Panaji, July 23 : A Goa BJP spokesperson on Monday called Congress President Rahul Gandhi a "loafer" for winking in Parliament, a day after the state Congress chief called Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar a "kathputli" (puppet) for bowing to unreasonable demands of ruling coalition allies in the coastal state.

"Rahul Gandhi, who does not have substance or the understanding of issues related to the people of India, had to resort to hugging the Prime Minister in the temple of democracy and then winking like a loafer," said state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik in a press statement.

"We have only heard of loafers winking at girls in colleges in the past and never such a shameful act has ever happened in the temple of democracy," Naik said, adding that the Congress party had become a "kathputli" in the hands of Gandhi family.

Naik said state Congress president Girish Chodankar had forgotten that even former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a puppet in the hands of then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that all Goa Congress presidents in the past were "kathputlis" in the hands of the Congress high command.

On Sunday, the state's top Congress leader, Chodankar in a press conference had said: "The Chief Minister has been reduced to string puppet by alliance partners like Goa Forward, whose leader Vijai Sardesai has tried to save those behind the fish mafia, after formalin was found in fish imported into Goa from other states by rogue fish traders. Hundreds of thousands of Goans love their fish thali. The government has put the fish thali in peril".

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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.

Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.

In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.

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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.

According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.

"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.

The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.