Freedom, equality and fraternity must be upheld by all: CM Siddaramaiah in Puttur
Puttur: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasised the importance of upholding the constitutional values of freedom, equality, and fraternity, urging citizens to contribute towards building an inclusive and just society.
Addressing a large gathering at the Ashoka Janamana–2025 programme held at the Kombettu Grounds in Puttur, Siddaramaiah said, “Every individual must follow the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity enshrined in our Constitution. We will soon bring a law to act against those spreading false information in the state.”
The event was organized by the Rai Estate Education and Charitable Trust under the leadership of MLA Ashok Kumar Rai to mark the 13th annual Diwali celebration and distribution of clothes.
Speaking further, Siddaramaiah said that people who earn must share a portion of their wealth for the welfare of others. “A society based on equality can exist only when the privileged extend support to the underprivileged. Basavanna called this Kayaka Dasoha — work and share. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rightly said that when inequality persists, the edifice of liberty begins to crumble,” he noted.
The Chief Minister stressed that no religion teaches hatred. “Every faith advocates love and compassion. As Kuvempu said, our society should become a garden of peace for all communities,” he remarked.
Highlighting the government’s welfare initiatives, Siddaramaiah said the Anna Bhagya Guarantee Scheme aims to ensure that “no person in Karnataka should have to beg for food.” He also noted that after the introduction of guarantee schemes, Karnataka has achieved the highest per capita income in the country.
“We are committed to ensuring that every district has a medical college and at least one super-speciality hospital. As of now, 22 districts have government medical colleges. A full-fledged government medical college will also be established in Puttur,” he assured.
District-in-Charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who also spoke at the event, described the programme as “historic” and said it fosters love and trust among people. “Politics is not merely about enjoying power; it is about repaying the people’s debt through meaningful service,” he said.
MLA Ashok Kumar Rai mentioned that the Janamana initiative has been distributing clothes during Diwali for the past 12 years and that this year, one lakh people would benefit. He also expressed his commitment to pursuing tourism and employment opportunities for the development of Puttur.
The ceremony saw participation from several dignitaries, including MLC Dr. Manjunath Bhandari, Ivan D’Souza, former ministers Abhaychandra Jain, B. Ramanath Rai, and Vinay Kumar Sorake, Manila Shrimohan Das Paramahamsa Swamiji, religious leaders Fr. Lawrence Mascarenhas and scholar S.B. Dharimi, and former MLA Shakuntala Shetty.
Congress leaders Mithun Rai, Padmaraj, Inayat Ali, Kanachur Monu, Harish Kumar, M.A. Gafoor, Mamatha Gatti, and others were also present.
Ashok Kumar Rai welcomed the gathering, Muhammad Badagannur compered the event, and Nihal Shetty delivered the vote of thanks.
On the occasion of Diwali, clothes and household essentials were distributed to thousands, and 20 achievers from various fields were felicitated on stage.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
