Deve Gowda to contest June 19 Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka
Bengaluru: JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda has decided to contest the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka and will be filing his nominations on Tuesday, his son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday.
He said the former Prime Minister made his decision following the request of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, several national leaders, and party legislators, and it was not an easy task to "persuade" him to enter the Rajya Sabha.
"Former PM @H_D_Devegowda has decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections at the request of party legislators, @INCIndia Sonia Gandhi Ji, and several national leaders.
He is going to file his nominations tomorrow.
Thanks to Sri DeveGowda for agreeing to everyone's consensus," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
"From the people, former prime minister Deve Gowda has seen success and defeat.
By the people, he has acquired higher positions.
It was not an easy task to persuade DeveGowda to enter the Rajya Sabha," he said.
"Finally, @H_D_Devegowda responded to everyone's hope and ambition. He will be the state's top representative in the Rajya Sabha," he said in another tweet.
The JD(S), which has 34 seats in the assembly, is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own and will need support from the Congress with its surplus votes.
A minimum of 44 votes is required for candidates to win.
If he wins, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as Prime Minister.
Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by BJP's G S Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
As a joint candidate of the then ruling Congress-JDS coalition, Gowda had chosen to contest from Tumkur at the last minute after vacating Hassan-his home turf, to grandson Prajwal Revanna (a current MP).
The 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 BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement.
June 9 is the last date for filing nominations.
With 68 MLAs in the assembly, Congress can win one out of the four seats on its own and has fielded veteran party leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its candidate.
The BJP, with 117 members in the assembly (including Speaker), can ensure easy victory in two seats.
The State BJP core committee on Saturday had recommended three names to high command as probable candidates, out of which two are likely to be finalized.
According to party sources, BJP is unlikely to field a candidate against Gowda.
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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.
