Farmers' protest politically motivated, claims MoS for Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje
Udupi, Feb 15: Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday characterised the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi as politically motivated.
Addressing reporters in Udupi, she said the M S Swaminathan committee had given 207 recommendations in its report, which was kept in "deep cold storage" by the UPA government. She claimed that all the recommendations were addressed by the Narendra Modi government alone, and minimum support price (MSP) was one among them.
"The government is now providing MSP for 22 crops. The ongoing agitation when elections are drawing near is a political protest in the name of farmers," she alleged.
This is part of a conspiracy by a few organisations and international movements," she further claimed, adding that the government is prepared to hold talks with the farmers.
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On her candidature in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Karandlaje said she will be contesting again from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru constituency, unless the party decides otherwise. She said her name is being proposed for at least five to six constituencies. "But UdupiChikkamagaluru remains my constituency," she said.
The minister said the people of LS segment had made her victorious though she was new to them, and therefore there is no question of shifting to other constituencies." However if the party wants to shift me somewhere i will abide by the decision," she said.
She said several developmental works had been carried out in the constituency during the last five years and her campaign would be based on development.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
