Mangaluru: CM Siddaramaiah inaugurates D.K. District administrative center ‘Praja Soudha’
engages in heated exchange with BJP MLA Kamath
Mangaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday inaugurated the Dakshina Kannada District Magistrate’s Office Complex, officially named ‘Praja Soudha’, constructed at Padil in Mangaluru. The inauguration was attended by Speaker U.T. Khader, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, and several other dignitaries.
In the event, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah engaged in a sharp exchange with Mangaluru South BJP MLA Vedavyas Kamath over claims made during the latter’s speech. Kamath, who spoke before the Chief Minister, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Smart City project, calling it the PM’s dream, and suggested that the new developments would not have materialized without the Centre’s involvement.
He also expressed frustration that efforts made during the BJP government's tenure, especially regarding the stalled Urva Sports Complex project and the issuance of right certificates to over 690 families in 2023 were being ignored. Kamath criticized Congress workers for allegedly installing unauthorized banners across the city to welcome the Chief Minister, while earlier, flexes put up for traditional local events like Kola, Nema, and Bhajana Mangalotsavas were reportedly removed under rule enforcement.
Kamath also condemned what he called the political appropriation of development projects by the Congress, urging the ruling party not to politicize public welfare issues.
In a strong rebuttal, CM Siddaramaiah responded directly to Kamath’s statements, warning against the distortion of history and the politicization of development. “Mr. Kamath, I consider myself fortunate to have performed the puja for this building and to inaugurate it today. You said Smart City is PM Modi’s dream. Yes, but do you know that the state government also contributes 50 percent of the funding for Smart City projects? The foundation stone for this project was laid in 2015. You were in power for four years. Why didn’t your government complete this project then? If the funds had been utilized then, it wouldn’t have taken so long,” Siddaramaiah asserted.
He credited senior Congress leader Ramanath Rai for the realization of ‘Praja Soudha’, stating that Rai had persistently demanded a new office for the district administration. “Ramanath Rai was the one who insisted on this project. Know your history. Don’t distort it. Let’s do politics, but not in the realm of development,” Siddaramaiah said, drawing cheers from party workers present at the venue.
The Chief Minister also used the occasion to appeal for peace and harmony in Dakshina Kannada district. “Ours is a garden of peace for all communities, a society where humans love one another. Let’s strengthen this spirit and move toward social justice. Let’s ensure that no communal tensions arise in this district, which is home to some of the most intelligent people in the state,” he said.
Fulfilling pre-election promises, Siddaramaiah announced that a new medical college has been sanctioned for Puttur. A 250-bed hospital is already under construction, and an additional 250.
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Former railway minister Mukul Roy dies at 71
Kolkata (PTI): Former railway minister Mukul Roy, once regarded as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's most trusted lieutenant and the TMC's principal strategist, died of cardiac arrest at a private hospital here early on Monday.
He was 71, and is survived by his son, Subhranshu Roy.
He breathed his last around 1.30 am at the hospital in Salt Lake, Subhranshu Roy said.
He had been suffering from multiple ailments and was in and out of the hospital over the past two years. Family members said he had also been diagnosed with dementia and had recently gone into a coma.
His body will be taken to his residence before the last rites are performed later in the day, they said.
A former Union minister and two-time Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal, Roy's four-decade-long political journey saw his stints in the Congress, TMC and the BJP.
His political career began with the Youth Congress, before he joined hands with Banerjee when she broke away from the grand old party to form the Trinamool Congress in 1998.
As a founding member, he quickly emerged as one of the key organisational pillars of the fledgling party and went on to serve as its general secretary.
He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2006 and became the party's leader in the Upper House in 2009, turning into TMC's principal troubleshooter in Delhi. In the UPA-2 government, when the TMC was a constituent, Roy first served as Minister of State for Shipping before taking over as the railway minister in 2012.
In West Bengal's political circles, Roy earned a reputation as a backroom operator deft in organisational work. Following the TMC's historic victory in 2011 that ended 34 years of the Left Front rule, he played a significant role in consolidating the party's hold in several districts, overseeing defections from the CPI(M) and the Congress, strengthening the new regime's political base.
However, his career was not without controversy. His name had surfaced in the Saradha chit fund case and the Narada sting operation.
By 2017, relations between Roy and the TMC leadership had deteriorated. In November that year, he joined the BJP in a move that altered the state's political equations. Tasked with strengthening the BJP's organisation in West Bengal, Roy was credited by party leaders with helping engineer defections from the TMC and expanding the saffron party's base ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which the BJP won 18 of the state's 42 seats.
He was elected as a BJP MLA from the Krishnanagar Uttar constituency in the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections. Within months, however, he returned to the TMC, triggering legal and political wrangling. Subsequently, a court disqualified him as an MLA under the anti-defection law for switching parties after being elected on a BJP ticket.
Though he rejoined the TMC, Roy never regained the political centrality he once enjoyed. As his health declined, he gradually withdrew from active politics.
Often described as the 'Chanakya' of West Bengal politics during his prime, Roy remained a pivotal figure in the state's turbulent political landscape -- a strategist who operated as comfortably in Delhi's power corridors as in the backrooms of Kolkata's party offices.
Leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, condoled Roy's death.
In an X post, he wrote, "Deeply disheartened to learn about the sad demise of senior politician, Shri Mukul Roy. My sincere condolences to his family. Praying that his soul attains eternal peace. Om Shanti."
