Regional

Chandigarh, May 8 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced launching a drive to preserve the flora and fauna along with recharging the water table to save water for the coming generations.

Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of the Chitti Bein in Simbli in Hoshiarpur district, the Chief Minister said Punjab is a sacred land of great Gurus and saints, who have shown the way to preserve the environment.

He said, following in the footsteps of the Gurus, the government would soon embark upon a campaign to preserve the natural resources of the state.

He said while there is no dearth of funds for this noble cause, he called upon people to support it and make the campaign a mass movement.

The Chief Minister, while slamming the Opposition parties for blatantly ignoring the environmental issues, said that as water, air and land had no votes, so these leaders ignored them.

He said after the formation of the AAP government in the state, steps have been taken to save the environment.

The Chief Minister said since long, the successive state governments had also ignored the core sectors of health and education.

However, he said, after the formation of his government, complete transformation of these sectors have taken place.

Mann said due to efforts of the government, Punjab will soon be a front ranking state across the country in these sectors.

The Chief Minister said the government is taking steps for optimum utilisation of the canal water to save the groundwater.

He said that currently, Punjab is using only 33-34 per cent of its canal water, adding this will be enhanced in the coming days.

Mann envisioned that if Punjab can enhance the canal water utilisation to 60 per cent in first phase then nearly four lakh tubewells out of total 14 lakh can be stopped, thereby helping in saving water.

--IANS
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Hubballi, May 8 (IANS) The Lingayat Forum is a fictional organisation as it does not exist at all, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday.

The Chief Minister told reporters here that Veerashaiva is a very big community and it is not under any organisation. A lot of respect is given to the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, but it is not correct to use any organisation for election purposes.

"If four or five persons say something, does it become the voice of the Lingayats? The Lingayat community is like an ocean. The Lingayat Forum is an organisation that emerged ahead of elections," he stated.

Bommai said there are no cases against the BJP. The Congress didn't have any document when the Election Commission asked for it. The Congress leaders who talk about corruption are themselves facing corruption charges and attending courts. With what moral right can they question the BJP?

He said the IT sleuths are in every district and they will have information about where the mistakes happen. The Congress leaders have committed mistakes, what can we do? There will be raids.

The Chief Minister said the BJP's national leaders have come to Karnataka for all the elections as they have an emotional bond with the people of the state. This will give a big boost to the party.

The campaigning for the May 10 Assembly election ends on Monday.

The Karnataka Lingayita Mattu Veerashaiva Vichara Vedike, a platform of thinkers from the state's dominant Veerashaiva Lingayat community, gave a call to the community members to defeat the BJP in the elections.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 8 (IANS) Congressleader Rahul Gandhi on Monday travelled in a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus and interacted with commuters of different age group in Bengaluru.

Gandhi also visited the Coffee Day shop on the Cunningham Road and interacted with coffee buffs and had a cup of coffee too. He walked to the nearest bus stop and met a group of women and college going girls at the junction.

The women and college girls shared with him their woes of everyday life, the difficulties they face while traveling in buses, their difficulty to pursue education, responsibilities of the family. Gandhi also asked them about the importance given to the education of their children.

He boarded the bus with the women and spoke to them about the Congress' proposal of free travel for all women in public transport and Rs 2,000 allowance for women head of every family in Karnataka under Gruha Laxmi Scheme.

He also spoke to them on whether they are aware of these proposals by the Congress. The women passengers told him about price rises badly hitting their budgets and its consequences on their lives.

Gandhi alighted the bus near Lingarajapuram and again interacted with the women and young people. He spoke to them about the Congress manifesto and got their feedback.

The Congress leader had travelled with a food delivery boy on his bike on Sunday and interacted with him.

--IANS
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Patna, May 8 (IANS) The Sasaram district court on Monday refused bail to former BJP MLA Jawahar Prasad in connection with the communal violence in the district on Ram Navami.

Prasad was arrested by the police on April 29 following which he was remanded to judicial custody. His lawyer had filed a plea for bail in the court of chief judicial magistrate.

The prosecution lawyer urged the court to add IPC Section 302 in the case against Jawahar Prasad and other accused persons, who were allegedly involved in the communal violence during a Ram Navami procession on March 31. Subsequently, the court oredered to include IPC Section 302 in the FIR.

"As murder is a non-bailable offence, the court has refused to grant bail to Jawahar Prasad," said Nagendra Pandey, the rosecution lawyer.

Earlier, the court had granted bail to a number of people who were allegedly involved in the Ram Navami violence. All of them have now been asked to surrender before the court as their bail stands cancelled following the inclusion of Section 302 in the FIR.

Prasad can now approach the Patna High Court and seek bail.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, May 7 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Sunday announced that party's Telangana unit President and former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar will be the chief ministerial candidate of the party.

Addressing a public meeting here, she declared that if the BSP is voted to power in Telangana, Praveen Kumar will be the Chief Minister.

She said after taking voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service (IPS), he had been working with missionary zeal to strengthen the party in Telangana. She hoped that he would take very good care of people like the BSP did in Uttar Pradesh when it was in power.

Mayawati appealed to people to bring her party to power in Telangana in the elections scheduled in next few months and also give the most number of Lok Sabha seats from the state to the BSP in the elections to be held next year.

She said if SCs, STs, OBCs, Muslims and other minorities and other weaker sections want a life of dignity and want to liberate themselves from oppression, they should bring the BSP to power.

Taking a dig at Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his call for amending the Constitution, the BSP leader urged people to throw Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) out of power. She said the government which is talking of changing the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar, should be thrown out of power.

Mayawati did not agree that BSP is weakening in Uttar Pradesh. "You may be wondering why the BSP is weakening in Uttar Pradesh but it is not weakening. As long as elections were held with ballot paper, our party grew in popularity but when EVMs were introduced, we lost our votes due to manipulation in EVMs," she claimed.

The BSP leader also alleged that in states where the BJP is growing strong, conspiracies are being hatched to split the votes of Dalits and weaker sections by floating smaller parties.

Mayawati also took potshots at Chief Minister KCR for trying to copy BSP to promise land for Dalits. "He promised 3 acres of free land but did not implement it," she said.

She also alleged that for the sake of votes, KCR named the State Secretariat after Babasaheb Ambedkar government building and installed his tallest statue.

She recalled that when Telangana people were fighting for their own state, the BSP was the first party to raise its voice in Parliament in their support and it also supported the Bill brought in Parliament for creation of the state.

Mayawati said that the weaker sections, Dalits, tribals, backward, youth and unemployed in Telangana were hit by irregularities in recruitment. She alleged that the state government is trying to suppress the voice raised against these irregularities.

The BSP leader also questioned the silence of Chief Minister over the release of a convict in the murder of slain Dalit IAS officer G. Krishnaiah.

She was referring to the release ofAformer MP Anand Mohan Singh by the Bihar government.

The gangster-turned-politician, who had instigated the bureaucrat's lynching in 1994 and was sentenced life imprisonment, was recently released from jail after Bihar government tweaked the rules.

Mayawati said BSP raised its voice against the release of the convict and demanded justice for the family of the slain officer.

--IANS
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Thiruvananthapuram, May 7 (IANS) Kerala Police will be deploying 'shadow police' at film shooting sites, following several complaints by producers and technicians that drug abuse was rampant among young actors in the Malayalam film industry.

The producers association of Kerala has recently said that two young actors were reportedly using drugs on a regular basis and many other stars were also involved in this.

Association leaders told press persons a few days ago that these two young actors were highly irregular on sets and do not honour their contracts.

Producer association's former President G. Suresh Kumar told media persons that they would not point out the actors but police were free to take action on this issue "which was killing the Malayalam film industry".

It remains to be seen whether the state police would conduct a massive inspection in all the shooting sites across the state.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Of the 384 candidates contesting for 28 assembly seats in Karnataka's Bengaluru region, 92 have declared criminal cases against themselves with 57 of them (cases) with serious charges, according to a new report.

As per the Karnataka Election Watch, Bengaluru Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 384 out of 389 candidates, who are contesting in the 28 constituencies of Bengaluru region in the Karnataka Assembly elections, 92 candidates, which is 24 per cent of the total candidates analysed have declared criminal cases against themselves.

The report also stated that there are 57 candidates, which is 15 per cent of the 384 candidates, with serious criminal cases against themselves.

The report stated that among the major parties,14 (50 per cent) out of 28 candidates analysed from BJP, 19 (70 per cent) out of 27 candidates analysed from Congress, 9 (38 per cent) out of 24 candidates analysed from JD-S and 9 (32 per cent) out of 28 candidates analysed from AAP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Meanwhile, BJP's nine candidates, which is 32 per cent of the 28 candidates analysed, have serious criminal cases.

Congress' 10 candidates, which is 37 per cent out of 27 candidates analysed, 8 (33 per cent) out of 24 candidates analysed from JD(S) and one (4 per cent) out of 28 candidates analysed from AAP have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The report pointed out that five candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women, while four candidates have declared cases related to murder (IPC Section-302) against themselves.

In the Karnataka Assembly polls for 32 Bengaluru assembly seats, nine candidates have declared cases related to attempt to murder (IPC Section-307) against themselves.

Polling for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly will take place on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.

--IANS
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Chennai, May 7 (IANS) Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Sunday said the DMK government has failed to maintain law and order situation in the state in the last two years since it came to power,

The AMMK leader who is a former MLA and the nephew of expelled AIADMK interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, lashed out at the government for the delay in investigating the Kodanad murder cum heist case, Sterlite police firing case and Pollachi sexual assault case.

In a six-page letter, on the DMK government's second anniversary, he questioned the government over its failure to abolish NEET in Tamil Nadu, which was a poll promise.

Dhinakaran said: "They said that they will strike down NEET with a single signature and they know how to achieve it. Two years have been completed after they came to power and nothing happened."

He also expressed concern over the increase in honour killings in the state ever since the DMK government assumed office.

The AMMK leader also lashed out against senior ministers for their disrespectful attitude towards women who were using free bus pass services.

TTV Dhinakaran said that the DMK government has been betraying the fishermen community ever since the Katchatheevu island handing over incident. He added that fishermen from the state were facing physical assault and intimidation by the Sri Lankan Navy.

The former MLA also lashed out against the Rs 80 crore project of Pen Monument in the name of late Kalignar Karunanidhi at the Marina beach overlooking stringent opposition from environmentalists and fishermen community.

He wondered "how the Tamil Nadu government got such swift approval from the Central government for the project".

--IANS
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Bengaluru, May 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday criticised the Congress in his last public rally in Karnataka ahead of assembly polls scheduled to be held on May 10, saying the grand old party has insulted Lingayats, OBCs and also Bajrangbali (Lord Hanuman).

Addressing a massive crowd in Nanjangud of Mysuru district, PM Modi said: "Do not believe in the bundle of lies by Congress. This is going to be my last speech in Karnataka before the Assembly elections. I thank all Kannada people from my heart for supporting me. All should participate in the festival of elections. Your vote will give new direction to the state and nation."

PM Modi said that the BJP is striving for the welfare of all people.

"All people including those belonging to the Hakki-Pikki community have been brought back to India safely from Sudan. Congress has played politics in this crisis. Modi is there for you. We will take any required step to defend the country. We will not hesitate in taking any bold step," PM Modi said.

He said that the Congress was insulting those who took part in the freedom struggle of India.

"Crores of Kannada people are insulted. 'Rashtra Kavi' Kuvempu described Karnataka as the daughter of India. But the Congress has adopted a divide and rule policy. I never thought the Congress would indulge in such cheap tactics to come to power," he said.

He said that "India is in the second position in mobile production in the world".

"Many big companies have come to Karnataka. Branded mobiles are produced in Karnataka. This is a matter of pride for the state. But for JD-S and Congress, it is not a matter of pride," he said.

The Prime Minister further said that to create a history and to make the state (Karnataka) number one in the country, the state assembly elections are significant.

"People believe in double engine government. There is only one conviction in all corners of the state that this time, the majority BJP government will come to power," PM Modi said.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) With just few days left for the crucial Assembly polls in Karnataka, a new opinion poll predicted that the Congress may emerge as the single largest party in the southern state but may fall eight seats short of a clear majority.

According to the India TV-CNX opinion poll, telecast on the news channel on Sunday, the Congress may win 105 seats in the 224-seat Assembly, while the ruling BJP may win 85 seats, followed by Janata Dal-Secular which may win 32 seats.

The opinion poll predicted that 'others' may win two seats.

In the 2018 elections, the BJP had won 104, the Congress 80, the JD-S 37, and 'Others' had won three seats.

As per the vote share projections, Congress may get 40.32 per cent, the BJP may get 35.5 per cent, the JD-S 17.81 per cent, and 'others' may get 6.37 per cent.

In the 2018 elections, the Congress had got 38.04 per cent, the BJP had got 36.22 per cent, the JD-S 18.36 per cent and 'Others' had got 7.38 per cent votes.

The opinion poll also predicted that caste and community wise projections show, the Congress may get 75.3 per cent of Kuruba votes, 15.11 per cent Lingayat votes, 17.57 per cent Vokkaliga votes, 40.56 per cent of SC votes, 34.58 per cent of OBC votes, 42.35 per cent of ST votes, and a whopping 78 per cent of Muslim votes.

On the other hand, the BJP may get 15.14 per cent Kuruba votes, a whopping 75.8 per cent Lingayat votes, 17.39 per cent Vokkaliga votes, 39.6 per cent SC votes, 51.7 per cent OBC votes, 32.18 per cent ST votes and only 2.07 per cent Muslim votes.

The projection show the JD-S may get 56 per cent Vokkaliga votes.

The India TV-CNX poll projections region-wise show also predicted that the BJP and the Congress may share 15 seats each in Greater Bengaluru area (32 seats total), while the JD-S) may get two.

In Central Karnataka's 21 seats, the BJP may win 13 and Congress eight seats.

The Congress may sweep the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, winning 32 of the 40 seats, while the BJP may win six and the JD-S two.

In Old Mysore's 62 seats, the Congress may win 26 seats, the JD-S may win 28, and the BJP only seven seats. 'Others' may win the remaining one seat.

In coastal Karnataka having 19 seats, the BJP may win 15 and the Congress 4.

In the Bombay Karnataka region having 50 seats, the BJP may win 29, the Congress may win 20 and 'Others' may win one seat.A

The opinion poll survey findings also showed that Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah still remains the first choice for the top post, leading the list with 32.2 per cent votes, while 26.83 per cent favouring incumbent Basavaraj Bommai as Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, 16.37 per cent opted for JD-S leader and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy, while 10.97 per cent favoured BJP leader and former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa and only seven per cent preferred Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar for the Chief Ministerial post.

The opinion poll survey was carried out by CNX among 11,200 respondents (5,620 males and 5,580 females) in 112 out of a total of 224 seats. The respondents were selected randomly keeping in view demographic, professional and migration dimensions.

Polling for the Karnataka Assembly is scheduled on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.

--IANS
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