BJP gets Karnataka Land Reforms Amendment Act passed in the legislative council with JD(S) support
Bengaluru, Dec 8: The ruling BJP in Karnataka received a shot in the arm when its Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act- 2020 got cleared in the Legislative Council with the support of the JD(S) on Tuesday.
The new law gives rights to any individual to purchase agricultural land, which was previously restricted only to those with an agricultural background.
The development took place on a day various farmers and trade union bodies were staging demonstrations across the state in line with the 'Bharat Bandh' to oppose the farm laws.
The JD(S) which had opposed the amendment came in support of the BJP and got the bill cleared in the council.
The bill could not see the light of the day in the Monsoon session of the Karnataka Legislature as both Congress and the JD(S) had opposed it.
Announcing the bill approved by the council as well, speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said in the Assembly, "In the message received from the Karnataka Legislative Council chairman, the Karnataka Land Reform (Amendment) Act 2020 has been approved by the council under section 119 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Karnataka Legislative Council."
The JD(S) MLC H M Ramesh Gowda confirmed that the bill was cleared in the council with the support of the JD(S) members.
The bill was crucial for the BJP which had been pitching for it.
The party got it cleared in the Assembly where it has majority but failed last time for want of numbers in the council despite being the single largest party there.
In the 75-member council, the BJP has 31 members, Congress 28 and JD(S)14 besides an independent and chairman.
The JD(S) second-in-command and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had hinted a few days ago that he lost the goodwill he had earned when he had formed a government with the BJP in 2006-07 by joining hands with the Congress to form a coalition government in 2018-19.
Congress and the various farmers' associations had opposed the bill as they felt it gives the rich the right to purchase agriculture for investment and real estate purposes.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
