Siddaramaiah defends MLAs 'study tour'

December 26, 2013
Bangalore, Dec 26: Unfazed by criticism over its foreign jaunt at a time when the state is hit by drought, a Karnataka Legislature committee today insisted it would go ahead with the visit to Brazil, Argentina and Peru with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also defending their tour.

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As the jaunt by a contingent of about 18 MLAs planned for January stirred up a controversy, Siddaramaiah told reporters the trip was decided by the legislature committee and it was not as if they were going on the foreign tour this year for the first time.

"Why are you making it a big issue?" Siddaramaiah asked reporters, adding, "It is the legislature committee which decides and they don't come to us (the government)."

Unperturbed by the controversy, Mallikayya Gutedar, who heads the Legislature's Estimates Committee, said they had decided to go ahead with their trip, whose schedule would be decided depending on the legislature session next month.

"We are not committing a big crime...don't you send school children on vacation..similarly MPs and MLAs are being sent through the legislature committees...", he told reporters.

He said Rs 7 to 7.5 lakh was being spent on each MLA and "not crores of Rupees," and added that legislators in other states too undertake similar study tours of foreign countries.

Guttedar said it was not as if the ruling Congress had started the practice and pointed out that even during the previous BJP rule, legislators undertook foreign trips twice, as he expressed "surprise" over the controversy generated.

The 10 to 12-day "study tour" of the Estimates Committee comprising MLAs from all parties will cover holiday destinations such as Rio De Janerio, Manaus, Iguassu, Lima, Cusco, and Buenos Aires, besides Dubai.

Among the destinations are the "exuberant ecosystems of Rio's tropical urban jungle" and shopping at Manaus, where they will "experience rhythms of Samba, Tango and Paraguayan music during dinner and a show at a local restaurant."

The junket comes even as many taluks in the state have been declared drought-hit, with central teams visiting the affected regions after the state government sought funds to grapple with the situation.

Karnataka Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimappa had said yesterday that the tour programme has been approved but the date of journey was yet to be finalised. The tour may cost the state exchequer about Rs 60 lakh, he had said.

A similar planned junket of 100 MLAs in different batches to Russia, South America and Scandinavian countries when large parts of the state were reeling under drought during the BJP rule last year had set off a public outcry, forcing then Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar to ask a batch of legislators to call off their trip and fly back home.

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News Network
September 17,2024

Kalaburagi: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said that alleged role of "outsiders" belonging to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in the violence at Nagamangala will be examined and action taken based on the probe report.

Clashes broke out between two groups during a Ganesh idol procession in the town in Mandya district following which mobs went on a rampage targeting several shops and vehicles leading to tension on September 11 night.

"Everything will be examined, investigation will be done, on getting the report we will decide. We will not protect anyone, and unnecessarily no one will be punished. We will look into the facts based on the inquiry report and take action accordingly," Parameshwara told reporters here.

He noted that two officials -- Deputy Superintendent of Police and Inspector -- have already been suspended, and added that further action will be taken based on the report.

The Minister said the government has taken the Nagamangala violence seriously and there is no question of taking such incidents lightly. "BJP makes such allegations, but we too have responsibility, we don't take anything lightly."

On allegations that "outsiders" were involved in the violence, Parameshwara said if inquiry reveals complicity of such elements, it would be examined and action taken accordingly.

Regarding claims that those belonging to the banned PFI were involved, he said: "It will be known from the probe."

On demand for a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into Nagamangala violence by BJP which alleged "failure" of state's home department, Parameshwara said: "they keep saying such things, we will not listen to all that."

According to police, an argument had broken out between two groups, when the procession by devotees from Badri Koppalu village reached a place of worship on September 11, and some miscreants hurled stones, which escalated the situation.

Following the clashes between the two groups, a few shops were vandalised and goods torched and vehicles set on fire, they added.

To allegations from some BJP leaders that the party MLA Munirathna was arrested "hurriedly", Parameshwara said, police acted after the complaint was given, "what's wrong in that?"

Munirathna, who represents Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly segment here, was picked up from Nangli village in Kolar’s Mulbagal on Saturday evening on charges of harassing a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) contractor for bribe, casteist slurs on a former corporator, and also cheating, criminal intimidation and insulting a woman’s modesty.

Asked about "illegal items" seized from the prison here recently by officials, he said an investigation has begun on this.

When a photo of actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who was lodged in Parappana Agrahara Prison here, hanging out with other inmates surfaced recently, action was taken based on the probe report and eleven officials were suspended.

"I will look into recent seizures made too and action will be taken; also probe is on at other prisons in the state and action will follow if anything wrong is found," the Minister added.

Police raided the high-security wing of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison here on Saturday and seized smartphones and other illegal goods.

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News Network
September 16,2024

Shaun.jpg

In a heart-breaking incident, 19-year-old Shaun D'Souza, a native of Vittalwadi in Udupi's Kundapur taluk, tragically lost his life in the UAE due to heat stroke.

Shaun, the beloved son of Elias Cyril D'Souza and Pramila D'Souza, originally from Hosabettu, Moodbidri, had been pursuing his college education in the UAE.

He was admitted to a hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, approximately 115 km from Dubai, after collapsing from heatstroke. Despite receiving immediate medical attention, Shaun breathed his last on Sunday, September 15. 

He is deeply mourned by his parents and two siblings. The family, who had been residing near St. Mary's Church in the UAE, are grappling with the profound loss. Shaun’s father, Elias, works as a manager for a private company, while his mother, Pramila, is an accountant.

The local community has come together to offer their support and condolences in this time of sorrow.

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