Karnataka Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi threatens to resign if injustice done to Mahesh Kumathalli
Bengaluru: Karnataka Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Saturday threatened to resign as minister as well as the member of the Assembly if injustice is meted out to his confidant-Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli.
Jarkiholi and Kumathalli were among the 17 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs who brought down the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy in July 2019 and helped install the BJP government with full majority in the state.
The rebels had claimed that they were promised ministerial berths by the BJP leadership but Kumathalli was not accommodated despite winning the bypolls in December 2019 from Athani constituency.
Since then, he has been sulking and constantly reminding the BJP of its 'Vachana Dharma.'
"Certain things cannot be said openly. Mahesh Kumathalli was mainly responsible for the formation of the BJP government in the state. He may get a good post. We will not let injustice happen to him," Jarkiholi told reporters in Belagavi.
When journalists reminded Jarkiholi of Kumathalli's statement that the team responsible for bringing down the coalition government has left him in lurch, Jarkiholi said, "He has not said yet. The moment he says I will resign as MLA.
I will resign as minister also. Let him come out and say once.
It's not possible."
Meanwhile, Kumathalli said he was no longer discontented.
"No injustice has happened to me. The irrigation facility in our area has improved and we are quite content," he added.
He also said the projects that were pending for decades have now been taken up.
To a question on the denial of ministerial berth which he had been yearning for, Kumathalli said, "When the time comes, I will become a minister."
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Separate nodal officer in all districts to prevent female foeticides in Karnataka: Minister
Belagavi (PTI): Accepting that the female foeticide has not stopped in the state, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Tuesday said that the government is taking strict measures to prevent it.
The minister said the government is appointing separate nodal officers in all districts and tightening measures to prevent foeticide, which he called a "social evil".
He also assured that the government will consider strengthening legislation to control such activities.
The minister was responding to a question by BJP MLC C T Ravi in the Legislative Council.
"Female foeticides have certainly not stopped. If you look at the sex ratio, there is a lot of difference. I accept that this is happening," Rao said.
"Foeticides are not happening under pressure; voluntarily, it is happening, for not wanting a girl child. These things are happening based on the sex determination of the foetus at some hospitals. Sex determination is illegal, but with the advancement in technology, portable ultrasound machines have been developed, which can be easily carried anywhere, and scans and tests can be done. This needs to be controlled. We will bring it to the notice of the central government," he said.
In some districts and in a few hospitals, a higher number of male child births is happening. It is found with the help of intelligence input, the minister said.
"Information is being gathered on the taluk in which the male-female ratio is worsening, what is happening in which hospital, and appropriate action is being taken to crack down on such a network, after proper evaluation."
Decoy operations have been done at seven places in the last two years, to identify those involved in illegal activities linked to female foeticides, and actions have been taken against officials and hospitals involved, he said, adding that more needs to be done on priority.
Responding to a question by Ravi about whether any stringent legislation is being brought, Rao said, the government will consider strengthening the legislation and making it stricter to control this.
"Some amendments have been made to the existing laws in the last two years....advanced technology and the internet is being used to carry out such things, also oral medicines for abortions are available over the counter.
We need to look into bringing legislation to control them. The Food and Drug Administration has issued instructions to pharmacists that the sale of such drugs should be documented."
The minister also said that measures are also being taken for the effective implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, and awareness is being created against the identification of female foetuses and female foeticide.
