Alleging irregularities, Karnataka minister C T Ravi wants closure of Indira Canteens
Bengaluru, Dec 18: With the BJP government in Karnataka mulling over changing the name of state-sponsored subsidised 'Indira Canteens' launched by the previous Congress administration, a minister on Wednesday urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to close them down, alleging irregularities.
"There is no question of hate politics, there is irregularity happening. While the food was served to about 20 people, numbers of 200 were shown.
They should be ashamed for doing it," Tourism minister C T Ravi said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said Rs 1 crore was spent on each Indira Canteen for Congress' "political benefit."
Ravi said there should be accountability while spending tax payer's money.
"There is no one in the state who cannot afford food.
It (canteen) was a conspiracy by the Congress party to loot money in the name of poor.
Chief Minister has not yet taken any decision, but I request him to shut Indira Canteen, by doing so we can prevent waste of government money," he said.
"...check out records, you will get to know whose relatives have been given the contract," the minister said.
Ravi's comment came a day after his senior colleague and Revenue minister R Ashoka said changing the name of Indira Canteen to 'Maharshi Valmiki Anna Kuteera' was under the government's consideration.
Ashoka claimed there were several complaints about Indira canteen and quality of food and the way it was being run by inflating number of plates of food being served, among other things.
The minister also said he received a request to rename Indira canteen as Maharshi Valmiki Anna Kuteera from BJP MLA Raju Gowda.
"It is under consideration as it was not limited to one particular party, but for all communities. I will discuss with Chief Minister on name change," Ashoka said on Tuesday.
However, Ashoka noted that as Bengaluru city did not come under his preview, the name change was being considered at places other than the city for now.
Ravi alleged that the subsidised food canteens was named after former prime minister, late Indira Gandhi for political reasons.
Commenting on renaming, Ravi said "if Congress' money is used to run them, we don't have any issues.
It will be a penance for their (Congress) sins of looting public money by doing so (serving food for poor from Congress' money)," he added.
Indira Canteen providing breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch and dinner at a cost of Rs 10, was the pet project of the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
The move to rename the canteens after Valmiki, who wrote the mythological Hindu epic 'Ramayana', is seen as an attempt by the BJP to woo the Valmiki community (ST) that has considerable presence in the state.
Condemning the BJP government's proposal to change the name, Siddaramaiah said it has to stop these kind of petty politics to divert the attention of actual issues.
In a tweet, he said Indira Gandhi fought for the rights of poor and took steps to address hunger issues.
"She is not just @INCIndia leader but a leader for the whole nation. She protected the interests of common man.
This was the reason for naming the canteen after her," Siddaramaiah tweeted Tuesday night.
"There is a news that @BJP4Karnataka wants to name #IndiraCanteen after Maharshi Valmiki. We have great respect for Maharshi Valmiki but it is sad that the BJP is using his name for political reasons," he said.
"..let the govt (sic) implement scheme that complements his achievements and name it after him, I shall welcome the same," Siddaramaiah said.
ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಲು ಹೊರಟಿರುವ @BJP4Karnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ನಡೆ ಖಂಡನೀಯ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
ಇಂತಹ ಕ್ಷುಲಕ ರಾಜಕಾಣವನ್ನು ತಕ್ಷಣ ಕೈ ಬಿಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಆಗ್ರಹಪಡಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.
ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಬೇಕಾಗಿರುವುದು ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್ ಹೆಸರಲ್ಲ,
ತನ್ನೊಳಗಿನ ಸಣ್ಣ ಬುದ್ದಿಯನ್ನು.#SaveIndiraCanteen
1/4 pic.twitter.com/3tmvEA3NYX
ಮಾಜಿ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿ ಇಂದಿರಾಗಾಂಧಿಯವರು ಗರೀಬಿ ಹಟಾವೋ ಘೋಷಣೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಬಡತನದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಯುದ್ದ ಸಾರಿ ಗೆದ್ದವರು.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
ಅವರು ಕೇವಲ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕಿಯಲ್ಲ, ದೇಶದ ನಾಯಕಿ,
ಬಡವರ ಪಾಲಿನ ಆಪತ್ಪಾಂಧವರಾಗಿದ್ದರು.
ಈ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್ ಎಂದು ನಾಮಕರಣ ಮಾಡಲಾಗಿತ್ತು#SaveIndiraCanteen
2/4 pic.twitter.com/6jgDvUK9PO
ಇಂದಿರಾ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್ಗೆ ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಕವಿ ಮಹರ್ಷಿ ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯವರ ಹೆಸರು ಇಡುವ ಯೋಚನೆ ಇದೆಯಂತೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
ಮಹರ್ಷಿ ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯವರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲ ಅಪಾರವಾದ ಗೌರವ ಇದೆ. ಅವರ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ತನ್ನ ಕ್ಷುಲಕ ರಾಜಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ದುರ್ಬಳಕೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಅವರಿಗೆ ಅವಮಾನ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿದೆ.
#SaveIndiraCanteen
3/4
ಮಹರ್ಷಿ ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿಯವರು ರಾಮಾಯಣ ಎಂಬ ಮಹಾಕಾವ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬರೆದ ಮಹಾಕವಿ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
ತಳಸಮುದಾಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿ ಅಕ್ಷರ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಮೇರುಪರ್ವತ ಏರಿದ ಸಾಧಕ.
ಅವರ ಸಾಧನೆಗೆ ಹೊಂದುವಂತಹ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭಿಸಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಗೌರವ ತೋರಲಿ.
ಅದನ್ನು ನಾನು ಸ್ವಾಗತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.#SaveIndiraCanteen
4/4
ನಮ್ಮ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಜಾರಿಗೆ ತಂದಿರುವ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಬಡವರ ಪರ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳನ್ನು ರದ್ದುಮಾಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದ @BJP4Karnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಈಗ ಜನಾಕ್ರೋಶಕ್ಕೆ ಹೆದರಿ ಹೆಸರು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಲು ಹೊರಟಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
ಇವರಿಗೆ ಬಡವರ ಪರವಾದ ಹೊಸ ಯೋಜನೆಗಳನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಮನಸ್ಸೂ ಇಲ್ಲ.#SaveIndiraCanteen
I condemn the decision of @BJP4Karnataka to change the name of #IndiraCanteen.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
They have to stop these kind of petty politics to divert the attention of actual issues.#SaveIndiraCanteen
#IndiraGandhi fought for the rights of poor & took measures to address the issues of hunger. She is not just @INCIndia leader but a leader for the whole nation. She protected the interests of common man.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
This was the reason for naming the canteen after her.#SaveIndiraCanteen
There is a news that @BJP4Karnataka wants to name #IndiraCanteen after Maharshi Valmiki.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
We have great respect for Maharshi Valmiki but it is sad that BJP is using his name for political reasons.#SaveIndiraCanteen
Maharshi Valmiki is a great poet who wrote epic Ramayana. He is an inspiration for many of us for his rise inspite of being born in tribal sect.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 17, 2019
Let the govt implement scheme that complements his achievements and name it after him. I shall welcome the same.#SaveIndiraCanteen
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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.
