Melkar Degree College holds 9th graduation day

Mysuru: Chairman of JD(S) core committee and Chamundeshwari constituency MLA G T Devegowda on Thursday expressed his solidarity with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying the latter need not resign, while lambasting leaders of his own party and alliance partner BJP, including Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

In his speech during Mysuru Dasara inauguration he said that if persons against whom FIR is registered have to resign, many leaders from all the three parties, including Opposition Leader R Ashoka, will have to resign.

“All are sitting in glass houses... Since I know Siddaramaiah well, I am talking about him. At a time when mines and real estate are ruling politics, Siddaramaiah has survived in politics. He has never done any favour,” Devegowda said.

He added, “Allegations against Siddaramaiah are unexpected and accidental. If the Governor and Chief Justice order an investigation, it does not mean that he should resign."

He continued, asking, "Have they told Siddaramaiah to resign or have they asked to imprison him? When a person becomes a Central minister, he or she should realise their dignity and responsibility. Instead of recognising the good work done by Siddaramaiah, they ask him to resign. Will Kumarswamy (facing an FIR) resign? Should Siddaramaiah, who has become CM with a support of 135 MLAs, resign?"

"Opposition leaders are not remembering the good work of earlier CMs Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde, H D Deve Gowda or S M Krishna. Karnataka is a model state. It is a bad trend to topple an elected government which is doing good work,” he further said.

Devegowda added, “Siddaramaiah is Goddess Chamundeshwari’s ‘Varaputra’ and hence has her blessings during tough times. He won the election in Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, when the BJP-JD(S) government was in power in 2006. With the blessings of the Goddess, he has held varied positions right from becoming an MLA for the first time in 1983. He presented 15 budgets and has become CM for a second time. He took H C Mahadevappa, a Dalit leader to the state level. Siddaramaiah has the support of Deputy CM D K Shivakumar as ‘Jodeththu’. Blessings of the beneficiaries of guarantee schemes are with him (Siddaramaiah).” 

Siddaramaiah said, “Devegowda was a MUDA member. He knows the truth. Hence, he is saying this. His words have filled strength in me. ‘Satyameva Jayate’, Truth will always triumph.” 

US and British warplanes have bombed Yemen's capital city of Sana'a and several other areas, amid the country’s solidarity with the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the Lebanese nation in the face of Israel's brutal aggression.

Yemen's al-Masirah television network said the US-British aggression targeted the al-Hafa and Jirban areas in the north and south of the capital with six airstrikes on Thursday morning.

The television network also said the warplanes struck the northwestern Yemeni city of Sa'ada as well as the Kahlan and al-Abla areas east of the city.

The US military has used "B-2 stealth bombers for the 1st time in airstrikes on Yemen,” the television network said.

Yemen's official Saba Net news agency reported that US-British aggression aircraft launched 15 raids on the capital Sana'a and the Sa’ada province.

The agency cited a security source as saying that the aircraft targeted with six raids the areas in the north and south of the capital, and launched nine raids in Sa'ada.

A US defense official confirmed that the strikes were conducted using the B-2 bomber, which is usually deployed to strike areas heavily defended by air defense systems.

Source: Airstrikes did not hit weapons depots 

A Yemeni military source told the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel that the airstrikes did not hit weapons depots belonging to Yemen's Ansarullah, and did not affect their capabilities as claimed by the Pentagon.

The source said the use of B-2 stealth bombers in the attacks indicates "panic" in the US military over the possibility of its drones being shot down in Yemeni airspace, after several MQ-9 drones were shot down by the Houthi movement in recent months.

Any American-British aircraft or weapon used to strike Yemen "cannot neutralize the strategic weapons that the Yemeni army has prepared and continues to prepare and develop," the source said.

He added that attacks on Yemen will not succeed in forcing the Ansarullah movement to stop its support of Gaza and Lebanon.

Nasreddin Amer, Deputy Minister of Information in the Sana'a-based administration, condemned the American and British aggression, saying, “The position of the Yemeni nation toward Palestine and Lebanon will not change with these attacks.”

Amer stressed that the United States will “pay the price” of the dawn aggression against Yemen.

"We confirm that the American aggression will not pass without a response," said a statement from Ansarullah's political bureau.

Earlier on Tuesday, US and British forces conducted four airstrikes on the al-Luhayyah district in Hudaydah Province, in western Yemen. The day earlier, they carried out two airstrikes on the al-Salif district in western Hudaydah.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.

So far, Israel has killed at least 42,409 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 99,153 others in Gaza. The regime has also intensified its deadly attacks against Lebanon over the past year, killing upwards of 2,300 Lebanese people.

In her debut electoral contest, Vinesh Phogat, a celebrated wrestler-turned-politician, has secured a decisive victory for the Indian National Congress in the Julana assembly constituency of Haryana. Phogat garnered approximately 65,080 votes, defeating Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Captain Yogesh Kumar by a margin of over 6,000 votes. This win marks a significant turnaround for Congress, which had faced defeat in Julana for the last three assembly elections and had only won the seat four times since 1967.

Phogat's victory also saw her outpace the incumbent MLA, Amarjeet Dhanda, a Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader. The results of the Haryana Assembly elections were officially announced on Tuesday, October 8.

Phogat, who transitioned into politics after her wrestling career, had been disqualified from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match due to weight category issues. Many speculated that she had been “deliberately defeated” in the competition, while Phogat herself alleged that the Union government had failed to provide her with adequate support.

In the aftermath of her disqualification, Phogat filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), seeking to share the silver medal with Cuban wrestler Yusneylys Guzmán Lopez, whom she had defeated in the semi-finals. Four pro bono lawyers in Paris submitted the protest appeal on her behalf. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also sought more time to appoint legal representation. However, despite days of deliberation, the CAS ultimately dismissed the appeal.

On September 6, shortly after her sporting career came to an end, Phogat, along with fellow wrestler Bajrang Punia, formally joined the Congress party. Reflecting on her decision, she remarked that she had not retired from wrestling during the Jantar Mantar protests in order to inspire young girls and women. “The whole country thought I would retire during the protests because the BJP IT cell tried to paint us as troublemakers, as though we were finished and only playing politics,” Phogat stated.

Vinesh and Punia were at the forefront of protests against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP, who faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment. The protests, which took place at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last year, were met with significant police aggression.

During the protests, Phogat had publicly accused Singh of subjecting her to severe mental harassment, to the point where she struggled with suicidal thoughts. Despite these personal battles, she persisted, even as the Indian Olympic Association president and former athlete PT Usha accused the wrestlers of “tarnishing India’s image” during the protests.

In a candid reflection on her retirement, Phogat shared, “Many urged me not to retire, but I had to ask myself – for what purpose should I continue wrestling? There is politics everywhere. Now, I want to do politics that can bring real change, to fight for the future of our children and stand by them when it matters.”