BJP central leadership discussed with me before announcing candidates for RS polls: Yediyurappa
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said the central leadership of BJP had discussed him before finalising the names of two "low profile" party workers as candidates for June 19 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka.
The BJP's central leadership on Monday had sprung a surprise by fielding Eranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election ignoring the recommendations of the party state unit.
"BJP central leaders have given Rajya Sabha tickets to two ordinary workers of the party and thereby have given a gift to karyakarts.
I compliment Prime Minister Narednra Modi, party national President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah for this," Yediyurappa said. Speaking to reporters here, he expressed confidence that both candidates would work effectively in Rajya Sabha.
"Only BJP can take such decisions and give opportunity to ordinary karyakartas.
From our core committee (state) we had sent some names, but ultimately our national president spoke to me and said it has been decided to give tickets to ordinary party workers, we discussed it, after which the two names have been finalised."
The state BJP core committee on Saturday had recommended three names to high command as probable candidates-Ramesh Katti, the brother of senior MLA Umesh Katti, incumbent Prabhakar Kore and hotelier Prakash Shetty.
Ignoring the state unit's recommendation, two low-key workers Kadadi and Gasti, who have been associated with the party organisation for long, were announced on Monday afternoon by the central leadership.
Responding to a question about new names other than the ones decided by the state core committee being announced, Yediyurappa said, "we had sent names after deciding in the core committee.
In Delhi under the leadership of the Prime Minister, senior leaders have met and decided to give tickets to ordinary party workers."
"It is not for our state alone, the decision is applicable to other states also, I welcome it," he said.
While, Kadadi, a Lingayat is party's Belagavi division in-charge; Gasti from Savitha Samaj from Raichur district is party in-charge for the Bellary division.
Both are with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad background and have worked for the organisation at the grass root level for decades. They will be filing nominations today.
The announcement of two names came as a complete surprise to the party state unit and has certainly given a clear message to its leadership, a senior party functionary said, adding "it is a clear indication that loyalty to the party and ideology is what matters, and not to any particular leader."
It is also part of a strategy to nurture and elevate second-rung leaders, he noted. The move is also being seen as a setback to Yediyurappa, as names considered close to him have not been considered.
This has come at a time for Yediyurappa when there are speculations about dissidence within the state BJP against his leadership, with several MLAs, especially from north Karnataka recently holding separate meetings.
Election is scheduled on June 19 to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, represented by Rajeev Gowda and B K Hariprasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of the BJP and D.
Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement. The BJP, with 117 members in the assembly (including Speaker), can ensure easy victory in two seats.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
