BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil questions need for deputy CMs in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Dec 12: BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil on Thursday questioned the need to have deputy chief ministers in the state when Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is capable enough to take up the responsibility.
The state has three deputy chief ministers C N Ashwath Narayan, Govind Karjol and Laxman Savadi.
The MLA has been sulking after Savadi was given the post despite losing the 2018 assembly election from Athani.
"Just one chief minister is enough. Others can be ministers. Why do we need deputy chief ministers when there is no recognition to that post in the Indian constitution?" the Bijapur City MLA told reporters at Vijayapura.
He said there was no need for deputy chief ministers.
"Our Chief Minister is quite capable. Other ministers can work under him," Yatnal added.
Asserting that he was not in the race for a ministerial post, Yatnal said development of the district itself is sufficient for him.
He, however, asserted that he was ready to take up ministerial responsibility if Yediyurappa assigns him.
"If Yediyurappa gives me the responsibility, I will take it up," he said.
The MLA recently flayed the party leadership saying they ignored Yediyurappa when he tried to meet them in Delhi demanding grants for relief works in north Karnataka which was ravaged by floods twice this year.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
