What helped in breaking logjam over Karnataka CM pick?

News Network
May 18, 2023

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Bengaluru, May 18: Several top Congress leaders from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.

Ever since the Karnataka Assembly results were declared on May 13, both the leaders started garnering support of MLAs close to them while mustering support for themselves.

The supporters of both, meanwhile, started building up the momentum in support of their respective leader and a poster war erupted.

As the race for the top post heated up, Kharge appointed three observers -- Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria -- and the first meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was convened on May 14. Supporters of both the leaders continued to raise the pitch by raising slogans in support of their leaders outside the CLP meeting venue.

All Congress MLAs authorised the party chief to appoint a leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), who would also be the new chief minister.

Keeping the consultation process alive, the newly-elected MLAs had authorised Kharge to appoint the new CLP leader, after which the scene shifted from Bengaluru to Delhi. The observers also held one-on-one consultations with all MLAs and sought a secret ballot from all of them, the results of which were tabulated and shared with party chief the next day.

In the national capital, the three observers along with party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala arrived and held a meeting with Kharge.

With Siddaramaiah emerging as the frontrunner in the race and after the report of observers, the party leadership asked him and Shivakumar to arrive in Delhi for further consultations. While Siddaramaih arrived on Monday evening, Shivakumar cancelled the meeting citing health issues.

This complicated the situation for the party as it hardened its stand against Shivakumar, who arrived the next day.

Tuesday saw the entry of Rahul Gandhi in the consultation process, who drove down to Kharge's residence and held a meeting on the Karnataka government formation for over an hour-and-a-half.

A series of fresh consultations started once again with Kharge meeting both of them separately, as also with the two general secretaries on Tuesday.

The final round of talks started on Wednesday when both the leaders met Rahul Gandhi at his residence. In the meantime, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah also spoke to Sonia Gandhi, who was away in Shimla on a vacation. Sonia also asked Shivakumar to speak to Kharge and Rahul to sort out the matter, sources said.

The hectic parleys continued from Monday and went on till the wee hours of Thursday to break the deadlock in deciding on the Congress' chief ministerial pick in Karnataka as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar presenting their cases before the top brass.

The leadership issue in Karnataka lingered as Shivakumar had dug his heels in and asserted that he be made the chief minister as the party staged a stunning victory in the southern state under his presidency.

Sources said after Rahul Gandhi told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as chief minister, whose leadership abilities and mass support helped him clinch the top post.

The decision, sources said, was chalked out in the wee hours of Thursday when all parties agreed to accomodate confidantes of both the leaders and asked Shivakumar to continue on the post of state Congress chief till the next year's Parliamentary elections.

To maintain his number 2 position in the Karnataka government, Shivakumar was made the only deputy chief minister.

The chief minister and his deputy along with over 20 ministers in the cabinet would take oath on May 20 in Bengaluru, where leaders of several political parties would also be invited.

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News Network
October 18,2024

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Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been martyred in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza's Rafah city, a senior Hamas official confirmed.

Khalil Hayya, head of Hamas in Gaza, delivered a statement on Friday, a day after reports of Sinwar's martyrdom. 

"We mourn the great national leader, the Mujahid Martyr Brother Yahya Al-Sinwar (Abu Ibrahim), Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Commander of Al-Aqsa Storm Operation," he said.

He remembered Sinwar as "one of the noblest and bravest men, a man who dedicated his life to Palestine and gave his soul for the sake of Allah on the path to its liberation."

"He rose as a heroic martyr, advancing and never retreating, wielding his weapon, engaging and confronting the occupation army at the frontlines. He moved between all combat positions, steadfast and stationed on the honored land of Gaza, defending the land of Palestine and its holy sites, inspiring the spirit of endurance, patience, steadfastness, and resistance."

Referring to the history of Sinwar's struggle against the Israeli regime, Hayya noted that the fallen leader "attained the highest rank and the noblest medal, ascending as a witness and a martyr, content with the jihad and sacrifice he offered."

Naming a host of other resistance leaders assassinated by the Israeli regime in the past years, the Hamas official noted that "these sacrifices will continue to illuminate our path and drive us to more resilience and steadfastness."

"Hamas remains committed to the promise of its founding leaders and martyrs until the aspirations of our people are fully realized: the complete liberation and return, and the establishment of the Palestinian state on the entire national soil with Al-Quds as its capital, by Allah’s will," he said, adding, "This will become a curse upon the invading occupiers who are strangers to this land."

He underlined that the martyrdom of leaders "only strengthens Hamas and our resistance, making us more determined and steadfast in following their path, honoring their blood and sacrifices."

He highlighted that Israeli captives held in Gaza "will not return except with the cessation of aggression on Gaza, its withdrawal, and the release of our heroic prisoners from the occupation’s jails."

The charismatic leader of the Palestinian resistance movement had escaped many assassination attempts before and after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7, 2023.

Sinwar, 62, played an instrumental role in coordinating and supervising the landmark operation that jolted the Zionist regime. 

Before becoming the Hamas leader in Gaza in 2017, Sinwar spent 22 years in an Israeli prison. He was released as part of a prisoner swap in 2011.

“Hamas will never abandon the path of resistance… Our resistance will continue until the liberation of all of Palestine,” he declared during a speech in Gaza in late October 2017.

Sinwar had been chosen as the overall Hamas leader after Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in July.

Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, where he was to attend the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

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News Network
October 25,2024

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The accused wife and the victim husband

 

Udupi, Oct 25: A seemingly natural death has unraveled into a heart-wrenching case of betrayal and murder in Udupi’s Marne village. 

Balakrishna (44), who had been battling fever and severe illness for nearly a month, succumbed to his condition on October 20, despite extensive treatment at multiple hospitals. 

Diagnosed with jaundice, he was under care at KMC Hospital in Manipal, Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, NIMHANS Hospital in Bengaluru, and Victoria Hospital. But his symptoms persisted, and he was brought home on October 19, only to pass away at 3:30 am the next morning.

A complaint filed by his grieving brother, Ramakrishna (42), has now transformed Balakrishna's case into an alleged murder investigation. According to Ramakrishna, his brother’s wife, Pratima, had been in a relationship with Dileep from Hirgan. Allegedly, frustrated by Balakrishna's interference in her relationship, Pratima conspired with Dileep to eliminate him.

The complaint suggests that Pratima and Dileep plotted to gradually poison Balakrishna, lacing his meals with a toxic substance that steadily worsened his health. 

In the early hours of October 20, Dileep allegedly visited the home, where he and Pratima are accused of suffocating Balakrishna with a bedsheet, ending his life in a final act of betrayal. 

The Ajekar police have now registered a murder case, transforming Balakrishna's tragic death into a haunting investigation. They also have managed to arrest the victim’s wife and her boyfriend. 

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News Network
October 25,2024

Udupi, Oct 25: A team of police from Udupi apprehended a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) at Kannur International Airport, Kerala, after he had been absconding overseas since 2019. 

Ashmath Ali (35) originally arrested on charges of recording a video of unnatural acts, had been out on bail granted by the second ACJ and JMFC court of Udupi on September 6, 2019.

Despite 18 arrest warrants issued in his name, Ali managed to evade authorities for years, frequently traveling abroad. 

Acting on a tip-off, sleuths from Kaup police station intercepted him as he landed at Kannur International Airport on October 21, marking the end of his prolonged evasion from Indian law enforcement. 

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