Ajith Athrady, DHNS, New Delhi, MAY 11 2022

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said Defence Ministry has agreed to transfer about 700 acres of grassland in Belagavi to the State Government. The CM, who was in Delhi, held a meeting with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and requested him to handover grassland. “The State government plans to develop an IT Park in Belagavi. The State government needs this land for the IT Park. So we have requested the Defence ministry to hand over the land. Rajnath Singh has responded positively and has stated that he would discuss the issue with concerned officials and take a decision,” Bommai said.

Bommai confirms Karnataka to take ordinance route for anti-conversion law, Cabinet decision today

Bharath Joshi, DHNS, Bengaluru, MAY 12 2022

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said his Cabinet will today decide on promulgating an ordinance to give effect to a controversial law against religious conversions.The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly in December last year. It is pending passage in the Legislative Council, where the ruling BJP is one short of majority. “Because the Assembly and Council got prorogued, we are placing a proposal to promulgate an ordinance in the Cabinet today,” Bommai told reporters. The bill proposes imprisonment of 3 to 5 years with a fine of Rs 25,000 for ‘forced’ conversion. Converting a minor, woman or an SC/ST person will attract a jail term of 3 to 10 years, with a Rs 50,000 fine. Mass conversions will attract 3-10 years of jail time, with a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. Under the proposed law, any person wanting to convert into another religion must intimate the authorities one month in advance. Karnataka will become the ninth state to enact the anti-conversion law.

OBC quota

Bommai said he will chair a meeting today with the law minister, the advocate-general and others. “There are two SC judgements before us. We’ve already appointed a commission to provide political reservations to backward classes. Also, the leader of the Opposition has written a letter. All this will be examined in detail,” Bommai said. “There are many options. Madhya Pradesh, in its review petition, has said that they, too, have constituted a commission. We’re observing this,” he said. Last week, the government constituted a panel under Justice Bhaktavatsala to study the matter.

Karnataka SSLC Class 10 result 2022 date and time announced

All those students who had appeared for the class 10 board examinations can check their respective results at the official website

By: Express News Serivce | Gurgaon |

The Haryana Human Rights Commission on Friday recommended to the state government to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation to a custodial torture victim. “It is the responsibility of the state authorities to take care of all persons in custody. The police are empowered by the state to enforce laws and maintain public order. They do not have the right to take the law in their hands as they please,” the commission said. Observing that the “state is vicariously liable for the torturous acts of its employees”, the commission said that there is a deep concern at the growing incidences of custodial crimes occurring in different parts of the country. The commission said that it will be “open for the department to take any action after holding any further enquiry regarding violation of human rights against the other police officials named in the complaint.”The case pertains to an FIR registered against the complainant’s son under Sections 307, 324, 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Kherki Daula police station on October 4, 2020.

Cong-NCP rift widens, as Patole blows hot, Ajit, Jayant play cool

Patole’s broadside against the NCP further strained their relations which have been fraught in the backdrop of the Congress’s eroding support base vis-a-vis the NCP, with the latter carrying on with its bid to poach the grand old party’s leaders.

Written by Zeeshan Shaikh | Mumbai |

Even as the ruling Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra reels under the principal Opposition BJP’s relentless onslaught, the relations between the two key MVA constituents, the Congress and the NCP, continue to remain uneasy and fractious. This came into focus again this week when state Congress chief Nana Patole attacked the NCP over its “betrayal” by striking a “behind-the-scene” deal with the BJP in a Zilla Parishad poll. Patole’s broadside against the NCP further strained their relations which have been fraught in the backdrop of the Congress’s eroding support base vis-a-vis the NCP, with the latter carrying on with its bid to poach the grand old party’s leaders over the last few months. The current round of conflict between the two allies seemed to have stemmed from a “personal slight” felt by Patole, who failed to ensure the Congress’s victory in his own Gondia belt. It started in the wake of elections for selection of the president and vice-president of Gondia and Bhandara Parishads. In the 53-member Gondia Zilla Parishad, in which the BJP has 26 members, Congress 13, NCP 6, Janata ki Party 4, and Independents 2, the NCP’s local unit joined hands with the BJP to ensure the election of the saffron party’s Pankaj Rahangdale as the ZP president and the NCP’s Yashwant Gunvir as its vice-president. Rahangdale defeated the Congress’s Usha Mendhe, while Gunvir trounced Congress nominee Jitendra Katre. Crying foul over the NCP’s “betrayal” after the poll outcome, Patole charged that it has “stabbed Congress in the back”, adding that the Congress central leadership will be apprised about the Sharad Pawar-led party’s “machinations of the last two-and-a-half years” during the party’s Udaipur Chintan Shivir. He said, “An enemy attacking openly from the front is better than a dishonest alliance between two parties.” On its part, the NCP brushed aside the Gondia episode as a “local dispute”, with its minister and state unit president Jayant Patil calling Patole’s allegation “wrong”. Claiming that the NCP always wants that the three MVA allies should remain together, he said, “There may be some problem among local NCP and Congress leaders due to differences in opinions. We will look into its details.”

New PM Ranil Wickremesinghe says look forward to closer ties with India

PM Mahinda Rajapaksa Resignation Updates, Sri Lanka Crisis Live News, 13 May 2022: India has said it hopes for political stability in Sri Lanka, and said that its commitment to the people of the country will continue.

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi |

The newly-appointed Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said he looks forward to closer ties with India during his term and thanked India for its economic assistance to the country as it tackles the economic crisis. Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the 26th Prime Minister of the country on Thursday, replacing Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned amid widespread protests in the country. The High Commission of India in Colombo, welcomed Wickremesinghe, saying that it hopes for political stability and looks forward to working with the Government of Sri Lanka formed in accordance with democratic processes. “India’s commitment to the people of Sri Lanka will continue,” the High Commission said in a tweet.Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan court Thursday issued a travel ban on erstwhile prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his son Namal Rajapaksa and 15 others. Mahinda is currently under protection at the Trincomalee naval base. The Fort Magistrate’s Court barred them from travelling overseas due to the investigations taking place on the attacks on the GotaGoGama and MynaGoGama peaceful protest sites on Monday, Reuters quoted media reports as saying.

PM Awas house geotagged 5 times, last payment made week before bulldozer demolished it

First notice of encroachment sent only after 4 rounds of geotagging; officials say that was by ‘third agency’; Collector silent on why, how payments made

Written by Harikishan Sharma | New Delhi |

First notice of encroachment sent only after 4 rounds of geotagging; officials say that was by ‘third agency’; Collector silent on why, how payments made

Written by Harikishan Sharma | New Delhi |

“Our stand is very clear. It was an encroachment on government land and we have followed all due procedure and we have removed it.”

That’s Khargone District Collector Anugraha P to The Indian Express when asked about the April 11 demolition of Hasina Fakhroo’s house built under the Prime Minister Awas Yojna (Urban), as first highlighted in this newspaper. One month since the demolition, the claims of “due procedure” do not match what played out on the ground, reveals an investigation by The Indian Express of land records, tehsildar orders, bank statements and the sequence of events before the bulldozer rolled in on April 11. It shows that Hasina’s house was geotagged five times as per PMAY guidelines; its photos were uploaded at every key stage of construction, two featured the beneficiary (she and her son) standing at the door. Bank records show that Rs 2.5 lakh was paid, in instalments, into Hasina’s bank account at regular intervals over a year. In fact, it was only after four rounds of geotagging and the transfer of Rs 2 lakh to the beneficiary’s account, that the first notice of encroachment was issued to Hasina by the Nagar Tehsildar. She denied the charges and on March 10 this year, the Tehsildar court ordered her construction illegal. Yet, even after this order, a payment of Rs 50,000 was made to her account and Hasina’s house was demolished just four days — that included a weekend — after the second notice on April 7. This, she said, gave her no time to appeal against the order to the SDM or to the High Court. That the demolition happened the very next day after a communal clash in the neighbourhood, the administration claims, is mere coincidence. Ironically, another PM Awas Yojana House was damaged — this one belonging to Leela Bai Chhagan Lal, in stoning by a mob. But more of that later — the demolition is now the subject of a case in the Supreme Court.

B’luru acid attacker stays at TN ashram posing as a saint; arrested

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