"Will not go to any party now," says JDS MLA G T Deve Gowda
Bengaluru, Dec 14: Known for hobnobbing with BJP leaders, JD(S) MLA G T Deve Gowda said on Saturday that he will not go to any party now and will wait and watch till the next assembly elections due in 2022.
"Decision will be taken after seeing which way the politics goes after three years," the Chamundeshwari MLA told reporters at Bengaluru while speaking about the outcome of bypoll results and his future course of action.
In the recent bypolls, the JD(S) drew blank whereas the BJP won 12 of 15 seats, thus increasing its tally to 117 minus speaker and securing a majority in the 225-member House.
According to Gowda, political polarisation happens once in five years around general elections and, hence, there will be political polarisation in Karnataka after three years when the assembly elections take place.
"It is around that time that it will be decided who goes where and who stays in the party," Gowda added.
He however, made it clear that he would wait and watch till the next assembly elections.
"I am in the JD(S) now and I will work as a JD(S) MLA for the development of my area. I will not go to any party now," the JD(S) leader clarified.
The JD(S) MLA was emphatic that the party should have supported the ruling BJP in the by-elections.
"There was a need to support the ruling party. Let people decide -- if they (BJP) do good then they will come back. If not, then there will be a change," Gowda pointed out.
"In Karnataka, people gave their verdict. They are wise. They voted for a stable government and gave complete majority (to BJP), so that there is no infighting and bickering.
Yediyurappa is the chief minister. Let development happen under his leadership," Gowda said.
During the bypolls, the leader stayed aloof from campaigning in Hunsur and other places.
At the height of turmoil in Karnataka politics when 17 MLAs were disqualified for anti-party activities in July leading to the collapse of the Congress-JDS government, Gowda had said that the JD(S) should support the BJP and remain in the ruling side.
His cosying up to the BJP leadership had often worried the JD(S) leadership.
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.
