Udupi: The State Disciplinary Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a show-cause notice to senior BJP member and former Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat for filing his nomination as Independent candidate for the Karnataka Legislative Council election.
Bhat filed his nomination papers from the South West Graduates constituency of the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) as a rebel candidate of the BJP as his request for the party ticket from the constituency was rejected. The elections to the Legislative Council will be held on June 3.
In a letter dated Wednesday, May 22, Lingaraj Patil, President of the BJP State Disciplinary Committee, has informed Bhat that he had violated the party rules by filing his nomination papers as a rebel candidate for the election to the Legislative Council, thereby competing against the official candidate of the party.
Patil has also directed Bhat to give the Committee a clarification in the matter within two days of receiving the notice.
The Udupi district unit of the BJP had recently appealed to the Karnataka state unit of the party to take disciplinary action against Bhat for contesting the Legislative Council election as a rebel candidate from the constituency.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
