Man who said Kerala floods affected only rich, a member of BJP IT cell
A Hyderabadi man is facing severe backlash on social media after his appeal on the current situation in Kerala has gone viral. In the two-minute audio message, a person who identifies himself as Suresh Kochattil, claimed that he was stuck in Kochi due to floods when he was trying to reach his village which is an hour's drive from the city.
In the audio clip, he is heard saying most of the families who were affected by the floods were middle class, upper middle class or superbly rich and they do not require money or essential items. He also claimed that electricity supply is intact in many areas. He went on to say those affected by floods require only skilled labourers like electricians and carpenters and asked people to arrange for these instead of sending them cash.
According to his Facebook profile, Suresh Kochattil, a social media member of the BJP IT cell, is a native of Kerala settled in Hyderabad. After his audio clip went viral, a large number of netizens slammed him for misleading and insensitive comments. Soon, he came out with a Facebook post with the claim that he was being threatened by the CPI(M) cadre from Kerala.
A number of celebrities and prominent personalities, including popular actor Dulquer Salmaan, have openly criticised Kochatil. In an Instagram post, the actor asked people not to believe him but contribute generously to help those affected by floods.
“Another shocking revelation that we have come across is that a man who led PM Modi's campaign in Kerala, Suresh Kochattil, is spreading false information to prevent people from sending relief funds to Kerala,” was a tweet from official Congress twitter handle.
Kochattil worked in a senior non-editorial position in a well-known media house in Hyderabad. During 2014 elections and later, Kochattil was active on various social media forums, posting his strong political views. He is also a known face in the Hyderabad community of adventure lovers. He was an active member of Greater Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC) and was closely involved in the operations and management of the club.
Despite repeated attempts, Kochattil could not be contacted on phone and he did not respond to messages on Facebook.
courtesy : theweek.in
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
