #FarmersProtest,” Darren wrote. Farukh Choudhary, who currently plays in the Indian team retweeted this tweet. Students are paid. Protestors are paid. Farmers are paid. Now, Rihanna is paid as well. You’d require quite the budget for her. She is worth USD 600 mil according to Forbes. Just saying. #FarmersProtest — Darren Caldeira (@darrencaldeira) February 3, 2021 Anirudh Thapa, who is an Indian national team player and Chennaiyin FC’s midfielder too, retweeted MP Shashi Tharoor’s tweet with the message “Let’s be democratic again”.  Let's be democratic again! https://t.co/upAxGXZXMS — Anirudh Thapa (@AnirudhThapa) February 4, 2021 Karanjit Singh, Deepak Tangri and Germanpreet Singh who belong to the Chennaiyin team were also vocal in their support to the farmers. We must stand by OUR farmers It is not their fight, it is OUR fight. Whether the world is watching or not, these are real issues faced by real people, the ones on whose backbones are great country is built. And it is our duty to use our platforms to lend our voice to them. pic.twitter.com/AUTN5n1J7H — Deepak tangri (@deepaktangri22) February 4, 2021 Michael Soosairaj, an Indian professional footballer and ATK Mohun Bagan’s midfielder also lent his voice in support of the farmers. Please support farmers  https://t.co/ZTQd0m425w — Soosairajmichael (@soosairajmichal) February 4, 2021 A lot of people on social media are talking about how the footballers unlike their counterparts from cricket did not succumb to the alleged PR politics of the ruling party.    Mad Respect for Indian footballers for supporting the farmers. Bravo. And dear India, don't promote mediocrity. Yes i'm talking about Bollywood and Indian Cricket.#FarmersProtest — Advaid അദ്വൈത് (@Advaidism) February 5, 2021 After pop singer Rihanna tweeted in favour of the protesting farmers, several Indian cricketers along with a long list of other celebrities took to Twitter with same or similar messages. This included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, current captain Virat Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri. While many supported these tweets, the cricketers also received flak from a large section who asked how come they never spoke up for the farmers in the last two months. The Delhi police has however alleged that tweets by Rihanna, Greta Thunberg and others were part of propaganda by international players. Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh sent out a loud message by tweeting “Stop hate for profit”. He also used the hashtag #StandWithFarmers. Stop hate for profit #StandWithFarmers — Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) February 5, 2021 Cricketer Manoj Tiwary took a veiled dig at the Indian cricketers who tweeted in response to international icons for extending support to farmers’ protests. When I was a kid, I never saw a puppet show. It took me 35 years to see one  pic.twitter.com/AMCGIZMfGN — MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) February 4, 2021 Davinder Singh, who plays as a right back for Mumbai City in the Indian Super League shared photos from the farmers’ protest and said he stands with the farmers.   WE STAND WITH FARMERS #FarmersProtest #IStandWithFarmers #Farmers_Lives_Matter #kissanmajdoorektazindabadh #kissanmorcha pic.twitter.com/ElDCz5f0bL — Davinder Singh (@Davinder32) February 4, 2021

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Nalapad Haris polls highest votes in Karnataka Youth Cong polls but gets disqualified

Politics

Many within the party raised questions Mohammed Nalappad Haris was disqualified after his victory and not at the time of nomination

Soumya Chatterjee

The recently concluded Youth Congress elections in Karnataka may have done more damage to the party than strengthening its organisation, as the party remains out of power since the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Mohammed Nalapad Haris, son of three-time Shanti Nagar MLA NA Haris, won the elections beating his closest rival by more than 7,000 votes on Thursday. However, in a turn of events, Nalappad was declared unfit and disqualified for his role as the prime accused in the 2018 Farzi Cafe bar brawl case. As a result, runner-up Raksha Ramaiah, son of senior Congress leader MR Seetharam, was declared as the Youth Congress President on Thursday after a month of voting. In a video that has been circulated among youth party workers, Nalapad can be heard asking his supporters not to speak against the party and pledged his loyalty to the party, state president DK Shivakumar and former national president Rahul Gandhi.  While shadow fighting between top leaders, including ministers of the party, is not unknown in such Youth Congress elections, a section of party workers feels that disqualifying Nalapad has also hurt the party’s image among the youth.   “Well ahead of the elections, Nalapad had sought directions from the top party bosses to contest the elections, considering the bar brawl case and that political leaders, including the Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, had raised several serious allegations against the party leader. Nalappad had prepared for the elections only after getting a green signal from the leaders,” a source in the Congress told TNM. The source added, “Nalapad’s victory was sabotaged in a petty way at the insistence of a newly-elected MLA, who did not want the rise of another young community leader within the party. Raksha was also supported by a former minister, who managed to pull strings with Rahul Gandhi’s office. Even Siddaramaiah (former Karnataka Chief Minister) supporting Raksha Ramaiah’s cause is not unknown.” However, Nivedith Alva, party spokesperson and Convenor, Disciplinary Action Committee of KPCC told TNM, “The Youth Congress election is a system designed and built in a constantly evolving way to bring about reform to the youth congress from the grass root level. There are countless success stories from across the country that have come from this very system. The rules are clear and the sign off by FAME (organisation holding the elections) is always the last step in the process. The system is stringent and the same for all.” According to political observers, Siddaramaiah’s support to Raksha is to help retain him some power within the youth system of the party, with DK Shivakumar being the current state president. Some have even opined that this was a shadow power check between Siddaramiah and Shivakumar.  The source claimed that irrespective of the internal dynamics, DKS thinks Nalapad is a good leader with better organisational and oratory skills. “Knowing that he will go to elections in two years, DKS saw a strong youth leader in Nalapad but after the instructions from Rahul Gandhi’s office, he did not interfere further. While Nalapad has been on the ground for some time, the recent farmers’ protest was the first time that Raksha has hit the ground,” the source added.  Incidentally, being the third runner-up in the election, HS Manjunath, a former student leader, has been selected as the Youth Congress Vice-President. According to sources, he was backed by former Deputy CM and state party president G Parameshwara.

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Why BJP, Congress are handpicking Karnataka leaders to oversee Kerala, TN polls

Politics

Among the key appointments are former KPCC chiefs Dinesh Gundu Rao and G Parameshwara, while the BJP has picked former Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and Dy CM Aswathnarayana.

Naheed Ataulla

Poll-bound states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have opened up opportunities for Karnataka's second line leadership in the BJP and Congress to show their organising and electoral management skills like never before. In recent days both national parties have been increasingly delegating electoral responsibilities to their frontline and second-rung leaders from Karnataka. Elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are expected to be announced anytime. The appointments include two former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Presidents G Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao and from the BJP Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who was also the state BJP chief from 2012 to 2016. Joshi has been teamed up with Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwathnarayana, while BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar is in-charge of Puducherry.  The BJP has given the key post of heading its national youth wing to Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who has been visiting all the states going to polls. Meanwhile, former minister CT Ravi is the General Secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, where his party is making a foray to capture power. What's the criteria for giving these responsibilities? BJP's functionary Vaman Acharya, who was a Saha Prabhari (link between the Central and state leadership) for Maharashtra in 2015 said broadly it was on three parameters. “The central leadership will look at the oratory skills of the person or whether one has the capacity and ability to organise  money and manpower or those who have held posts in the party earlier,” he said. According to BJP sources, these appointments are also in a way a talent search on leadership requirements as it will not be possible for the  party's state or the national presidents to do the pre-poll arrangements in election-bound states. The BJP started the trend of springing surprise candidates to head states, such as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath or Maharashtra's former CM Devendra Fadnavis or Goa's late CM Manohar Parikkar. Sometimes proximity to the central leadership also matters, they added. Gundu Rao, who is AICC in- charge of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Goa said one reason for Karnataka leaders being given the responsibilities was because of the connect they have with the border states. “There are similarities in culture and language, the states are not far, all of which helps in decision making,” he explained. According to him former minister HK Patil has been given the responsibility of Maharashtra as he hails from north Karnataka and has made a name in the cooperative sector, which is a movement there. Citing his own case, Gundu Rao said his experience in organisational matters as a former state unit president would stand in good stead in Tamil Nadu, where the Congress hopes to better its performance.  In another poll-bound state Kerala, where the Congress has high stakes considering its party leader Rahul Gandhi is an MP from there, two functionaries from Dakshina Kannada have been picked to oversee the election process with Parameshwara in-charge. Former legislator Ivan D'Souza and party functionary PV Mohan  have been appointed as AICC secretaries. Mohan was in charge of Khanapur and Bailhongal Assembly constituencies in Belagavi for two years and  caught the high command's attention for the several training programmes he held for the workers. He has been put in charge of 60 Assembly constituencies in north Kerala, which is a LDF stronghold. “We have six Congress MLAs in the outgoing Assembly from this Malabar region and if some efforts are put in, the numbers can be doubled,” he added.  Apart from the appointments in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Congress has given responsibility to some of its leaders in Goa. Congress party's senior MLC Prakash K Rathod and KPCC's Research Department chief and educationist Mansoor Khan are the observers for the digital membership drive and in charge of an overhaul of the booths and blocks committees there. Last year, Health Minister K Sudhakar was part of the team from Karnataka along with party's MLA Satish Reddy to draw up strategies for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls.

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