News Analysis India

Tag: Karnataka

  • 13-year-old Rana no more

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Rana, the first member of the canine squad of Karnataka, created for wildlife crime detection is no more.

    The 13-year-old German Shepherd passed away in Bandipur tiger reserve on Tuesday morning.

    BTR director Ramesh told TNIE that he died due to age-related ailments on Tuesday morning.

    “Even though he had retired and we have got another dog, Rana’s place nobody can replace Rana,” he said.

    Rana joined the department in 2014. He was trained in dog squad, special armed forces, 9th battalion, Bhopal. He has helped over 50 cases in merely last 5 years. Rana was said to be a master and an ace in solving tiger poaching cases and finding weapons. 

    Prakash Honnakore, 32 year, Karnataka’s first dog squad trainer, who had trained Rana, is in State of deep shock said, he was the first and last one to be with Rana. He had indicted him into the squad, trained him in Bhopal and was with him in his last two years of service, where the duo had solved around 30 cases.  

    Dr Saket, from Traffic, a wildlife crime-solving team had introduced him into the forest department. The forest department has decided to give him a state honour farewell.

    BENGALURU: Rana, the first member of the canine squad of Karnataka, created for wildlife crime detection is no more.

    The 13-year-old German Shepherd passed away in Bandipur tiger reserve on Tuesday morning.

    BTR director Ramesh told TNIE that he died due to age-related ailments on Tuesday morning.

    “Even though he had retired and we have got another dog, Rana’s place nobody can replace Rana,” he said.

    Rana joined the department in 2014. He was trained in dog squad, special armed forces, 9th battalion, Bhopal. He has helped over 50 cases in merely last 5 years. Rana was said to be a master and an ace in solving tiger poaching cases and finding weapons. 

    Prakash Honnakore, 32 year, Karnataka’s first dog squad trainer, who had trained Rana, is in State of deep shock said, he was the first and last one to be with Rana. He had indicted him into the squad, trained him in Bhopal and was with him in his last two years of service, where the duo had solved around 30 cases.  

    Dr Saket, from Traffic, a wildlife crime-solving team had introduced him into the forest department. The forest department has decided to give him a state honour farewell.

  • Congress lodges complaint with EC against Murmu, BJP leaders, alleging poll code violation

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: The Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and others alleging violations of the provisions of law in the July 18 election.

    The party alleged that the ruling BJP in Karnataka had bribed and exerted undue influence on its MLAs on July 17 and 18.

    The Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah and state party president D K Shivakumar in their complaint alleged that the MLAs, who were the voters, were provided luxurious stay in a five-star hotel.

    They alleged that at the “instance and consent” of the NDA candidate (Murmu), Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP senior leader B S Yediyurappa, the BJP chief whip in the Assembly Sathish Reddy, the ministers and other senior leaders of BJP joined together and summoned all the MLAs of BJP to a five-Star hotel here and provided luxurious rooms, food, liquor, beverages, entertainment in the guise of training session for MLAs on voting in the presidential election.

    The leaders further said that on July 18 morning, almost all the ministers, MLAs and other senior leaders of the BJP came in a government-owned Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s air-conditioned bus from the hotel to Vidhana Soudha to exercise their electoral rights.

    “All these acts of the BJP leaders are nothing but bribery and undue influence on the voters/MLAs made on behalf Droupadi Murmu for the furtherance of the prospectus of the election,” they alleged.

    By these acts, the BJP leadership has interfered with the free exercise of the electoral rights of the voters or MLAs and a huge amount was spent on them in a five-star hotel, the complaint said.

    The leaders appealed to the ECI to take cognisance of the “electoral offenses committed by the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, Bommai, Yediyurappa, Kateel and Reddy”.

    They also demanded filing a criminal case against them under various sections of the IPC along with the provisions of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Act, 1952.

    Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar also asked the EC to direct the Returning Officer of the Presidential election to treat all the votes polled in favour of the NDA candidate as invalid “in the interest of free and fair election”.

    BENGALURU: The Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and others alleging violations of the provisions of law in the July 18 election.

    The party alleged that the ruling BJP in Karnataka had bribed and exerted undue influence on its MLAs on July 17 and 18.

    The Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah and state party president D K Shivakumar in their complaint alleged that the MLAs, who were the voters, were provided luxurious stay in a five-star hotel.

    They alleged that at the “instance and consent” of the NDA candidate (Murmu), Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP senior leader B S Yediyurappa, the BJP chief whip in the Assembly Sathish Reddy, the ministers and other senior leaders of BJP joined together and summoned all the MLAs of BJP to a five-Star hotel here and provided luxurious rooms, food, liquor, beverages, entertainment in the guise of training session for MLAs on voting in the presidential election.

    The leaders further said that on July 18 morning, almost all the ministers, MLAs and other senior leaders of the BJP came in a government-owned Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s air-conditioned bus from the hotel to Vidhana Soudha to exercise their electoral rights.

    “All these acts of the BJP leaders are nothing but bribery and undue influence on the voters/MLAs made on behalf Droupadi Murmu for the furtherance of the prospectus of the election,” they alleged.

    By these acts, the BJP leadership has interfered with the free exercise of the electoral rights of the voters or MLAs and a huge amount was spent on them in a five-star hotel, the complaint said.

    The leaders appealed to the ECI to take cognisance of the “electoral offenses committed by the NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, Bommai, Yediyurappa, Kateel and Reddy”.

    They also demanded filing a criminal case against them under various sections of the IPC along with the provisions of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Act, 1952.

    Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar also asked the EC to direct the Returning Officer of the Presidential election to treat all the votes polled in favour of the NDA candidate as invalid “in the interest of free and fair election”.

  • In Karnataka, PM Modi hard-sells reform amid nationwide Agnipath stir

    By Express News Service

    BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Apparently alluding to the ongoing protests against the short-term Agnipath military recruitment scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said any reform may seem unpleasant temporarily, but in the long term it would benefit the country.

    In his address at Kommaghatta where he laid the foundation stone for Bengaluru’s Suburban Rail and other infrastructure projects, Modi said, “The path of startup and innovation is not the one with ease, and taking the country on this path for the last eight years was also not easy.

    Several decisions and reforms may be unpleasant temporarily, but with time their benefits can be experienced by the country.” He did not mention Agnipath explicitly. With the government firm on executing the scheme, the Army on Monday issued its first notification on Agnipath.

    It made online registration mandatory for all candidates, using the Army’s website www.joinindianarmy. nic.in to do so. The registration window will open in July. The streams for which candidates can apply include General Duty, Agniveer Technical, Agniveer Technical (aviation/ ammunition examiner), Agniveer Clerk/ Store Keeper Technical, Agniveer Tradesman 10th Pass and Agniveer Tradesman 8th Pass.

    Rlys cancels more than 600 trainsAnticipating trouble amid a call for Bharat Bandh, more than 600 trains were cancelled — 223 mail and express trains and 379 passengers trains — on Monday following nationwide protests against Agnipath

  • Sitharaman, Surjewala among 8 elected to RS, row over rules breach delays counting in Maha, Haryana

    By PTI

    BENGALURU/JAIPUR: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Jairam Ramesh were among the eight candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Friday from Karnataka and Rajasthan, while counting got delayed in Maharashtra and Haryana amid wrangling by rival parties over alleged breach of voting rules.

    Representations made by the BJP and the Congress and its allies, accusing each other of flouting the open balloting rules and seeking invalidation of the votes of some MLAs, are being examined by the Election Commission.

    The counting will be taken up only after the poll panel gives the go ahead. In an emphatic endorsement for the BJP in Karnataka, the ruling party had the last laugh as it won all the three Rajya Sabha seats it contested out of the four that went to polls.

    The main opposition Congress managed to win only one of the two seats for which its nominees were in the fray, while the JD(S) drew a blank.

    Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh, and MLC Lehar Singh Siroya of the BJP, and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh of the Congress were declared victorious. Sitharaman and Ramesh have been re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

    There was suspense over the outcome of the fight for the fourth seat, which witnessed a tight contest between all the three major political parties none of which had enough votes for an easy win.

    However, BJP’s Siroya triumphed over Mansoor Ali Khan of the Congress and D Kupendra Reddy (JDS), apparently aided by cross-voting from rival parties and the help of Independents. In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won three of the four seats and the BJP one.

    BJP-backed Independent nominee and media baron Subhash Chandra, whose entry into the fray had added spice to the electoral tussle, fell by the wayside. Chandra, who had won the last RS election as an Independent from Haryana, tried his luck from Rajasthan.

    Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari were declared elected, and so was BJP’s Ghanshyam Tiwari.

    In an interesting development, BJP MLA Shobharani Kushwah cross-voted in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari. The BJP promptly suspended her from the party’s primary membership.

    “When everybody knows that 126 MLAs are with us, why did they (BJP) field an independent candidate? They wanted to attempt horse-trading but that did not happen,” a jubilant Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told reporters at the Assembly complex in Jaipur.

    The victory of the Congress candidates has sent out a strong message in the country, he said, asserting the party will retain power in the Assembly elections next year. The Congress, with 108 MLAs in the 200-member Assembly, needed 123 votes to win the three seats. The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) with two MLAs had extended support to it.

    The ruling party also had the claimed support of 13 Independents and one Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA, who is a state minister. On the other hand, the BJP had 71 MLAs. After the victory of its party candidate, who secured 43 votes, the BJP had 28 surplus votes to help Chandra’s bid.

    Three MLAs of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) too had extended support to Chandra, but he still couldn’t manage the additional votes required for a victory.

    However, the counting was held up in Maharashtra after opposition BJP alleged three MLAs of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)–Cabinet ministers Jitendra Awhad (NCP) and Yashomati Thakur (Congress), besides Shiv Sena legislator Suhas Kande violated the model code for voting.

    The Congress retaliated, demanding that the Election Commission invalidate the votes of BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar and Independent MLA Ravi Rana.

    Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, in a letter to the CEC claimed Mungantiwar “vitiated the voting procedure” by showing his ballot paper to people other than his own party’s election agents.

    Rana openly displayed the Hanuman Chalisa, a religious book, and sought to influence other voters, he alleged.

    The counting was also put on hold in Haryana for identical reasons after BJP nominee Krishan Lal Panwar and Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma shot off a missive to the EC, alleging Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhary and B B Batra showed their ballot papers to unauthorised persons after marking them and that the episodes were “duly captured” on cameras.

    Prominent among the candidates who are expected to score a facile victory in Maharashtra include Union minister Piyush Goyal and Shiv Sena’s ubiquitous face and spokesperson Sanjay Raut. Both are sitting Rajya Sabha members from the state.

  • Bommai’s Delhi visit sparks speculation about expansion or rejig of K’taka cabinet

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s New Delhi visit, amid speculations about the cabinet expansion or reshuffle, has raised hopes among ministerial aspirants.

    He will be travelling to Delhi on Tuesday morning and his return schedule to Bengaluru on Wednesday has been kept ‘open’.

    Though there is no mention about Bommai’s meeting with BJP’s central leadership in his official tour programme, according to some party sources, he may seek their appointment and hold discussions, as he is halting in Delhi on Tuesday night.

    As per the tour programme, released to media on Monday, he is expected to meet several Union Ministers on Tuesday and in the evening will be holding interactions with ambassadors of various countries regarding ‘Invest Karnataka 2022’ – Global Investors Meet, which is scheduled to be held in November.

    Bommai had recently said that he is ready to go to New Delhi to discuss the cabinet exercise, as soon as the BJP central leadership calls him.

    Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa last Friday had hinted that the much-awaited expansion or reshuffle, may take place before May 10.

    The former chief minister had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon take a decision in this regard after discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had visited the city earlier this month.

    The postponement of the cabinet meeting that was scheduled to be held last week had also added to the speculations that it might have been done to accommodate expansion or reshuffle of the ministry, amid reports that the BJP high command is expected to arrive at a decision soon.

    Amid murmurs in the BJP circles that a top-to-bottom overhaul of the cabinet cannot be ruled out, ministerial aspirants are hopeful that a decision is likely soon regarding cabinet expansion or reshuffle, and there are even talks that several incumbents could make way for fresh faces.

    Bommai is under pressure from aspirants to expand or reshuffle his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of assembly polls next year.

    There are currently five positions vacant in the state cabinet, which has 29 ministers, including the chief minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

    Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka cabinet soon, to make way for new faces, ahead of the assembly elections.

  • Won’t give even an inch of land to Maharashtra, asserts Karnataka CM Bommai

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday urged politicians of Maharashtra not to use language bogey or border issue for their political survival, as he made it clear that the state will not give even an inch of its land to the neighbouring state.

    Noting that several Kannada speaking areas were in Maharashtra, he said the thinking is on about incorporating them into Karnataka.

    He was responding to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s statement on Sunday that they would continue to support the fight of Marathi-speaking people residing in border areas of neighbouring Karnataka to include those places in Maharashtra.

    “There is a political crisis in Maharashtra, it is there now, their entire government is on the rock bottom, so they create a language bogey and raise the border issue. To survive politically they do this,” Bommai said.

    Speaking to reporters here, he said, Karnataka’s stand on the border issue is very clear, and the state is not going to yield for anything.

    “We stand firmly by our decisions, they (Maharashtra) also know it. I strongly urge the politicians of Maharashtra not to use language bogey or border issue for their political survival,” he said, adding that there is no question of giving even an inch of Karnataka’s land.

    Maharashtra claims the border district of Belagavi and nearby areas were part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, but is currently a part of Karnataka, on linguistic grounds.

    “While we are celebrating 62 years of formation of Maharashtra, we regret that the Marathi-speaking villages in Bidar, Bhalki, Belgaum, Karwar, Nippani and other places in Karnataka could not be merged with Maharashtra. The citizens of Maharashtra and its government are with their fight to be part of Maharashtra. I assure that we would keep supporting their fight till these villages become part of Maharashtra,” Pawar had said on the occasion of Maharashtra’s foundation day on Sunday.

    The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), which has been fighting in the border areas of Belagavi for the merger of 800-odd villages with Maharashtra, had also some time ago submitted a memorandum of their demands to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

    On its part as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat in Bengaluru, where the legislature session is held once a year.

  • Contractor death: Congress demands arrest of Karnataka minister Eshwarappa on murder charge

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Stepping up the ante against the BJP over the death of a civil contractor in Karnataka, the Congress on Wednesday said arresting minister K S Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to ensure justice.

    Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP president J P Nadda on the death of Santhosh Patil who had levelled bribery charges against the senior minister earlier.

    Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Eshwarappa has been booked for abetment of suicide based on a complaint from Prashanth Patil, the brother of the deceased.

    The 37-year-old contractor, who claimed to be a BJP worker, was found dead at a lodge in Udupi in a case of suspected suicide on Tuesday.

    “Arresting Minister Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to give justice to a BJP worker,” Surjewala said.

    “Why is PM silent? Why is CM mum? Why is BJP president quiet? The deafening silence of BJP points to complicity in corruption at the highest echelons of power,” the Congress leader said on Twitter. He also alleged that the BJP is mired in corruption in Karnataka and it is time to show them the door.

    “Top to bottom, the entire BJP Govt is mired in the muck of corruption. Time to show BJP the door in Karnataka,” Surjewala said, after the president of contractors’ association in Karnataka alleged that the chief minister’s office was involved in the matter.

    Surjewala also met the family of the deceased contractor in Belgaum and assured that the party would fight to ensure justice to them. He was accompanied by several state Congress leaders.

    “The pain, anguish and anger of family cannot be described in words. The Congress will fight for justice to Santosh Patil. Our demands are arrest Eshwarappa, add section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the FIR, release Rs 4 crore payment for contract and Rs 1 crore compensation to the family and a government job for his wife. The Congress will give Rs 11 lakh assistance to the family in this hour of grief,” he said.

    The death of the contractor triggered a huge political row with the Congress demanding the resignation of Eshwarappa or his dismissal from the Cabinet.

    The Congress also urged state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss Eshwarappa from the Council of Ministers, even as the embattled BJP leader called for a probe into the “conspiracy” behind the death of Patil.

    While Chief Minister Bommai said the police would conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, Eshwarappa rejected the demand for his resignation.

    In his purported suicide note sent by WhatsApp to some media houses, Patil, who hails from Belagavi district, allegedly held Eshwarappa responsible for his death.

    A defiant Eshwarappa, however, maintained he was not at fault and said he had even filed a defamation suit against Patil after the contractor had alleged that the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Minister had demanded 40 per cent commission for some works.

    On March 30, Patil, who had claimed that he was a BJP worker, said he had executed a work in the RDPR department and wanted the payment due to him but Eshwarappa allegedly demanded 40 per cent commission in the Rs 4 crore work, prompting the opposition Congress to dub the BJP dispensation in Karnataka as a “40 per cent sarkar”.

  • Everybody should welcome Karnataka HC’s judgement on hijab: Rajnath

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Karnataka High Court’s judgement backing a ban on wearing of hijabs in educational institutions should be welcomed by everybody.

    In an address at an event, Singh said no country or society can develop if it does not respect women.

    “I can say very confidently that there cannot be development of a society or a country if there is no respect for women. India’s approach towards women has traditionally been positive and progressive,” he said.

    “Today you have seen that the Karnataka High Court has given a judgement. I think everybody should welcome it,” he said.

    Singh was speaking at the event organised by the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO). The defence minister said the dress code of schools and colleges must be followed by everyone of every religion.

    Referring to the judgement, he said the court held that India’s daughters may be from any religion or region, but no restriction on them is acceptable.

    “If there is a ‘dress code’ of a school and college, then anyone from irrespective of religion and faith should follow the dress code. And the court has given its judgement corresponding to this,” Singh said.

    The defence minister also said that the government has taken a number of steps to strengthen the role of women in the armed forces. “The armed forces will see a larger participation of women in the coming years due to the recent steps taken by the government,” he said.

    “Today, women are not only working in the Army in every wing, but now we are also giving permanent commission to them. Today, admission is being given to boys as well as girls in every Sainik School. The doors of NDA (National Defence Academy) have also been opened for women,” he said.

    Singh said that about 200,000 women took the entrance exam last year for entry into the NDA with great enthusiasm. “The percentage of women in the Indian Army will increase significantly in the coming times,” said Singh.

    The defence minister also highlighted a number of schemes rolled out by the government in the last few years on skill development, employment generation and entrepreneurship. He said these schemes have paved the way for the holistic development of women and given them the confidence to forge a new identity.

    Singh made special mention of 23-year-old Vinita Singh who left a salary package of Rs one crore and launched her own startup, which has now become a Rs 300 crore company.

    He said this inspiring story has been made possible due to the policy brought out by the government to promote startups in the country. “In 2014, only 500 startups were working in the country. By 2022, this count has crossed 60,000,” he added.

    Singh reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting women entrepreneurship in India, saying that according to a study, if obstacles in the way of women are removed, at least 1.5 crore new businesses can be started, creating about 6.4 crore additional jobs, according to a defence ministry statement.

    He added that this ecosystem of women entrepreneurship will inspire more women and new businesses will emerge. At the event, rich tributes were paid to Bharat Ratna Late Lata Mangeshkar. Singh remembered the Nightingale of India, saying that she will always be alive in the heart of every Indian.

    FLO president Ujjwala Singhania and other members of the organisation were also present.

  • Hijab ban in classroom: Plea in SC challenges Karnataka HC verdict

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict which dismissed the petitions seeking permission to wear Hijab inside the classroom saying Hijab is not a part of the essential religious practice in Islamic faith.

    The petition has been filed in the apex court by a Muslim student who was one of the petitioners before the high court.

    Earlier in the day, the high court dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear Hijab inside the classroom.

    The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to, the high court said.

    In the plea filed in the top court, the petitioner has said the high court has “erred in creating a dichotomy of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience wherein the court has inferred that those who follow a religion cannot have the right to conscience.”

    “The high court has failed to note that the right to wear a Hijab comes under the ambit of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is submitted that the freedom of conscience forms a part of the right to privacy,” it said.

    The plea said the petitioner had approached the high court seeking redressal for the alleged violation of their fundamental rights against the state government order of February 5, 2022 issued under Sections 7 and 133 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.

    “The impugned government order directed the college development committees all over the state of Karnataka to prescribe a ‘student uniform’ that mandated the students to wear the official uniform and in absence of any designated uniform the students were mandated to wear an uniform that was in the essence of unity, equality and public order,” it said.

    The plea said the high court failed to note that the Karnataka Education Act, 1983 and the rules made thereunder do not provide for any mandatory uniform to be worn by students.

    “The petitioner submits that the high court has failed to note that there does not exist any provision in law which prescribes any punishment for students for not wearing uniforms. Even if one were to presume that there existed a mandate to wear a particular uniform, there is no punishment prescribed in case a student does not wear the uniform,” it said.

    The petition said neither the Act nor the Rules prescribe any uniform for students or prohibit the wearing of a Hijab.

    “The high court has failed to note that the right to wear a Hijab comes under the ambit of ‘expression’ and is thus protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution,” it said.

    The plea claimed that the high court has failed to note that right to wear a Hijab is protected as a part of the right to conscience under Article 25 of the Constitution.

    It said since the right to conscience is essentially an individual right, the ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ ought not to have been applied by the high court in the case.

    “Assuming the ‘Essential Religious Practices Test’ does apply, the high court has failed to note that wearing of Hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam,” the petition said. It claimed that the high court has failed to note that Indian legal system explicitly recognises the wearing/carrying of religious symbols.

    The plea said Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, exempts turban wearing Sikhs from wearing a helmet and under the rules made by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Sikhs are allowed to carry kirpans onto aircraft.

    “This public order was passed with an indirect intent of attacking the religious minorities and specifically the followers of Islamic faith by ridiculing the female Muslim students wearing Hijab. This ridiculing attack was under the guise of attaining secularity and equality on the basis of uniform wherein the college development committees prohibited the students wearing Hijab from entering the premises of the educational institutions,” it said.

    “This step-motherly behaviour of government authorities has prevented students from practising their faith which has resulted in an unwanted law and order situation,” the plea said.

    Meanwhile, a caveat has also been filed in the apex court by another person, who was a party before the high court, seeking to be heard before any order is passed in the matter.

    The high court maintained that the government has power to issue impugned order dated February 5, 2022 and no case is made out for its invalidation.

    By the said order, the Karnataka government had banned wearing clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public order in schools and colleges, which the Muslim girls had challenged in the high court.

    Challenging the February 5 order of the government, the petitioners had argued before the high court that wearing the Islamic headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and an Essential Religious Practice (ERP), and not a mere display of religious jingoism.

    The petitioners had also contended that the restriction violated the freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(A) and article 21 dealing with personal liberty.

  • Students from India, including Karnataka, march in groups in Kharkiv risking their lives

    By PTI

    HAVERI: Students and workers from India, along with a large number of people from other countries, were marching on Wednesday in Kharkiv in war-ravaged Ukraine towards the nearest railway station risking their lives holding the Indian national flag, the father of one student said.

    “About 1,000 people, including 700 Indians, are marching towards the railway station holding the Indian flag. They are going to the railway station, which is seven kilometres from their bunker, by walk as no vehicles are available,” Venkatesh Vaishyar told PTI.

    Venkatesh’s son Amit V Vaishyar (23) is a fifth-year medical student in Kharkiv Medical College.

    He is among three students from Chalageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district studying MBBS in Kharkiv Medical College.

    ALSO READ: Karnataka parents demand Modi make use of friendship with Russia to evacuate students

    Amit’s cousin Suman (24), son of Sridhar Murthy Vaishyar, is also a student there and both of them are trying to return from the strife-torn country.

    On Tuesday, their junior 22-year-old Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagouda was killed in a shelling when he moved out of the bunker to fetch some food, water and exchange currency.

    “Students have no option but to take the risk as they don’t have food and water. They are relying on God now and walking towards the railway station,” Venkatesh said.

    With tears in his eyes, he said Amit is his only son and if something happens to him he will not be able to live.

    Meanwhile, Naveen’s father Shekarappa Gyanagouda broke down as he saw the photograph of his son’s body on WhatsApp, which is in a morgue in Kharkiv.

    ALSO READ: Russia-Ukraine war – Many Karnataka students board trains to escape conflict

    Naveen is the second son of Gyanagouda.

    His elder brother Harsha is an MSc in Agriculture and is with the parents.

    Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday told reporters in Bengaluru that he will make sincere efforts to bring Naveen’s body back to India.

    “I will speak to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine to get updates of the efforts to get Naveen’s body. We will make a serious effort,” Bommai said.

    According to him, the Indian officials have intensified their efforts to evacuate people stranded in Kharkiv, especially students.

    Bommai said 26 aircraft would be pressed into service to bring the stranded people back to India.

    ALSO READ: Efforts underway to bring back mortal remains of Naveen, says CM Bommai

    The students have been asked to come from different directions.

    Since the war is raging, evacuation is a bit problematic, Bommai said adding that the Ukrainian authorities have asked the evacuees to form groups and march towards the railway station.

    The Chief Minister said efforts have been made to slowly evacuate people.

    Regarding compensation to Naveen’s family, Bommai said the government can do anything but the priority right now is to bring the body to India.

    “Whatever is in our hand we will do it. We will certainly give compensation. The family is in pain. We have to get the body first for which we have intensified our efforts,” Bommai said.

    Another unidentified student from Haveri district sustained injuries due to the shelling in Kharkiv, Bommai had said on Tuesday.