Karnataka to set up 16 varsities, 34 institutions in 3 years

New Delhi: Social media giant Meta is set to get a summons from a Parliamentary Standing Committee over its boss Mark Zuckerberg's remark on the 2024 Indian general election. Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP and chairman of the House panel on Communication and Information Technology, said Meta would be summoned on grounds of spreading misinformation.

"Misinformation on a democratic country maligns its image. The organisation would have to apologise to the Parliament and the people here for this mistake," Mr Dubey said in a post on X.

In a podcast on January 10, the 40-year-old Facebook co-founder said the Covid pandemic had led to an erosion of trust in incumbent governments the world over. He incorrectly cited India's example in this connection. "2024 was a very big election year around the world and all these countries, India, had elections. The incumbents basically lost every single one. There is some sort of a global phenomenon - whether it was because of inflation or the economic policies to deal with Covid or just how the governments dealt with Covid. It seems to have had this effect that's global," he said.

Soon after, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw fact-checked Zuckerberg's remark and said the people of India had reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha election held last year.

"As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in NDA led by PM @narendramodi Ji's leadership. Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID is factually incorrect," Mr Vaishnaw, who handles portfolios of Railways, Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology in the Modi 3.0 government, said in a post on X.

"From free food for 800 million, 2.2 billion free vaccines, and aid to nations worldwide during COVID, to leading India as the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi's decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust. Meta, it's disappointing to see misinformation from Mr. Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility," he added.

The ruling BJP, which had scored thumping victories in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, suffered some setbacks in the general election last year and ended below the majority mark. The NDA alliance, however, crossed the magic figure comfortably with key allies bolstering the BJP's numbers. A united Opposition led by the Congress did make gains, but fell well short of the numbers required to turn the tables. With Modi 3.0, Prime Minister Modi became only the second Indian Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to get the top post for three consecutive terms.

Kadaba, Jan 18: In a heartrending incident, a 16-year-old student lost his life on Friday, January 18, after the motorbike he was riding skidded off the road and plunged into a culvert on the Dharmasthala–Mardhala–Subrahmanya state highway near Gargaspal, Peradka. 

The accident spot falls under the Noojibaltila gram panchayat in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. 

The victim, Ashish, a tenth-grade student from a private school in Peradka, was the beloved son of Vishwanath of Hosamane Kaana in Noojibaltila village. His untimely demise has left his parents and sibling in profound grief.

The accident occurred during Ashish’s routine commute to school. Despite the swift intervention of a local resident, Sridhar, who rushed him to a private hospital in Kadaba, medical efforts could not save him. A case has been registered at the Kadaba police station.

The culvert where the accident happened has long been criticized by locals for its flawed and unsafe design. Numerous accidents have reportedly occurred at this spot, prompting repeated appeals from residents for immediate rectification. Community members have once again called upon authorities to prioritize repairs to prevent further tragedies.

Responding to the incident, Kadaba tahsildar Prabhakar Khajure underscored the importance of curbing underage driving. He directed the police department to take stringent action against minors found operating vehicles and cautioned parents about the serious consequences of providing vehicles to underage children.

This incident serves as a grim reminder of the pressing need for both infrastructural improvements and stricter enforcement of traffic regulations to safeguard young lives.

Bengaluru: The BJP on Tuesday accused the police of "framing" an innocent person in the cow attack case in Chamarajapet here and demanded a fair investigation into the incident.

Sheikh Nasru (30), a native of Champaran in Bihar, has been arrested for allegedly slashing the udders of three cows on Sunday.

The matter escalated into a communal controversy after the saffron party threatened to observe 'Black Sankranti' if the culprits were not arrested before the festival.

The party has since emphasised that the actual perpetrators must be apprehended.

Addressing media here, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, "There are claims that an innocent man has been falsely implicated and is being projected as the culprit."

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka also raised doubts about the investigation, questioning how a mentally unstable man could work at the firm for a decade.

Ashoka noted that the incident occurred at the veterinary hospital, which spans four acres.

He alleged that the hospital was recently declared Waqf property and claimed that Karna, the owner of the injured cattle, had opposed the Waqf Board’s decision, suggesting this opposition might have led to the incident.

The party leaders led by Vijayendra and Ashoka celebrated 'Sankranti' by offering special prayers to cows at the spot where the attack took place.

Meanwhile, state Home Minister G Parameshwara dismissed the opposition charges and said the police were investigating the case without any bias.

"If the investigation reveals the involvement of more people, then police will not spare them," he told reporters here.