Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives in Andhra
Amaravati (PTI): Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrived in Andhra Pradesh on Monday and was welcomed by IT Minister Nara Lokesh at Gannavaram Airport along with senior cabinet colleagues.
Accompanied by Andhra Pradesh ministers, Gates proceeded to the state Secretariat for discussions on strengthening cooperation in health, agriculture, education and technology-driven governance initiatives.
"Welcome to Amaravati, Mr Bill Gates. It was a pleasure to receive the Chair of the Gates Foundation at Gannavaram Airport today," Lokesh said in a post on 'X'.
Lokesh noted that Andhra Pradesh looks forward to working closely with the Gates Foundation to create scalable and impactful solutions for public welfare across sectors.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has requested Gates to expand ongoing health initiatives across the state and discussions will focus on AI as well.
The Gates Foundation is already working at Kuppam in Chittoor district on health-related projects, and the talks are expected to explore scaling up these interventions to benefit a wider population across the southern state.
Later, Gates will proceed to the Real Time Governance System (RTGS) to observe the utilisation of technology in governance, followed by Naidu showcasing the system's procedures and results, a government source said.
The CM will give a presentation on the "Swarna Andhra 2047" (golden Andhra) vision and the reforms ushered in various sectors, including med-tech, diagnostic services and Sanjeevani, a health record digitisation programme, the source said.
Following these engagements at the Secretariat, Gates and his team will proceed to an agricultural farm in Undavalli village in Amaravati, where he will witness the use of drones and AI technology, the source further said.
Gates had earlier visited the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh twice, and this visit follows an invitation extended by CM Naidu to further deepen collaboration with the state government, Municipal Minister P Narayana earlier said.
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.
“Election invalid”: Karnataka HC nullifies Bagepalli Congress MLA SN Subbaareddy’s election
Bengaluru: In a major blow to Congress MLA Subbareddy, the Karnataka High Court on Monday nullified the election of the Bagepalli MLA on grounds of election malpractice during the 2023 assembly polls.
A single-judge bench headed by Justice M.G.S. Kamal partially allowed the petition filed by the defeated BJP candidate C. Muniraju, which sought to nullify Subbareddy’s election and declare Muniraju the winning candidate. However, the bench refused to declare Muniraju as the winner.
The court has directed the registrar to forward a copy of the judgment to the Election Commission and the Assembly Secretary. The detailed judgment is yet to be released.
Immediately after the order, Subbareddy’s lawyer stated that an appeal would be filed in the Supreme Court against the High Court order and requested a stay on the judgment until the appeal is heard.
The petitioner’s lawyer opposed this request, and after hearing the arguments, the bench refused to grant a stay.
In the results of the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections for 224 constituencies declared on May 13, S.N. Subbareddy, contesting on a Congress ticket from Bagepalli in Chikaballapura, won by securing 82,128 votes. His nearest rival, BJP candidate C. Muniraju, received 62,949 votes, losing by a margin of 19,179 votes.
Following this, BJP candidate C. Muniraju filed an election dispute petition in the High Court on June 24, 2023, challenging Subbareddy’s victory. The Returning Officer had declared Subbareddy elected as the MLA from Bagepalli.
Subbareddy had filed his nomination on April 20, 2023, submitting an affidavit that should have included detailed information on the assets and liabilities of his wife and dependents, including investments in bonds, shares, debentures, companies, mutual funds, and personal loans.
However, Subbareddy allegedly failed to disclose several details in his affidavit, providing incomplete and false information.
This omission was considered to fall under electoral malpractice, prompting Muniraju to request that he, as the runner-up, be declared the winning candidate. Subbareddy opposed this request, seeking dismissal of the application.
The High Court has now partially upheld Muniraju’s petition, declaring Subbareddy’s election invalid while refusing to declare Muniraju the winner.
