Yeddyurappa sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister

BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa was yesterday sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka along with 29 Ministers, marking the installation of saffron party’s first full-fledged Government in South India.

Yeddyurappa was administered the oath of office as Karnataka’s Chief Minister by Governor Rameshwar Thakur in front of the majestic Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore in front of a large number of BJP supporters, who had arrived from various parts of the State.

Five out of the six independent MLAs, who had extended support to the BJP Government figured among the Ministers in Yeddyurappa’s Cabinet. BJP state unit’s senior Vice President Mumtaz Ali Khan, who is neither a member of the Legislative Council nor the Legislative Assembly, also took oath as Cabinet rank Minister.

Shobha Karandlaje, an MLA from Bangalore City, was the lone woman to be sworn in on Friday. Three newly-elected MLAs from Bellary district including iron ore mine owners G Janardhan Reddy and his brother Karunakar Reddy, besides former Minister B Sriramulu also made it to the Cabinet.

Eight out of the 29 Ministers, who were sworn in yesterday, had served the JD (S)-BJP coalition Government.

A notable exclusion from the BJP Cabinet was former Minister Jagadish Shettar, who had been tipped to become the Speaker of the new Assembly. However, Shettar told reporters after the swearing in ceremony that he had rejected the party leadership’s offer to become the Speaker. “I wish to serve the people of the state as a Minister. I am not interested in the post of the Speaker”, he said.

Yeddyurappa is expected to go in for another expansion of the Cabinet in the next few days, as there was room for four more members in the Ministry, which has a ceiling of 34 including the Chief Minister.

The list of new Ministers, who were sworn in on Friday, included former Ministers Govind Karjol, K S Eshwarappa, V S Acharya, C M Udasi, Ramachandra Gowda, R Ashok, B Sriramulu, B N Bacche Gowda.

Newly elected MLAs S A Ravindranath, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Basavaraj Bommai, Suresh Kumar, Revu Naik, Krishna Palimar, Krishnayya Shetty, Arvind Limbavali, H Halappa, Lakshman Savadi, Rudrappa Nirani and S K Bellubi.

The five independents, who made it to the Ministry, are P Venkataramanappa, Narendra Swamy, D Sudhakar, Gulihatti Shekar and Shivaraj Tangadagi.
The swearing in ceremony, which lasted barely half an hour, was witnessed by a galaxy of BJP central leaders including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani, BJP’s national President Rajnath Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, besides National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor George Fernandes.

Research reveals urine-treated plants yielding bigger bananas

A research project on the effect of human excreta on soil properties and crop growth has revealed that banana plants not only flowered and bore fruit 15 to 20 days in advance, but also weighed substantially more when treated with human urine.

A doctoral study carried out by a research student of University of Agricultural Sciences, UAS, Bangalore, billed as the first of its kind in the country, chose 180 banana plants in a plantation in Nagasandra village, about 50 kms from Bangalore.

The researcher G Sridevi and her assistant poured thousands of litres of urine collected from the village to the banana plants. “Each plant was given 63 litres of urine in six doses”, said Vishwanath S, a representative of Arghyam, an agency that funded the research project.

“These plants flowered and bore fruit 15-20 days before the others. Each bunch of bananas weighed 3 kgs more than those from the normal plants, which had been given fertilizers”, he said. The 150 plants chosen by Sridevi for the research were part of the 800 on an acre of the banana plantation. “The bananas treated with urine were found to be bigger in size”, he said.

The farmers initially turned away Sridevi, a researcher from the Department of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, when she approached them with the research proposal. The farmers were clearly unwilling to work with human waste.

But, Prakash, the owner of the banana plantation, whose crop was subjected to research, said the banana plants treated with urine had yielded a better crop. “Though the urine treated plants grew to a lesser height than normal plants, they have yielded a better crop”, he said.

Indian engineer kidnapped in Afghanistan returns home

Sarang Mohammed Naeem, the 37 year old Indian engineer, who was had been abducted in Afghanistan, returned to his home in Suralpady near Mangalore in Karnataka on Wednesday to a joyous reunion with his family members.

After participating in the celebrations at his house, Naeem shared his 27-day ordeal in the tough mountainous terrain of Afghanistan with reporters and said he considered himself to be “lucky” to be still alive. For, few people, who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan, had returned home alive.

Naeem begins his story with the sudden waylaying of the car in which he and his Nepali colleague Gurong Karna Bahadur were returning to their base camp at Adraskan on the Iran-Afghanistan border from a market in Herat on April 21 evening.

Four masked men armed with automatic rifles, who surrounded their car on the highway, dragged them out the vehicle and hit him twice on the forehead with the butt of the rifle. “Next, they blinded folded and tied our hands and bundled us in the boot of the car. We travelled for about one hour on a rough road”, he recalled.

Later, they stopped the car in a desolate region and released the Afghani driver of the car. “I and my Nepali colleague were chained and forced to walk through the hilly terrain for the next five days along with the armed abductors. They carried no food and we had to survive by eating wild fruits and berries in the almost barren landscape”, he recalled.

Though abductors carried limited water in bottles. “They would give us water in the caps of the bottle”, Naeem said.

After five days of journey through the mountains, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of 10 to 15 people in a valley. “They started firing at us and we heard the bullets whistle past us. Our abductors and we had no option, but to throw ourselves to the ground. Later, one of the abductor stood up and introduced himself to the attackers and successfully negotiated for a safe passage”, Naeem said.

Next, the abductors walked to a shack in an obscure village. “Once, we reached the shack, we were blindfolded and were made to shift from one place to another in the mountains. Our hands and legs were tied in the night. We used to receive food in the form of dried bread once a day along with black tea”.

After 27 days of captivity, Naeem and his Nepali colleague were released on May 17. With the help of security forces, he reached Herat, where he stayed for a day and at Kabul for two days before reaching Delhi on May 24. He reached Mumbai the next day, where he met his wife and children, before driving down to Suralpady to an emotional welcome.
“During the time I spent in the captivity of the abductors, I kept asking the Almighty to give me mental strength to fight the situation. I am so happy to be able to breathe freely again and be with my near and dear ones”, Naeem said.

Yeddyurappa to be sworn in as Chief Minister on Friday

The first full-fledged BJP Government in south India will be sworn in on Friday when BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa will take oath as the 26th Chief Minister of Karnataka.

After receiving a formal invitation from Governor Rameshwar Thakur to form the Government, Yeddyurappa told reporters that the swearing in ceremony will be held at 1.50 pm on Friday in front of the Vidhana Soudha.

The Governor invited Yeddyurappa to form the Government after receiving a communication from the Centre to revoke the federal rule that has been in force in the state since November 28, 2007. “The Central rule will be revoked ten minutes before the swearing in ceremony”, Yeddyurappa said.

Yeddyurappa said a host of national leaders of the BJP like L K Advani and Rajnath Singh, besides leaders of National Development Alliance (NDA) including former Federal Minister George Fernandes are expected to attend the swearing in ceremony.

The BJP, which bagged 110 seats in the Assembly, staked claim to form a Government after securing the support of five independents to cross the 113 mark in the 224-member House. The sixth independent MLA Varthur Prakash, who had earlier extended support to the Congress, too has now declared support to the BJP.

Along with Yeddyurappa, a total of 16 members belonging to both the Houses of the state legislature are expected to take oath as Ministers. At least three out of the six independents MLAs are expected to be given ministerial berths.

Meanwhile, Yeddyurappa held discussions with party’s national leaders including Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu on the composition of the Ministry, whose strength has to be kept within the constitutional ceiling of 34 including the Chief Minister.

BJP is planning to give a ministerial berth to party leader Mumtaz Ali Khan in keeping with Yeddyurappa’s pre-poll promise of including a member from the minority community into his Cabinet. Though Mumtaz Ali Khan is not a member of either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council, BJP leaders said the party would make Khan an MLC after including him in the Cabinet.

Monsoon to hit Karnataka coast by May 31

The south-west monsoon is set to hit the Karnataka coast on May 30 or 31.

“The monsoon, which has been forecast to arrive in Kerala three days earlier than usual on May 29, will touch the Karnataka coast on May 30 or 31”, Director of Meteorological Centre in Bangalore A Muthuchami said.

Though the normal onset of monsoon for Bangalore is June 5, the city will receive monsoon showers by June 3 or 4 this year, before covering the rest of the state between June 10 and 15.

“Monsoon will arrive a couple of days earlier than usual in the state this year”, he said claiming that the forecast has been based on an analysis of the sea surface temperature, intensity of pre-monsoon thundershowers over the peninsula and other parameters.

Meanwhile, the weather has been inconsistent in Bangalore and many parts of the state, which have been receiving intermittent rains over the last two weeks with temperatures varying between 36 degrees and 20 degrees.

According to Meteorological Centre, coastal and south interior Karnataka including Bangalore can expect heavy rain measuring nearly 70 mm over the next two days. “These localized thundershowers are characteristic of pre-monsoon rain and generally occur in the evenings”, an official said.

BJP stakes claim to form Government in Karnataka

After successfully wooing five independent MLAs, the BJP has formally staked a claim to form a Government in Karnataka.

A delegation comprising BJP Legislature Party leader B S Yeddyurappa and senior party leader Arun Jaitley called on Governor Rameshwar Thakur in Bangalore late on Monday evening and handed over a letter containing information about the party’s strength in the assembly and the support extended by independent MLAs.

Briefing reporters, Jaitley said the letter was signed by all the 110 newly elected BJP MLAs, besides five individual letters signed the independents extending unconditional support to the party to form a Government.

Jaitley hoped the Governor will not invite Yeddyurappa to form the Government as the party enjoyed the majority support of 115 MLAs in a house of 224 members.

Meanwhile, the sixth independent MLA Varthur Prakash from Kolar turned up at meeting of senior BJP leaders at a hotel in Bangalore on Tuesday and declared his support to the party.

Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, Yeddyurappa said he expected the Governor to extend an invitation to him by Tuesday evening and hoped to be sworn in by Wednesday evening.

“There are certain formalities to be completed. The gazette notification on the constitution of the new assembly is to be issued and the Centre should revoke the President’s rule in the State. I expect to be sworn in on Wednesday, probably in the evening”, Yeddyurappa said.

Meanwhile, Congress as well as JD (S) leaders ruled out any possibilities of coming together to form a coalition Government to prevent the BJP from coming to power.

Though a half-hearted attempt was made by the Congress on Monday to enlist the support of independents, the party leaders ruled out joining hands with JD (S). “We are not exploring the possibility of a coalition with the JD (S)”, former Minister D K Shivakumar told reporters.

Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy also made it clear that the party would accept the defeat with grace and would prefer to sit in the Opposition.

BJP claims support of three independents, to stake claim

Ahead of formally staking claim to form the next Government in Karnataka, BJP has claimed to enjoy the support of three independent MLAs to reach a simple majority of 113 members in the 224-member assembly.

Two out of the three independent MLAs attended the BJP Legislature Party meeting held in Bangalore to formally elect B S Yeddyurappa as the leader of the BJP’s Legislature Party.

BJP rebel Shivaraj Thangadai, who was elected as independent from Kanakagiri constituency, and JD (S) rebel Goolihatti Shekar, who had been elected from Hosadurga, were honoured with garlands by the senior BJP leaders ahead of its Legislature Party meeting, which had been delayed apparently awaiting the arrival of the independent MLAs.

The BJP leaders claimed that they Congress rebel from Hiriyur constituency Sudhakar had also agreed to extend support to the BJP Government.

Apart from its 110 MLAs and the independents, the BJP Legislature Party meeting was attended by senior party leaders including Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Ananthkumar.

The letters of support submitted by the independents are expected to be produced before Governor Rameshwar Thakur when the BJP formally stakes claim to form a Government under the leadership of B S Yeddyurappa.

The support of three independent legislators was crucial for the BJP, which had won 110 seats in the assembly polls, to secure a simple majority of 113 seats in the 224-member House.

Speaking to reporters after the BJP legislature party meeting, Yeddyurappa said the BJP Legislature Party had unanimously elected him as its leader and he would soon call on the Governor and stake claim to form the next Government.

He said the BJP was committed to implementing the promises made in its pre-poll manifesto including free power to the irrigation pumpsets used by the farmers.

Before calling on the Governor, Yeddyurappa had several rounds of talks with senior party leaders including BJP Karnataka unit President Sadananda Gowda and Ananthakumar, besides legal experts.

Two independents extend support to Congress

Two out of the six independent MLAs, whose support has become crucial in the installation of a new Government in Karnataka, have extended support to the Congress party triggering speculations over a Congress-JD (S) coalition returning to power in the state.

Varthur Prakash and P M Narendraswamy, who had won the elections from Kolar and Malavalli constituencies respectively as Congress rebels, met former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the latter’s residence in Bangalore yesterday and declared their support to him.

The duo not only pledged to abide by the decision taken by Siddaramaiah, but also urged the Congress leadership to make efforts to form a Government headed by Siddaramaiah. “We will extend support to the formation of a Congress-led Government headed by Siddaramaiah”, said Narayanaswamy, who had successfully contested the elections as an independent after the Congress denied him a ticket.

The support extended by the two independent MLAs to the Congress party assumes significance in view of the BJP’s inability to secure a simple majority in the 224 member house. With 110 MLAs, the saffron party is still short of three MLAs to reach the magic figure of 113.

JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda’s reported offer to extend his party’s support to the Congress if the latter comes forward to form a coalition Government has led to the Congress leaders opening channels of communication with the four remaining independents.

The Congress party with 80 MLAs and JD (S) with 28 MLAs together constitute 108 MLAs. The Congress and JD (S) combine requires the support of at least five independents to command a majority in the 224-member assembly.

Four out of the six independents, who had won the elections, are Congress rebels while one is a BJP rebel and another a JD (S) rebel. “We have asked the four Congress rebels to come for talks. Let us see what happens”, said a senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said he had spoken to the four Congress rebels, who had won as independents, and appealed to them not to support the BJP.

Killer brew contained methanol – laboratory tests

The illicit liquor, which has claimed more than 180 lives in Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu, contained the poisonous chemical methanol, a laboratory test on the samples recovered from the victims has revealed.

Methanol, which is also known as Methyl alcohol, is a colourless and poisonous liquid, whose consumption can cause permanent blindness or death.

Deputy Commissioner of Bangalore urban district M A Sadiq told reporters that the samples of the illicit liquor were subjected to tests at Central Chemical Laboratory, Excise Department, and Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Bangalore. “The tests revealed that the brew had been made of methanol. The chemical seems to the killer”, he said.

Chief Chemist of Central Chemical Laboratory Basavaraj said the tests were conducted on samples collected from a victim in Devar Jeevana Halli in Bangalore, where nearly 90 people had died after consuming the illicit liquor.

The laboratory reports have been submitted to the police and excise department officials. Excise department officials too confirmed that the killer brew was diluted methanol.

After the Government banned arrack in 2007, bootleggers used to siphon off rectified spirit from distilleries to manufacture illicit arrack. “However, the tight vigil mounted by the excise and police officials against flow of liquor during the elections virtually dried up the flow of rectified spirit from the distilleries, forcing the bootleggers to try out methods like diluting methanol to continue their illicit business”, an excise official said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have carried out a massive combing operations and raids in the City and other hooch-affected areas in the City to unearth hidden sachets of the killer brew.

The excise and police department officials found thousands of sachets of the illicit liquor, each containing about 100 ml of the killer brew, and destroyed it. Five persons allegedly involved in the racket have also been arrested so far.

Based on credible information, excise department sleuths began combing operation in P V K Nair layout and found a few sachets of spurious liquor in a house. Next, the sleuths raided another house nearby and found 40 sachets of the brew. Owners of both the houses were arrested.
Based on the information provided by the two, the sleuths found hundreds of sachets hidden in a well. The sachets were retrieved with the help of bulldozers and fire force personnel. “The accused had hid the sachets in the wells after hearing the news about the tragedy”, Deputy Commissioner of Excise Mohan told reporters.

Final phase of polling concludes in Karnataka

The third and final phase of polling for the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka concluded yesterday with an estimated 60 per cent of the 11.7 million voters exercising their franchise across eight districts in the northern parts of the state.

A total of 699 candidates including political heavy weights like Congress party’s chief minister-in-waiting M Mallikarjun Kharge and former Chief Minister Dharam were in the fray in the 69 assembly constituencies that went to polls in the Hyderabad-Karnatak and Bombay-Karnatak regions of the state.

Except for minor skirmishes between Congress and BJP workers in parts of Gulbarga, the election process remained largely trouble-free, police said.

Brisk voting was witnessed in the early part of the day with people queuing outside polling stations in the morning hours to avoid the scorching heat later in the day.

About 58,000 security personnel, including central forces, were deployed across the 12,389 polling booths in the districts of Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Koppal, Gadag, Haveri and Dharwad.

Additional security was in place in the communally sensitive Hubli town and Belgaum during the polling process.

A high voltage campaign was witnessed ahead of the third phase of polls in Karnataka with a number of national leaders from Congress as well as BJP addressing election rallies in different parts of the State. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, besides BJP leaders L K Advani and Narendra Modi campaigned for the victory of their respective parties in the third phase of the polls, considered to be crucial for the outcome of the elections.

The first phase of polling was held in 89 assembly constituencies in south Karnataka on May 10 while the second phase covered covered 66 constituencies in central Karnataka on May 16. The counting of votes for all the 224 assembly constituencies in the state is scheduled to be taken up on May 25.

Smriti Irani frisked by male cops

The BJP has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission after its star campaigner and television actress Smriti Irani was reportedly frisked by male cops in election-bound Belgaum in Karnataka.

After attending a road show organized by the BJP in Belgaum, Smriti Irani, who plays the lead role of Tulsi in popular soap opera “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi”, was on her way to Goa by road when her car was flagged down by the police midway.

“She was stopped midway and was subjected to a check in the absence of any women personnel last night”, BJP said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The television actress, who campaigned for the BJP candidates contesting the ensuing elections in Karnataka, was later asked to come to the police station, where she was made to wait for a long time.

BJP’s Belgaum unit President Jeetendra Kadam told reporters that police constables from Tilakwadi police station in Belgaum had insulted the television actress. “They were under the influence of alcohol”, Kadam said.

However, the Belgaum police have denied the charges of indecent behaviour by the constables on duty. During the search of her car, the police found election handbills and she was asked to come to the police station and give an explanation, a police official said.

After stopping her car, the police officials asked her to open the boot of her car and found election handbills.

Meanwhile, Smriti Irani has termed the behaviour of the Belgaum police as “inhuman”. After reaching Mumbai, Smriti Irani has accused the policemen of touching her body on the pretext of searching her.

After the cops had stopped her car when she was heading towards Goa, Smriti claimed that she had disclosed her identity when the policemen questioned her. Though the actress asked the cops to call to woman police official to search her bag, she claimed her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. “It was terrified as I was surrounded by badly behaved policemen in an unknown place. It is the most horrible moment of my life”, she said.

Lalu bats for Congress in Karnataka

Even though his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is not contesting the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka, Federal Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav campaigned for the victory of its ally Congress party.

Addressing a rally organized by the Congress party in Hubli on Tuesday, Lalu, in his own inimitable style hit out at the BJP as a “communal virus” and spoke lightly of the JD (S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

He appealed to the voters to bring back the Congress to power in Karnataka and reject the BJP and JD (S) in the ensuing mid-term polls to the state assembly.

“The BJP is a communal virus that spreads like a disease. You should not only reject the BJP, but also get rid of it. People should drive the BJP out of the state”, he said.

Mocking at the BJP for promising to give a Gujarat model of Government in Karnataka, Lalu said BJP had already ruined and destroyed Gujarat beyond reconstruction and repair. ‘The same thing will also happen to Karnataka if BJP comes to power”, he said.

During the course of his address, Lalu went on to claim that he was the one, who made Gowda the Prime Minister of the country. But, after Gowda came to power, he sacked former Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde from the party.

Lalu, who was himself the national President of the then undivided Janata Dal, said it was a grave mistake to sack Hegde. “Later, he turned his back on me and started spewing venom”, the Railway Minister said.

He accused the JD (S) leader of betraying the Congress first and BJP later. “People should not believe such leaders”, Lalu cautioned.

At the same time, Lalu heaped praises on Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Seeking to remind the people that Sonia had sacrificed the post of a Prime Minister, Lalu said the Congress President was a true daughter of the country. “However much the BJP paints her as a foreigner, she is the true daughter of the country. She is a great leader”, Lalu said.

Under the leader of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India was marching forward and the people of the state must come forward to bring the Congress party back to power in Karnataka, he said.

Police hunt for hooch tragedy culprits

The police have launched investigations into the illicit liquor tragedy and arrested a total of four persons, who were engaged in the illegal manufacture and sale of adulterated liquor.

Even as the death toll in the liquor tragedy crossed 100 yesterday, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bangalore East, B K Singh told reporters that two more persons were nabbed on Tuesday morning, taking the total arrests to four.

Singh told reporters that the main accused had been identified as Sounder Rajan, 38, who had been in the business of illicit liquor trade in Devarajeevana Halli in Bangalore since the last few years.

Though Rajan had escaped from his house, Singh said the police had succeeded in tracing his whereabouts would soon nab him.

Police said Rajan was carrying most of his sale of the illegally brewed liquor from his house in Devarjeevana Hall police station limits. Labourers looking for the cheap liquor after a day’s hard work would invariably knock on Rajan’s doors, police said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each to the families of people, who had died after drinking illicit liquor in Bangalore its adjoining districts.

Thakur convened a high level meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday and reviewed the situation arising out of the death of more than 100 people, who had consumed the lethal brew in Bangalore and surrounding areas of Hoskote and Anekal, besides Kolar.

A steady of stream of patients, who had taken ill after consuming the illegally brewed liquor, arrived at various hospitals in Bangalore yesterday.

Doctors at Bowring Hospital said they had admitted ten more victims since Tuesday morning. But, the authorities had to send many more patients, who were brought to the hospital in a serious condition, to send them to other private hospitals due to lack of sufficient beds.

Spurious liquor tragedy toll rises to 57

The death toll in spurious liquor tragedy rocking Bangalore and villages on Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu rose to 57 yesterday.

Police said most of the victims had consumed the illicitly brewed liquor, which had been spiked with chemicals, on Saturday night.

A total of 22 deaths were reported from different parts of Bangalore, particularly Devarjeevanahalli on the outskirts of the City, while the death toll in Kolar district rose to 19 on Monday.

Most of the 16 persons, who had died in Krishnagiri in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, had bought the lethal brew from villages in Karnataka, police said.

At least 20 others, who had also consumed the spurious liquor, were battling for life in various Government hospitals in Bangalore. Similiarly, 10 more persons were reported to be in a serious condition in Kolar after drinking the illicit liquor.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government announced a compensation of Rs 10,000 each to the next of kin of the victims and ordered a probe into the liquor tragedy.

The police arrested eight vendors in Kolar district while efforts were continuing to trace the culprits behind sale of the illicit liquor in Bangalore City’s Devarjeevanahalli.

The tragedy has sparked off a political debate in election-bound Karnataka with political parties blaming each other for the deaths on account of consumption of illicit liquor.

Congress party leader B Janardhan Poojary blamed the erstwhile JD (S)-BJP coalition’s decision to ban sale of arrack in the state to the present tragedy. The then Government’s decision to prohibit sale of arrack encouraged bootleggers to prepare the illegal liquor, which has now claimed so many lives. “The JD (S) and BJP should be held directly responsible for this tragedy”, he said.

But, BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa said his party was behind the coalition Government’s rule to ban arrack. “But, the JD (S) and Congress were supplying illegal liquor to woo voters”, he said.

JD (S) leader H D Revanna called for immediate arrest of excise department officials, who had turned a blind eye to manufacture, sale and distribution of illegal liquor in the state.

Naeem’s family awaits his return home

The family of Sarang Mohammed Naeem, who was released after 27 days of captivity in Afghanistan, is eagerly looking forward to his return home in Gurukambla on the outskirts of Mangalore in Karnataka.

After almost 27 days of anxiety, Naeem’s father and mother are finally relieved that their son, who was working in a logistics company in Afghanistan, has finally been released.

Naeem’s father Mohammed Hussain Sarang received a call on Sunday from his son Naeem in Afghanistan that brought an end to their agonizingly long wait. “By the grace of Almighty Allah, my son will finally come back. We had prayed day and night for his release. I want to thank God profusely as our prayers have been answered”, he told reporters.

Naeem’s father and mother distributed sweets to friends and neighbours after receiving a call from their son that he was safe and would return home shortly.

Naeem, 40, was abducted by militants in Afghanistan on April 21 along with a Nepalese colleague.

Naeem’s wife Rafat Sultana and her three children are presently staying in Mumbai at her mother’s house.

Director of HEB Logistics Company Sunil Shetty also spoke to Hussain over phone to confirm Naeem’s release and even offered to host a party for the family to mark Naeem’s safe return.

Industry captains take to streets over Bangalore airport

Captains of the Information Technology (IT) and Bio Technology (BT) industry in Bangalore took to the streets on Saturday protesting against the closure of the existing HAL airport in the City.

The protest, which comes barely a week ahead of the scheduled launch of commercial operations from the newly constructed Bangalore international airport at Devanahalli, about 35 kms from the City, brought out a galaxy of industry captains from the plush air conditioned environs of their offices into the blazing sun.

Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Head of Infosys HR Mohandas Pai and fashion guru Prasad Bidapa gathered in front of the HAL airport in Bangalore holding aloft banners.

They were joined by employees of airport authority of India, taxi drivers as well as people employed in the small hotels, juice shops and coffee joints located in the area surrounding the airport.

“We are not against the opening of the new international airport. We need two airports and the Government should renegotiate with the promoters of the new airport to allow the existing airport to continue”, Shaw said.

Pai feared that Bangalore will not become easily accessible if the existing airport is closed down. He also did not rule out companies moving out of Bangalore if the existing airport is shut down.

“Almost 30 per cent of people from the IT industry in Bangalore travel outside India at least once a quarter. If they spend one or two hours just commuting to the airport, it will be a major problem that will impact the industry's growth in the next five years," he said.

BJP races ahead in exit polls for second phase

The exit poll surveys of the second phase of assembly elections in Karnataka have projected the BJP to be marching ahead of the Congress party.

An exit poll conducted for NDTV showed the BJP bagging 32-42 seats followed by the Congress party with 15-20 seats and JD (S) with 8-12 seats out of the 66 assembly constituencies that went to polls during the second phase on Friday.

A different exit poll conducted for Suvarna News projected 35 seats for the BJP, 20 for the Congress and 8 for the JD (S), leaving three seats for others.

Unlike the exit polls of the first phase of elections covering 89 assembly constituencies in the state that gave a split verdict, the projections of the exit polls of the second phase are almost identical with both the research organizations – IMRB for NDTV and C-fore for Suvarna News - matching each other in their findings.

According to NDTV exit polls, the BJP is projected to win a total of 73 seats out of the total 155 assembly constituencies that have already been covered in the first and second phase of polling. The Congress will come a distant second with 45 seats and the JD (S) will bag around 42 seats.

However, the findings of exit polls conducted by Suvarna News indicate towards a neck and neck race for power between the BJP and Congress, which are almost tied with 61 and 60 seats respectively out of the 155 constituencies. The JD (S) is projected to win 29 seats.

The last phase of polling scheduled for May 22 will cover the remaining 69 seats in the 224-member Karnataka assembly.

Notwithstanding the exit poll predictions, the Congress as well as the BJP are claiming that they would secure a comfortable majority to form the next Government in the State. Not to be outdone, former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the JD (S) would surprise its critics by winning a minimum of 100 seats in the elections.

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 25 after the third and final phase of polling ends on May 22.

Telgi to be produced in Bangalore court on June 2

The multi billion rupee stamp paper scam mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi, who is presently lodged in Yerawada prison in Pune, is expected to be shifted to Bangalore and produced before the special court here on June 2.

Though Telgi was scheduled to be produced before the special court in Bangalore on May 15, the Yerawada prison officials sent a letter to the special judge hearing the case citing their inability to produce the Telgi due to non-availability of sufficient policemen to shift him to Bangalore safely.

In view of Yerawada prison officials request for grant of more time, the special court adjourned the hearing to June 2.

The special court in Bangalore was hearing the cases relating to the multi-billion rupee stamp paper scandal through video conferencing facility installed at Yerawada prison so far, the authorities had decided to shift him to Bangalore after the video conferencing facility failed.

Telgi’s lawyers told reporters that the video conferencing facility installed at Yerawada prison has been disrupted after the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the service provider, disconnected ISDN line for video conferencing for non payment of Rs 400,000 service charges.

In view of the connectivity problems, at Yerawada jail the special court in Bangalore directed the Pune prison authorities to physically produce Telgi before it to proceed with the cases that have reached final stages.

The Yerawada prison authorities had already intimated the CBI and Parappana Agrahara Centrail Jail in Bangalore that they are unable to shift Telgi until May 21 in view of the shortage of escort policemen.

Yeddyurappa in the dock for invoking Rama’s name

The Election Commission booked a criminal case against BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate in ensuing assembly polls in Karnataka for violating the model code of conduct by invoking the name of Lord Rama during the election campaign.

A criminal case against Yeddyurappa was booked after Congress party’s spokesperson V S Ugrappa lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka M N Vidyashankar seeking action against the BJP leader for hurting the religious sentiments of the people by invoking the name of Lord Rama while campaigning in Koppal in north Karnataka.

According to the complaint, Yeddyurappa had allegedly sought to promote enmity between voters of different community by symbolizing the BJP as a party of Sri Rama and Congress as a party of Ravana, who is portrayed as a villain in the mythological epic Ramayana.

Taking serious exception to the Congress party’s description in “crude religious idioms”, the Congress sought suspension of Yeddyurappa from campaigning and barred from contesting the elections.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Bangalore sent the complaint to the Electin Commission office in New Delhi for appropriate action. Based on the directions of the Election Commission, the Returning Officer of Koppal assembly constituency filed a criminal case against Yeddyurappa.

The Election Commission’s directions to book Yeddyurappa for alleged violation of model code of conduct comes ahead of the second phase of polling in Karnataka assembly polls scheduled for May 16.

Shoot orders issued in naxal-hit areas of Karnataka

The Karnataka police has issued shoot-at-sight orders in naxal-infested areas of the state if the Maoists attempted to disrupt the poll process during the second round of assembly polls scheduled for May 16.

The shoot-at-sight orders come in the wake of calls by naxal groups operating out of the forests in the Western Ghats region of the state to boycott the elections. Pamphlets and handbills had surfaced in several areas around Kudremukh National Forests and Sringeri in Malnad region of the state during the last one week appealing to people to stay away from the poll process.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Shankar Bidri told reporters that police and security forces deployed for duty have been given orders to open fire, if necessary, in the event of naxals trying to disrupt the process of polling on Friday.

A 16,000-strong force of security personnel comprising paramilitary forces had been deployed in the naxal-infested districts of Udupi, Shimoga and Chikmagalur, he said.

Bidri said the district administration in the naxal-hit areas have also been told to initiate stringent action against persons trying to disturb the poll process.

The naxal-infested areas of Karnataka will be part of the 66 assembly constituencies in central and coastal parts of the state that will be going to polls during the second phase of elections on Friday.

Exiting Bangalore airport to close down

With the new Bangalore International Airport near here all set to begin commercial operations by the end of this month, the Federal Government is understood to have decided to close down the existing HAL airport in the City.

A decision to this effect was taken at a recent meeting held in New Delhi between senior officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), a private consortium that has developed the Greenfield airport at Devanahalli, about 35 kms from Bangalore.

According to information reaching here, Secretary of the Civil Aviation Ministry Ashok Chawla told reporters after the meeting that the BIAL rejected the Government’s proposal to keep both the airports operational. “They are not agreeable to the proposition”, Chawla said.

The meeting between BIAL representatives and senior officials of Civil Aviation Ministry was held in the light of a court directive to carry out renegotiations on the agreement in an effort to keep the existing HAL airport operational in view of the popular demand.

“We discussed with BIAL and other stakeholders the best arrangement possible after the new airport opens. BIAL was not agreeable to continuing the use of HAL airport. As of now, it seems that the HAL airport will close for commercial operations when the new airport opens”, Chawla said.

Meanwhile, the new international airport at Devanahalli is all set to begin commercial operations by the end of this month. Though the exact date of launch of air services from the new airport is not finalized in view of the ensuing elections in Karnataka, Chawla said the new international airport will start functioning from “this month-end”.

Four persons of a family drown in lake near Bangalore

In a tragic incident, four persons of a family died after drowning in a lake in Anekal on the outskirts of Bangalore yesterday.

Police said Rafeeq, a mechanic residing in Tannery Road in Bangalore, had been to the lake along with his wife Ayesha and young sons Wasim and Imran.

After the family had their lunch on the banks of lake, Wasim and Imran stepped into the waters to beat the summer heat. As they waded deeper into the lake, they began drowning and shouted for help.

Their father, who was also on the bank of the lake, jumped into the waters to save his drowning children. Their mother Ayesha also followed suit. But, they were neither able to save their children from drowning nor could they save their own lives.

“All the four members of the family were drowned in the lake”, police said.

Locals said the lake had become a veritable death trap in view of the number of instances of drowning in the last couple of months. The brick manufacturers remove large chunks of earth, measuring upto 20 feet from the lake, which made its depth uneven. People, who step into the lake, are drowned when they reach the parts of the lake, where earth had been excavated, according to local villagers.

Exit polls give split verdict

Two different exit polls on the first phase of assembly elections in Karnataka held on Saturday gave a split verdict.

If the exit poll conducted by market research group C-Fore for Suvarna News showed Congress securing 39-42 seats against the BJP’s 24-27 and the JD (S) 20-23, the exit poll conducted by IMRB for NDTV put BJP on top with 31 seats closely followed by JD (S) with 30 seats and Congress securing 23 seats.

Both the market research groups carried out an exit poll on the 89 assembly constituencies, which went to polls in Karnataka on Saturday.

According C-fore findings for Suvarna News, a channel belonging to Asianet group, the result of the exit polls for 28 seats in Bangalore showed Congress and BJP securing an almost identical number of seats with each party bagging 13-14 seats. The JD (S) was shown to be winning in one seat while the remaining one seat went to others.

In the rest of the state, which went to polls on Saturday, Congress was predicted to win between 26-18 seats while the BJP was expected to win 11-13 seats. The JD (S) was shown to be winning in 20-22 seats.

But, the exit polls conducted by IMRB for NDTV showed the saffron party winning 14 out of the 28 seats in Bangalore, leaving 10 seats for the Congress. Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s JD (S) came a distant third with just four seats.

According to IMRB’s findings for the rest of Karnataka, BJP was winning 17 seats against the Congress party’s 13. The JD (S) was predicted to win 26 seats.

However, notwithstanding the outcome of the exit polls, which clearly indicates that the ensuing assembly elections will once again throw up a hung assembly, all the three major political parties are claiming that they will secure a majority and form a Government on their own.

EC notice to Shinde for promising power project to Karnataka

Federal Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde is finding himself in a bind after the Election Commission slapped him with a notice for violating the election code of conduct by promising to sanction a major power project to Karnataka if the Congress is voted to power in the ensuing assembly elections.

Hours after Shinde announced at a press conference in Bangalore on Saturday that the Federal Government would sanction a 4,000 mega watt project to Karnataka if the Congress comes to power, State Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar termed the Federal Minister’s assurance as a “clear case of violation of the model code of conduct”.

Vidyashankar said the Election Commission has sent a notice to the Congress party office in Bangalore, where Shinde made the statement. “He has been asked to reply within 48 hours. We will initiate action after he replies”, Vidyashankar said adding that the Federal Minister’s statement was a violation of Section 126 of Representation of People’s Act 1951.

However, Shinde told reporters on Sunday that has not yet received the Election Commission’s notice. “I will send my reply soon after I receive the notice”, he told reporters yesterday.

Shinde said he had no intention to violate the election code of conduct by making the statement. The assurance to sanction a major power project to Karnataka was made in the light of the delay in the execution of the 4,000 Tadadi project in Uttara Kannada on account of environmental concerns.

Also, the erstwhile coalition Government of JD (S)-BJP had dragged its feet on the issue. While the mega power projects in the rest of south Indian states were being executed briskly, the power projects in Karnataka had been delayed. “My statement had been made in this context”, he said.

Karnataka elections: Polling for first phase today

The first phase of polling covering a total of 89 out of 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka will be held across eleven districts of the state today.

An estimated 17.3 million will decide the political fortunes of 950 candidates in the fray for the first phase of polling covering the southern region of the state historically known as old Mysore region.

Voters will exercise their franchise through electronic voting machines (EVMs) between 9 am and 5 pm at the 18,562 polling booths.

The second and third phases of the assembly elections will be held on May 16 and 22, covering central and northern parts of Karnataka.

The Election Commission has drafted more than 100,000 polling officials, besides 55,000 security personnel to ensure a “free and fair” polls in the eleven districts including Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Mysore, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Hassan, Tumkur, Kolar, Ramanagara and Chikkaballapur districts.

The stakes are high for the Congress in the first phase of polls in Old Mysore region as a majority of the pre-poll surveys had predicted the grand old party to fare better than its rivals BJP and JD (S). The outcome of the polls in the region holds the key to the Congress party’s prospects of forming the next Government.

Former Chief Minister S M Krishna, who is the chairman of the Congress party’s campaign committee, expressed confidence of coming back to power in the state.

Krishna, who returned to his native Maddur in Mandya district after a gruelling campaign to cast his vote during Saturday’s polling, said the first phase of polling was crucial for the party to secure a decisive mandate.

Notwithstanding the disappointing pre-poll predictions, the BJP is making a determined bid to win the elections. “Our internal survey suggests that the party will win anywhere between 119 to 129 constituencies out of the 224 assembly seats”, said senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu.

Election Commission puts BMIC work on hold

After the erstwhile H D Kumaraswamy Government in Karnataka, it is now the turn of Election Commission of India to throw a spanner into the work on the controversial Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC).

Taking serious note of the decision taken by the Executive Committee of the State Government headed by Governor Rameshwar Thakur to reverse an August 2007 of the H D Kumaraswamy Government to stop Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) from executing the project, the Election Commission has directed the State Government to suspend its decision till May 28.

The Election Commission’s decision comes in the wake of a complaint that the State Government had violated the election code of conduct.

“Permitting NICE to continue work on the BMIC project is a major policy decision and the Election Commission considers the Government’s act as a violation of the code of conduct. The State Government has been asked to cancel that particular decision and not take any further decision till May 28”, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami told reporters in Mangalore after holding a review meeting ahead of the assembly polls scheduled to be held on May 10, 16 and 22 in Karnataka.

The Governor’s Executive Committee had on April 28 overturned the H D Kumaraswamy Government’s decision to leave NICE out of the mega infrastructure project and invite fresh bids in a global tender.

Meanwhile, Governor Rameshwar Thakur’s advisor S Krishna Kumar told reporters that the Government will follow the directions issued by the Chief Election Commissioner on the BMIC project, which envisages construction of a state-of-the-art expressway between Bangalore and Mysore, besides five townships enroute.

Sabeel Ahmed returns to Bangalore

Indian doctor Sabeel Ahmed, who had been held in United Kingdom in connection with the failed Glasgow terror attack, arrived in Bangalore in the early hours of Thursday.

He arrived in Bangalore at 3.45 am IST by the British Airways flight escorted by three Scotland Yard detectives and was whisked away by the security personnel through a rear exit.

Sabeel, 28, was received by his mother Zakia Ahmed at the airport and driven away to his residence Banashankari in Bangalore after giving the waiting media personnel a slip. The media personnel could barely catch a glimpse of Sabeel, sporting a beard, seated in the backseat, as the car sped away.

However, Zakia Ahmed told reporters told reporters at their residence that she was happy to see her son back home and did not wish anyone to disturb him. “He is tired after the journey and has gone to sleep”, said Zakia Ahmed, who is a retired professor of medicine.

Zakia Ahmed also told the waiting media personnel that Sabeel was reluctant to speak to the media representatives. “I will try my best to convince him to speak to the media. But, it will take some time. Let him settle down first”, she said.

However, she said Sabeel’s return was an emotional one for her. Though Sabeel did not cry, Zakia Ahmed admitted that tears had rolled down her cheeks when he son wished her on his return. “Anybody can understand a mother’s feeling”, she said.

Sabeel’s return to Bangalore has been facilitated by a direction from a London court release him from custody and deport him to India as he had not been found guilty of any terror act in United Kingdom.

Sabeel, who had already spent 270 days in custody after his arrest from Liverpool on June 30, 2007, had been charged with withholding information about the planned car bomb attack at Glasgow airport.

Sabeel, who is working as a doctor in northwest England, is the younger brother of Kafeel Ahmed, an engineer, who drove a jeep filled with propane canisters into the airport in the failed terror strike. Though the burning vehicle failed to break through the glass doors, Kafeel died in a hospital due to 90 per cent burn injuries.

Manmohan confident of taming inflation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed confidence of taming inflation in the coming months.

Delivering a speech at a function organized by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in Bangalore yesterday, Singh said he was satisfied with the measures taken by his Government to bring the rising inflation in the country to reasonable levels.

“I am satisfied and confident that we will tame inflation in the coming months and bring it back to reasonable levels”, Singh said addressing the gathering.

Singh’s assurance to contain inflation comes ahead of the assembly elections in Karnataka polling for which is scheduled to be held on May 10, 16 and 22.

Acknowledging the concerns over rising inflation in the country, Singh sought to lend a global dimension to the crisis and pointed to the rising price of oil. “Oil prices, which were around US $ 35 a barrel during 2004, had now touched US $ 120. International prices of food grains and commodities too had risen substantially”, he said.

The Prime Minister said his Government has made efforts to shield the poor from the impact of rising inflation. He said the Government had not touched the price of rice and wheat supplied through the public distribution system to the poor. At the same time, the support price for wheat and rice given to farmers has doubled.

“This year, we hope to have a bumper crop and the procurement has been excellent”, he said.

Although inflation went up, Manmohan Singh said, his Government had delivered outstanding growth that has touched every section of the society. “On the economic front, inspite of recent worries on inflation, our record has been a stellar one”, he said.

BJP offers Cabinet berth to a Muslim if voted to power

In a desperate bid to woo the minority community voters, BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate in Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa promised to provide a Cabinet berth to a Muslim if the party is voted to power in the coming Assembly elections in the State.

Participating in a function organised to mark the entry into the BJP of three Samajwadi party candidates, who had retired from the fray in constituencies in Bangalore yesterday, Yeddyurappa claimed that minorities too were supporting the BJP in the elections along with dalits and backward castes.

Instead of allowing themselves to be used as a vote bank by the Congress party, Yeddyurappa said Muslims should come forward and support the BJP in the interest of good governance and development.

Yeddyurappa’s promise of a cabinet berth to a Muslim comes after the party came under criticism from various quarters for not fielding even a single Muslim candidate in any of the 224 assembly constituencies in the State. Also, the BJP does not have any members belonging to the Muslim community in the State Legislative Council.

Though the party had not fielded any Muslim candidates in the assembly elections, Yeddyurappa claimed that he had made a huge budgetary allocation for minority welfare when he held the Finance portfolio in the erstwhile H D Kumaraswamy-led JD (S)-BJP coalition Government.

The BJP had invited the wrath of its own party MP H T Sangliana for its failure to field candidates from the minority community in the ensuing elections. Sangliana, a retired cop, who represents the Bangalore North Lok Sabha seat, has even threatened to resign from the party after the results of the elections are announced.

Gowda rolls out manifesto with promises galore

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has rolled out a populist election manifesto of the JD (S) that promises a complete loan waiver for the farmers, besides free medical insurance and free cooking gas to people below poverty line in the state.

The 16-page manifesto released by Gowda in Bangalore on Monday promises to relieve farmers from all debts. “Not only farm loans, but also housing loans obtained by farmers and other marginalized sections like village craftsmen and lower income groups will be written off if the JD (S) comes to power in the coming assembly polls”, Gowda declared.

All the people below poverty line in the state will receive free medical treatment upto Rs 200,000, besides a gas stove and cooking gas connections to their houses.

With an eye on the minority vote bank, the “please all” manifesto promises to set up a special purpose vehicle to implement the recommendations of the Sachar Committee report on minority welfare.

The JD (S) patriarch said the party is committed to finding a solution to the Bababudangiri dispute on the lines of Hubli Eidgah Maidan issue and ensure compulsory appointment of police officers belonging to minority community in communally sensitive areas.

Playing the regional card, Gowda said his party, if voted to power, would reserve 30 per cent of jobs in Information Technology (IT) and Bio Technology (BT) companies in the state.

He also promised monthly pension to senior farmers above the age of 70 years and the priests of Mosques, who had retired from service.

Instead of providing dole to unemployed youths, the JD (S) will provide Government guarantee to these youth to avail of bank loans so they can start their own small businesses. “We don’t want to spoil the youth by giving them unemployment dole. Instead, we will provide them with loans so that they can be self-reliant”, he said.

Interestingly, the JD (S) has not promised free power like the Congress and BJP. “We will not make false promises. We will provide quality power at a cheaper rate”.

Gowda has also promised to transform Bangalore into a Shanghai or Beijing by encouraging high rise structures to ease pressure on ever-shrinking land for construction of houses. “Roads will be broadened, multi-level flyovers, underpasses, footpaths and underground train will be taken up on a priority basis”, Gowda promised.

Six persons committing suicide in Bangalore everyday

If the alarming trend of suicides in Bangalore is any indication, the Silicon Valley of India could well emerge the suicide capital of the country by recording an average of six suicides every day.

According to National Crime Records Bureau, Bangalore recorded a total of 2,430 suicides during the calendar year 2007 out of which 1,575 were men and 855 were women.

Shockingly, the suicide spree appears to be only continuing with the first two months of 2008 – January and February - accounting for a total of 404 suicides in Bangalore with 262 being men and 142 women.

Suicides had been showing an upward trend since 2005 when an average of four persons were committing suicide in Bangalore every day. During 2006, the figure went up to five per day and rose further to more than six per day during 2007.

During the last few weeks, Bangalore had seen a spate of suicides including the one of 30-year-old software engineer Amit Budhiraj, who hanged himself after smothering his wife to death. Several students have also ended their lives after faring badly in the examinations.

Masks of political leaders replace hoardings in Karnataka polls

With the Election Commission banning the display of hoardings, posters and cut-outs in the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka, the supporters of various political parties have started sporting masks of their leaders in a bid to woo the voters.

Party workers marching through the lanes and by-lanes wearing masks of Congress, BJP and JD (S) leaders during their campaign has become a common sight in the state, where polling is scheduled to be held on May 10, 16 and 22.

Though the masks had been worn even during previous elections, the concept appears to be making more sense in the ensuing polls what with Election Commission going about booking parties and candidates under the Anti Defacement Law for displaying hoardings, banners and posters.

Masks of star campaigners of political parties like S M Krishna, B S Yeddyurappa, H D Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah are commonly found all over the state.

The masks are also coming in handy for candidates, who are unable to bring the star campaigners of their party to their respective constituencies. “Several voters would like to see how our leader looks like. By wearing a mask, we are able to show them a glimpse of our leader”, a political activist said.

Several thousands of masks of various political party leaders are already in circulation and the demand for more such masks is increasing as the poll date arrives nearer.

The demand for masks has also helped save the printers from the financial mess they had landed after the Election Commission banned hoardings, banners, posters and cut-outs. The printers, who had specially bought new machineries to cater to the political parties demand for publicity material, had now deployed their equipment to print masks.

A printer in Bangalore, who had already sold over 10,000 masks at Rs 10 a piece, said he is being flooded with fresh orders almost every day.

BJP seeks ban on pre-poll surveys

Stung by the adverse publicity arising out of the findings of a recent pre-poll survey that projected a simple majority for the Congress party in the ensuing Assembly polls, BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has urged the Election Commission to ban such opinion polls carried out by the media.

Yeddyurappa, who has been projected as the BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate, said he would soon write a letter to the Election Commission seeking a ban on pre-poll surveys carried out by the media.

Speaking to reporters in Udupi in coastal Karnataka on Sunday, Yeddyurappa lashed out at the recent pre-poll survey that projected a rout for the BJP in the ensuing Assembly elections in Karnataka. “Such surveys are totally biased and baseless. They lack credibility and were unscientific”, he said.

Claiming that the forecasts of pre-poll surveys had been proved wrong on earlier occasions, Yeddyurappa said the predictions of such opinion polls “mislead” the people and create confusion in the minds of the people. “I don’t believe such forecasts even if they are in favour of BJP”, he said.

He pointed out that he had been touring the state extensively over the last two months and had claimed that the response of the people was “overwhelming and much above the BJP’s expectations”.

“Our party will definitely bag a majority of the seats in the state and form the Government. The people need not have to bother or give credence to such pre-poll predictions”, he said.

Yeddyurappa’s demand for ban on pre-poll surveys comes in the wake of CNN-IBN-Deccan Herald opinion poll predicting 114 seats for the Congress, 60 seats for the BJP and 37 seats for the JD (S) in the 224-member Karnataka assembly.

Yeddyurappa was also irked by the Election Commission’s decision to delete references to the Congress and Central Government in the television advertisement brought out by the BJP on the issue of price rise. He said the Election Commission was infringing upon the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.

EC censors BJP’s poll advertisement

The BJP is upset with the Election Commission for deleting references to “Congress” and “Central Government” in the party’s poll advertisements prepared for telecasting on television.

After receiving for clearance the BJP’s promotional advertisement containing a message in Kannada by senior party leader Sushma Swaraj on the price rise and inflation, the Election Commission electronically deleted the words “Congress” and “Central Government” and replaced them with beeps, much to the chagrin of the BJP leadership.

An angry BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters in Bangalore that the party would register its strong objection to the “inexplicable” act of the Election Commission. “We believe that inflation and escalating prices of daily necessities are of paramount issues before the country. How can the Election Commission prevent us from blaming the Congress and the Central Government for the price rise”, he questioned.

Though the video is being aired on Kannada television channels in the censored form with beeps in the place of Congress and Central Government, Jaitley said the BJP will challenge the Election Commission’s decision at an appropriate forum. The party has already sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy to register the party’s strong complaint.

“The Election Commission’s order that all references to Central Government and Congress be deleted as if they are unparliamentary expressions is unacceptable to us. Can we blame the local municipality for the price rise”, said Jaitley claiming that the Election Commission’s order violates Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution pertaining to Freedom of Speech

HIV afflicted patients in Karnataka poll fray

Two patients suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have entered the poll fray from Gulbarga in the ensuing elections to Karnataka assembly.

Jagannath, 43, and Mahantha Gowda, 40, both of whom have been suffering from HIV for more than decade now, have decided to take a plunge into electoral politics after finding the Government apathetic to the woes of HIV and AIDS patients.

While Jagannath has filed his nomination papers from Gulbarga South Assembly constituency, which is home to more than 15,000 HIV patients, Gowda has thrown his hat in the electoral ring of Gulbarga district’s Shahpur assembly segment, where an estimated 10,000 HIV patients reside.

Jagannath and Gowda are activists of Divya Jeevana Trust, a Gulbarga-based NGO working for the welfare of HIV patients. After their efforts to secure tickets from mainstream political parties failed, they filed their nomination papers as independent candidates on Saturday.

“There is no one to hear our problems. Nobody raises our issues in the Legislative Assembly. So, we decided to contest the polls”, said Jagannath.

Karnataka is estimated to have about 500,000 persons with HIV and Gulbarga is reckoned to be a high AIDS-prevalent region in the State. Health infrastructure in the region is very poor and many hospitals do not have basic facilities, let alone equipments and treatment needed to address sex-related diseases.

The Divya Jeevana Trust, which has more than 1,600 people on its rolls, is backing the two candidates. “People living with HIV are the victims of stigma and discrimination by the society and even by their own kith and kin. Their entry will boost the confidence of people suffering from HIV”, Trust’s President Malappa Poojari said.

Liquor flowing into election-bound Karnataka - officials

With a large quantity of illegal liquor manufactured in different parts of the country beginning to make its way into election-bound Karnataka, the Excise Department officials have been forced to mount an eagle-eyed vigil against its sale and distribution to woo the voters ahead of the polls scheduled to be held later this month.

Ever since the elections were announced, the Excise Department officials have seized more than 50,000 litres of illegal liquor from various parts of the State and confiscated a total of 68 vehicles.

According to Excise Department officials, the bulk of the seizure accounts for Indian Manufactured Liquor (IML) transported to Karnataka from manufacturing units outside the State. “We have seized a total of 45,912 litres of Indian Manufactured Liquor (IML), 3,980 litres of toddy and 280 litres of arrack. We have also arrested 251 persons and booked a total of 328 cases so far”, an official said.

The Excise Department, which has constituted special squads comprising officials from the police and revenue department as well, are maintaining a tight vigil particularly on the state and national highways.

“We have seized huge quantities of illegal liquor in many places including Bangalore, Hassan, Ramanagaram, Belgaum and Tumkur. And in most of the seizures, we have realized that the suppliers are from outside the state. The seized liquor bears the names of manufacturers in north Indian states including Madhya Pradesh, besides Goa and Daman and Diu”, the official said.

“Elections are being held only in Karnataka now. The liquor manufacturers from different parts of the country are transporting the liquor to Karnataka illegally due to the spurt in the demand in view of the elections. The manufacturers are trying to earn big money by sending truckloads of liquor to Karnataka”, the official added.

The specially-constituted squads are conducting raids after receiving information and also on suspicion before seizing the liquor.

The three-phased polls for assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled to be held on May 10, 16 and 22.

Karnataka polls to have bearing on timing of Lok Sabha elections - Advani

Lending a national dimension to the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka, BJP leader L K Advani said the outcome of the polls would dictate the timing of the next elections to the Lok Sabha.

Addressing a rally at Anekal near Bangalore on Friday, Advani said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which was toying with the idea of opting for early polls to the Lok Sabha, would not dare to advance the election dates if the BJP secures a clear mandate in Karnataka.

“The UPA Government at the Centre would not dare to hold early elections to the Lok Sabha if the BJP secures a clear mandate in Karnataka. In that case, the Lok Sabha elections will be held only during April-May 2009 when they are actually due”, he said.

Advani said a favourable verdict for the BJP in Karnataka would prolong the tenure of Manmohan Singh-led Government. “I want this UPA Government to continue till 2009 so that the anger of the people against the Government for the price rise and galloping inflation also increases”, he said.

The price rise in the country was having a negative impact on the lives of a large number of poor and middle class families, who have either stopped buying food grains or opting for poor quality food grains. The Government, which is doing little to arrest the price rise, is wary of the people’s anger that is bound to only increase by the time Lok Sabha polls are due. “Hence, they are planning to hold early polls and minimize its impact on the polls”, he said.

Supreme Court reserves verdict on Shakereh murder case

The fate of self-styled godman Swamy Shraddhananda found guilty of killing his wife Shakereh, the grand daughter of late Dewan of Mysore Sir Mirza Ismail, hung in balance as the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on sending him to the gallows or sentencing him to a life term.

After hours of deliberations over the matter, spanning more than seven days, the three-judge bench of the Apex Court hearing the case decided to reserve the order and pronounce it at a later date. “The order is reserved and would be pronounced later”, said the bench comprising Justices B N Agarwal, G S Singhvi and Aftab Alam on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Karnataka Government counsel Sanjay Hegde pleaded before the bench that Shraddhananda should be given capital punishment as he had killed his wife in a most diabolical manner 17 years ago.

Shakereh, who had divorced former diplomat Akbar Khaleeli in 1985 after 21 years of marriage, had married Swamy Shraddhananda in 1986 as she was keen to bear a male child. When Shakereh found that she could not bear a male child, she was about the break the marriage with Shraddhananda five years later in 1991.

Shraddhananda, who had realized this, devised a plan to kill his wife, who had already executed a general power of attorney in his favour. “Had the marriage broken, Shraddhananda would have been reduced to a pauper”, Hegde said.

Hence, the self-styled godman administered sleeping pills to her and buried her alive in a pit dug up in her bungalow in Richmond Town in Bangalore. “After murdering her in cold blood, he went on to live in luxury as if nothing had happened”, the counsel said arguing in favour of death penalty for the “rarest of rare” case.

The gruesome crime had come to light only a year later when her daughter from the first marriage Sabah Khaleeli lodged a complaint with the police, which on suspicion dug up the pit in the bungalow and exhumed the skeletal remains of her body.

Shraddhananda’s counsel U U Lalit submitted that his client, who is already 72 years old, may be handed down life imprisonment.

The conviction of Shraddhananda is already a settled issue as the Supreme Court in its May 2007 judgement found little difficulty in proclaiming him guilty for the crime. But, the Court had given a split verdict with Justice S B Sinha awarding him life imprisonment and Justice Markandeya Katju confirming the death sentence awarded by the trial court and the Karnataka High Court.

Mob goes berserk after bus crushes 3-year-old

Traffic on the busy Bangalore-Mysore road was blocked by an angry mob after a bus belonging to the state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) crushed a three-year-old girl on Thursday.

When the killer BMTC bus knocked down a two-wheeler driven by Rashid Jamal on the outskirts of Bangalore, the girl Fathima, who was sitting on her mother’s lap fell on the road, came under the wheels of the bus and died instantly. The family was returning home after shopping at the City Market when the tragedy took place.

Soon a crowd gathered at the accident spot and began stoning the bus even as the bus driver and conducted managed to flee. The irate mob brought vehicular movement on the road to a halt in protest against the negligence of the BMTC bus driver.

The police had to rush additional personnel to the troubled spot and cane the mob, which had started to resort to violence. Later, the driver was arrested and produced before the court.

The deceased girl Fathima happened to be the adopted child of Rashid Jamal, an employee with a private firm, and his wife, who did not have any children. “After going without any children for eight years, the traumatized couple opted to adopt a girl child. But, fate has snatched even her away from them”, a relative of the couple told reporters.

Congress loses assembly seat even before polls

In a bizarre turn of events, the Congress party has lost the Davangere north assembly seat even before the first vote is cast in the ensuing assembly elections in Karnataka.

The Returning Officer of the constituency rejected the nomination papers of two candidates who had filed their nomination papers as Congress candidates on “technical grounds”.

S Mallikarjun and Syed Saifullah had both filed their nomination papers in anticipation of the Congress party’s B form. The party leadership delayed the finalization of its official choice till the last date and rushed the B form issued in the name of Saifullah through a helicopter on Tuesday, the last date for filing nominations.

But, Mallikarjun’s supporters, who went on a rampage targetting buses and damaging bus shelters, gathered in large numbers at the helipad and even tried to snatch the bag containing the B form from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) member Manjunath Bhandari.

According to Saifullah, Manjunath’s supporters snatched the B form away, scratched Saifullah’s name and wrote Mallikarjun’s name and presented it to the Returning Officer.

But, during scrutiny of nomination papers taken up the next day, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of Mallikarjun as well as Saifullah as they were “defective”.

The Returning Officer Panduranga said Mallikarjun’s nomination paper was accompanied by a “tampered” B form while Saifullah’s did not contain the B form. “Hence, both the nominations have been rejected”, he said, leaving the Congress party in an embarrassing situation.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has decided to hold in inquiry into the matter. “We have already ordered an inquiry into the issue. After receiving the report, action will be taken”, said All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in charge of Karnataka affairs Prithviraj Chavan.

He contests elections only to lose’

Having lost 89 elections on a trot so far, a private medical practitioner has entered the electoral fray from Shikaripura assembly constituency in Karnataka’s Shimoga district only to lose and improve his rather unenviable record of the “most unsuccessful candidate in the elections”.

A native of Salem district in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, K Padmarajan has already been adjudged as the “most unsuccessful candidate in elections” by the Limca Book of Records. Now, he wants to improve his tally of electoral defeats and make it to the Guinness Book of World Records.

Padmarajan may not find it difficult to lose the ensuing polls. For, he is pitted against two former Chief Ministers – BJP’s B S Yeddyurappa and Samajwadi Party’s S Bangarappa , both of whom enjoy a large following in the constituency.

Padmarajan also has the distinction of contesting against several former Prime Ministers including late P V Narasimha Rao for Nandyal Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh during 1991 and Atal Behari Vajpayee for Lucknow Parliamentary seat during the 2004 polls.

He has also taken on former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha and M Karunanidhi during the Assembly elections held in Tamil Nadu.

A homeopath, who offers free medicines to the poor, Padmarajan carefully chooses his opponent in the elections so that his string of “losses” is not interrupted.

When Shikaripura assembly elections emerged as a battle ground for two political titans – Yeddyurappa and Bangarappa – Padmarajan lost to no time to file his nomination papers. Incidentally, he was the first candidate to file his nomination papers from Shikaripura assembly constituency.

Pre-poll survey predicts victory for Congress in Karnataka elections

A pre-poll survey has shown Congress party to be ahead in the race to form the next Government in Karnataka, leaving the BJP and JD (S) way behind.

According to a pre-poll survey carried out by Centre for Developing Studies for CNN-IBN and Deccan Herald, the Congress party has been projected to win 114 seats in the 224-member assembly, notching up a “slender, but clear majority” in the elections scheduled to take place in May.

The opinion poll has predicted a major setback to the BJP, which is hoping to capture power in the state, by projecting 60 seats to the party, a decline of 19 seats from the 79 the saffron party won during the 2004 assembly polls.

Similiarly, the Janata Dal (S) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda is shown to be winning only 37 seats, 21 short of its tally during the 2004 elections.

The pre-poll survey asked 5,124 registered voters across the state to use a dummy “secret” ballot to indicate their voting preference if “elections were to take place tomorrow”.

A count of the dummy votes had apparently shown that if the elections were held in the week before nominations, the Congress would have secured 39 per cent of the popular votes, leaving the BJP and JD (S) way behind at 28 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

With just 2 per cent of the popular vote, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not yet emerged as a significant player in Karnataka. The JD (U) was placed even lower, struggling to register its presence.

Even though the Congress is leading the race as the most popular political party, the most favoured choice of the voters as the next Chief Minister went to BJP’s B S Yeddyurappa, who secured 27 per cent of the votes.

Yeddyurappa was closely followed by JD (S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who was preferred by 22 per cent of the voters. Congress leader and former Chief Minister S M Krishna came third with 16 per cent of votes.

However, the Karnataka unit of the BJP has rejected the pre-poll survey as “off the mark and totally away from reality”.

Speaking to reporters in Bangalore yesterday, former Federal Minister and BJP leader Ananthakumar said asserted the BJP will form a majority on its own in the next elections and form a Government on its own.

“Any survey should be realistic and reflect ground realities”, he said claiming that the surveying agency did not have a good track record of making accurate pre-poll predictions.

BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda also rejected the survey report and termed it as “premature conclusion”.

Bangalore international airport to start operations in May-end

The new Bangalore international airport at Devanahalli, about 35 kms from here, will become operational in the last week of May.

According to information reaching here, a decision to launching air services from the newly constructed Bangalore international airport from May end was taken at a meeting of Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, senior officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Though the airport was originally scheduled to begin commercial operations on March 30, the launch date was put off to May 11. Now, the authorities have decided to postpone the date further to last week of May.

Tuesday’s meeting in New Delhi was held in the wake of Karnataka High Court’s direction to renegotiate the concession agreement between the Government and the BIAL on levy of User Development Fee (UDF) and explore the possibility of retaining the existing HAL airport in Bangalore.

Praful Patel is reported to have told reporters that there were legal issues, contractual obligations and complexities involved in the matter. “We have discussed all that. No decision has been taken, but the new Bangalore airport at Devanahalli will be made operational in the last week of May. We will meet again on May 12 to examine various aspects”, he said.

Patel said the Civil Aviation Ministry officials had given BIAL, operators of the new airport, various options including allowing aircraft less than 80 seaters to operate out of the existing HAL airport for short-haul flights.

Meanwhile, BIAL in a statement said that it had insisted on the importance of having a single aviation platform. “We have taken note of the suggestions made by the Ministry and exchanged our views on the importance of having a single aviation platform”, the statement said.

BIAL also said that it had offered to waive UDF for embarking domestic passengers for a period of three months after the new airport opens, but would levy Rs 955 plus taxes for every embarking international passenger.