The Rajya Sabha MP said the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test has prevented access to medical education for so many children and the strength to change that rule of exam could emerge only from education.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning the outcome of the recent Maharashtra assembly elections and alleging hypocrisy in the BJP's stance on corruption. He also hinted at internal changes within the MNS, emphasizing the need for discipline and a renewed focus on the party's goals.
Opposition to the Karnataka government's proposed implementation of a caste census has intensified with dominant communities raising concerns about the survey's findings. The report, which has not been publicly released, is said to contradict traditional perceptions regarding the numerical strength of various castes, particularly Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. These communities, along with political parties, including sections of the ruling Congress, have criticized the survey as "unscientific" and demanded a fresh assessment. The Vokkaligara Sangha and the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha have expressed strong opposition, alleging that the report misrepresents their populations and demanding a fresh survey. Meanwhile, Dalit and OBC groups have defended the survey and its recommendations, including an increase in reservation for OBCs to 51%. The controversy has fueled political tensions in Karnataka, with opposition parties accusing the Congress government of using the caste census for political gain.
Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including Janata Dal-Secular contestant D Kupendra Reddy.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged Mumbai citizens to take precautions as the city experiences heavy rainfall and anticipates high tides. Waterlogging has been reported in several areas, and officials are taking measures to ensure public safety and minimize disruptions.
If the DMK is able to sustain the momentum until the assembly polls, the AIADMK especially and the PMK and possibly the infant TVK too would find it hard to sign up with the BJP, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The controversial issue of Muslim girls wearing 'hijab' in educational institutions, which had hit national headlines last year with a government pre-university college in Udupi banning it inside classrooms, does not appear to be a serious campaign issue for the May 10 elections to the Karnataka assembly.
Making it clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party is no mood to buckle under pressure from the Janata Dal-Secular, a senior BJP leader made it clear that he will not hold talks with JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda.
BJP said if voted to power, it would bring out a 'white paper' on the financial health of the state under the Congress rule.
The government will introduce a bill in this regard in the upcoming legislature session, which starts on July 3.
The Congress on Monday shifted all its MLAs to a hotel ahead of the biennial election to fill four vacancies from Karnataka in Rajya Sabha apparently to keep the flock together.
Headed by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, the JD-S has long been a strong third player in the southern state where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condemned the alleged poisoning of drinking water at a government school in Belagavi district, reportedly to force the transfer of a Muslim headmaster. He termed it a 'heinous act' driven by religious hatred and fundamentalism.
'The state government does not believe in disallowing non-Hindus to do business outside Hindu temples.'
The electoral fortunes of top leaders-- Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar and JD-S' H D Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.
The Lok Sabha member from Dakshina Kannada met family members of Krishnappa, a BJP worker who was allegedly hacked to death, while his wife and son were grievously injured in the attack after they protested against bursting of crackers outside their house in Bengaluru Rural district's Hoskote on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters later, Bommai said: "We respectfully accept the decision of the people. I take the responsibility of the defeat."
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the wake of allegations against police for ill-treating Karnataka MLC C T Ravi in custody, the police on Tuesday clarified that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was shifted to various places for security reasons and to avoid disrupting public order.
Yatnal, who has launched a tirade against Yediyurappa and his family, especially after his second son BY Vijayendra was made the BJP state president, said there was large-scale corruption in coronavirus management during the BJP government.
Artificial Intelligence-enabled cameras with facial recognition technology have now been installed in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that will record arrival and exit time of members, as well as the duration of their presence in the House.
The Congress government in Karnataka will provide financial assistance to those allegedly sexually assaulted by Janata Dal-Secular leader Prajwal Revanna, the national party said on Sunday.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP and Congress have already launched spirited campaigns for the elections.
Here's how some of the heavyweights fared in the Karnataka elections.
Apparently aimed at keeping the flock together ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, all ruling Congress MLAs in Karnataka will stay put together at a hotel in Bengaluru on Monday after the budget session of the state legislature concludes and will later also travel together for voting the next day.
Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the chairman of Karnataka legislative council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the family, he said, as MLA of the locality, Arvind Limbavali is said to have tried to settle things.
Announcing the fifth poll 'guarantee' of the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised free travel for women in public transport buses, if it's voted to power in the state.
Mr Pradhan's understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Weighed down by anti-incumbency, the BJP heavily banked on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal appeal to enable it to sail through in the assembly elections but it was not to be.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released its first list of 189 candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, fielding Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from his traditional Shiggaon constituency.
'Siddaramaiah was openly taking on the BJP's communal agenda, which very few non-BJP politicians do.'
Amid cow theft cases in Uttara Kannada district, District in-charge Minister Mankal S Vaidya has warned that those indulging in such activities would be shot at on the road or at the circle in the open.
It should announce its candidates 45 days before the elections; trust rooted leaders; start its campaign focused on five guarantees six months before elections.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and senior leader Jairam Ramesh were among the 10 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha on Friday from Karnataka, Rajasthan and Haryana, while counting was underway in Maharashtra after an eight-hour delay due to wrangling by rival parties over alleged breach of voting rules.
The electoral predictions made by the various exit polls about the outcome of the Karnataka election seem to have hit bull's eye. The Congress has, expectedly, taken a major lead within the first couple of hours of counting of votes. But the trend that has surprised pundits and politicians alike is the revival of the Janata Dal - Secular, which has relegated the Bharatiya Janata Party to the third position.
A case is filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit for issuing "defamatory" advertisements in mainstream newspapers.
