Mixed response to Karnataka shutdown, as BJP, Congress spar over bills

News Network
September 29, 2020

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Bengaluru, Sep 29: The day-long shutdown by the farmers and others on Monday evoked mixed response in Karnataka amid tight security, even as the ruling BJP and opposition Congress sparred over the bills to amend the APMC Act and the Land Reforms Act.

“The shutdown was mixed but peaceful, barring a few stray incidents. The shutdown evoked good response in the old Mysuru (southern) region, partial in Malnad but tepid in coastal and northern regions across the state,” a home ministry official told IANS here.

In the Bengaluru, hundreds of farmers, pro-Kannada activists, labourers, workers and trade union members staged a massive demonstration at Town Hall in the city centre and a held a protest rally to Freedom Park, shouting slogans against the state and Central governments for its ‘anti-farmer’ bills.

“About 300 protesters were detained at the Mysuru Bank circle in the city centre when they tried to block vehicular traffic and force shops and eateries to shut,” a police officer said.

Farmers’ leaders Kodihalli Chandrashekar and Kurburu Shanth Kumar and Kannada Rakshana Vedike President Narayan Gowda addressed the gathering at Town Hall and Freedom Park, urging the state government to withdraw the bills passed in the state legislature on Saturday, as they were against the farmers and the rural people.

Heavy police deployment thwarted some protesters from taking out a bike rally from Town Hall to Freedom Park to prevent disruption to vehicular traffic in the central business district on the first working day of the week.

Though normal life was not disrupted in this tech hub, as pubic transport services like buses and metro rail operated normally and government and private offices reopened after the holiday on Sunday, there were not many customers in shops and eateries across the city.

Hundreds of farmers and protesters blocked vehicular traffic on Bengaluru-Mysuru state highway at Ramanagara, Chennapatna and Mandya but were whisked away to clear the stranded vehicles later.

While farmers were allowed to stage protest rallies and demonstrations in cities and towns across the state peacefully, the police prevented them from disrupting normal life, close shops or disturb movement of buses.

Though intra and inter-state bus services were not suspended, their frequency was curtailed, as commuters were less than on a normal working day, even as the protesters raised slogans, burnt effigies and held banners against the ‘anti-farmer’ bills.

The shutdown call got mixed to poor response in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Kalaburagi and Bidar in the state’s coastal and northern regions.

In Kalaburagi, bus services were withdrawn, as farmer associations and pro-Kannada outfits staged a protest at the central bus stand.

“Though there were commuters at the bus stand, the services were withdrawn as a precautionary measure,” a state transport official said.

In Bidar, farmers alleged that the BJP government in the state and the NDA government in the Centre were neglecting them and helping corporates to exploit them by buying their produce at lower prices.

The state-wide bandh call got poor response in Malnad region, including Shivamogga, which is Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyiurappa’s home district, and Bhadarvati.

Unfazed by the protests and shutdown, Yediyurappa told reporters here that he would tour the state and explain to the farmers the benefits of the amended APMC Act and the Land Reforms Act.

“The Congress is conspiring with the protesters and using the gullible farmers to oppose the bills. I invited them (farmer leaders) for talks, but the talks failed due to the machination of the Congress. I am not sitting here to enjoy power but to help the farmers. These bills will change their lives forever,” the Chief Minister said.

Upset with the farmers terming him as “son of corporates and not son of the soil”, Yediyurappa said he was not the one to stick to power by cheating farmers.

Reiterating that the bills would help eliminate middle-men from agri-business, the Chief Minister told the farmers wait for at least eight months to a year to reap the benefits of the bills.

Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, dared the Chief Minister to prove how the new laws enacted by the Parliament and the state Assembly were beneficial to farmers.

“Let Yediyurappa dissolve the assembly and face elections on the amended laws. The people will defeat him and the BJP,” Siddaramaiah said in a statement here.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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Millions of people across Iran and the world took to the streets on International Quds Day, expressing solidarity with Palestinians and condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and head of the Intifada Committee in Tehran, stated that rallies began at 10:00 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) in over 900 cities across Iran.

Demonstrators from various walks of life carried Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as banners reading “Free Palestine” and “Al-Quds Must Be Liberated.” Flags of regional resistance groups, including Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Sha'abi), Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Ansarullah, were also displayed.

Mass rallies were held across West Asia, including in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon, as well as in other parts of the world.

Iranian Leaders Condemn Western Stance

Senior Iranian officials participated in the rally in Tehran, where Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf addressed the gathering.

“Iranians have taken to the streets in a massive show of support for Palestine and the Islamic Ummah,” Qalibaf said. “The Palestinian struggle is not just an issue for the Islamic world but a lesson for all of humanity.”

He criticized the West’s response to Israeli actions in Gaza, calling it a stain on Western civilization. “These crimes will be remembered as a lasting ignominy, exposing the West’s duplicity in human rights advocacy,” he added.

Qalibaf also defended the October 7, 2023, Palestinian attack on Israeli-occupied territories, describing Operation al-Aqsa Flood as a “rightful and legitimate response to 77 years of oppression by Israel, the U.S., and Britain.” He further described Israel as a “spare regime” dependent on U.S. support.

Quds Day: A Global Symbol of Resistance

Al-Quds Day, observed annually on the last Friday of Ramadan, was established in 1979 by the late Imam Khomeini to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and oppose Israeli occupation. The event has since become a symbol of resistance, with large rallies held worldwide, particularly amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

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News Network
March 21,2025

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Friday passed Bills doubling the salaries of the chief minister, ministers, and legislators, adding an annual burden of ₹62 crore on the exchequer.

The CM's monthly salary will increase from ₹75,000 to ₹1.5 lakh, while ministers will see a 108% hike, from ₹60,000 to ₹1.25 lakh. MLAs and MLCs will get ₹80,000 per month, up from ₹40,000, and their pension will rise from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.

The Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill were passed without debate, as the Opposition BJP protested in the well of the House.

The Bills cited the rising cost of living as justification for the hike. The Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council chairperson will now receive ₹1.25 lakh per month, up from ₹75,000.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, and an aftershock of 6.8, hit central Myanmar at 12.50pm (local time) Friday. The epicentre was 16km northwest of the city of Sagaing, and at a depth of 10km, the United States Geological Survey said. 20 deaths have been reported - in Myanmar so far - by local media.

Deaths have also been reported from a mosque in Mandalay city, which collapsed while people were inside, praying and a university building in which a fire broke out. And a 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw has become a "mass casualty area", news agency AFP said.

The Myanmar junta has declared an 'emergency' and has appealed for international aid.

Tremors were felt as far away as northern Thailand, where some metro and rail services were suspended in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is holding an "urgent meeting" to review the crisis and she too has declared a state of 'emergency' in the capital city.

China's Yunnan province also reported strong tremors; the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude was 7.9. And mild tremors were also reported from Kolkata in Bengal and parts of Manipur, where tremors of 4.4 magnitude were recorded as well as Dhaka and Chattogram in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India is ready to offer any assistance needed. "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone," he posted on X. "... have asked our authorities to be on standby."

Terrifying videos on X showed buildings shaking in Bangkok and other cities, with people running onto the streets in panic. "I heard it... I was sleeping in the house and then I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.

One particularly horrifying video showed water from an infinity pool falling over the edge.

And another showed an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok's Chatuchak neighbourhood collapsing. According to reports, 43 workers have been trapped amid the debris.

"When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. "We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties."

In Myanmar, an old bridge over the Irrawaddy River and some residential buildings having collapsed, with images from Mandalay (around 24km from Sagaing) suggesting more people may be trapped.

Other videos showed extensive damage to the airport in Mandalay and to a monastery near the city of Taunggyi, in Myanmar's Shan State that is on the border to Thailand.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the country.

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake, in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar, killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.

The impoverished nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states.

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