Karnataka govt appoints defeated BJP candidates heads of boards, corporations
Bengaluru, Oct 9: In a move seen as confirmation of party tickets to disqualified Congress-JDS MLAs, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday appointed eight former BJP candidates from constituencies they represented as heads of boards and corporations with Minister of State rank.
The defeated BJP candidates appointed as heads of state run boards and corporations with this rank include Sharath Bachegowda as Chairman of the Karnataka Housing Board.
Bachegowda was defeated in the 2018assembly polls by M T B Nagaraj inHosakote.
His supporters had recently thronged Yediyurappa's home, demanding a ticket for their leader and opposed any move by the party to allot a ticket to disqualified MLA Nagaraj.
Yediyurappa had recently said disqualified Congress-JDS MLAs would be given BJP tickets for the bypolls if they wanted, amid growing opposition in some quarters within the party against any such move.
The rebellion by the then MLAs had led to the fall of the Congress-JDS government in July, paving the way for the BJP to come back to power.
By elections to constituencies held by them are slated in December.
Yediyurappa had tried to pacify BJP ticket aspirants and those defeated in the2018 assembly polls,saying "opportunity" will be created for them in state-run boards and corporations.
Among others appointed were Ashok Ningayyaswami Pujari as Chairman of the Karnataka Border Area Development Authority and Bharamagouda Kage as Chairman of Command Area Development Programme- Malaprabha and Ghataprabha projects,Belagavi.
Nandish Reddy was made Vice-Chairman of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, U B Banakar as Chairman of the Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processingand Export Corporation Limited, while Basangouda Turvihal was appointed Chairman of CADA- Tungabhadra Project.
V S Patil was appointed as Chairman of North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and H R Gaviappa as chairman of the Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd.
The bypolls to 15 of 17 seats represented by disqualified MLAs, which the Election Commission had earlier decided to defer until Supreme Court decides on their plea challenging disqualification, has now been scheduled forDecember 5.
Even as the status of the disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs over their eligibility to contest the bypolls is yet to be decided by the Apex Court, there is growing opposition within some in the state BJP against giving them tickets to contest.
The 15 constituencies going to the polls are Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapur, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijayanagara, Chikkaballapura, K R Pura, Yeswanthpura, Mahalakshmi Layout, Shivajinagara, Hosakote, K R Pete, and Hunsur. Among these, 12 were represented by Congress and three by JD(S).
Winning most seats is crucial for BJP to stay in power.
The ruling party has 105 MLAs (including one independent) in the assembly, whose current strength is 208 (after 17 disqualifications).
While Congress' strength is 66, JD(S) has 34 MLAs in the Assembly that also consists of one BSP member, a nominated member and the Speaker.
The actual strength of the assembly is 225 and the half way mark is 113.
BJP needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls for 15 constituencies to remain in majority in the assembly, which will still have two vacant seats (Maski and R R Nagar).
The absence and resignation of the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs during the trust vote had led to the collapse of the coalition government in July and helped BJP to come to power.
After examining the petition moved by both parties, the then Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had disqualified the 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs under theanti-defectionlaw, which they have challenged in the SupremeCourt.
Kumar had ruled that those disqualified cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in 2023).
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AI, IndiGo, SpiceJet seek ATF price relief; say airline industry on verge of 'stopping operations'
Mumbai (PTI): Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet have told the government that the country's airline industry is under extreme stress and on the verge of "stopping operations", as they sought revision in ATF pricing and financial support.
The West Asia turmoil has pushed up oil prices, and airspace restrictions have increased airlines' operating costs, especially on long-haul routes. Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for around 40 per cent of a carrier's operational expenses.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has written to the civil aviation ministry, seeking steps to extend the same fuel pricing mechanism uniformly across both domestic and international operations as was done in the past with the establishment of the crack band.
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With an unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices and exorbitant crack/differential between crude and ATF, the federation said the operation of airlines is being challenged in totality.
"... any ad hoc pricing (domestic vs international) and/or irrational increase in the price of ATF will result in unsurmountable losses for airlines and will lead to grounding of aircraft, resulting in cancellation of flights," the federation, which represents Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, said.
"In order to survive, sustain and continue operation, we request your urgent intervention for immediate and meaningful financial support to tide over the current situation," it said in a letter on April 26.
Also, the airlines have sought temporary deferment of excise duty on ATF, which is at 11 per cent.
"With the abnormal increase in ATF prices from the pre-crisis period, adding rupee depreciation to the increased prices, the 11 per cent excise duty also increases manifold for the airlines and adds to the ATF price as a big impact on airlines," they said.
Last month, the government limited the hike in ATF price to Rs 15 per litre for domestic operations, but for international operations, the price rose by Rs 73 per litre.
The airlines said the situation has practically made international operations, along with domestic operations, completely unviable and resulted in significant losses for the aviation sector in April.
Seeking urgent intervention on the current ATF ad hoc pricing, FIA said the current situation is creating a severe imbalance in domestic and international operations and rendering airline networks unviable and unsustainable.
"The airline industry in India is under extreme stress and is on the verge of closing down or of stopping its operations."
The federation has pitched for a transparent pricing framework under the crack band mechanism (USD 12–22/BBL) that was implemented in October 2022, saying there was a fair and reasonable margin for Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
According to FIA, the country's largest aviation hub Delhi has the second-highest value-added tax (VAT) of 25 per cent on jet fuel, while the highest rate is 29 per cent levied in Tamil Nadu.
"The other major aviation cities, viz. Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata range between 16 per cent and 20 per cent. These 6 cities cover more than 50 per cent of airlines' operations within India," the federation said.
