Shortage of red stone, sand in Dakshina Kannada due to previous BJP Government: Ramanath Rai
Mangaluru: Former minister and senior Congress leader B. Ramanath Rai has held the previous BJP government responsible for the ongoing shortage of red stone and sand in Dakshina Kannada district.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Office on Wednesday, Rai criticized the BJP MLAs for merely standing on the streets and voicing concerns instead of working towards solutions. “It is not the job of elected representatives to just speak about the non-availability of red stone and sand. They must find solutions to the problem,” he stated.
He clarified that there is nothing new about the legal issues surrounding red stone and sand. "The current system has caused some difficulties, and I have brought this to the Chief Minister's attention," he said.
Recalling his tenure as district in-charge minister, Rai mentioned that he had secured state and central government approvals for sand mining even in the CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) areas. However, operations were later halted due to lack of environmental clearances. To resolve this, he identified sand blocks in non-CRZ areas and issued permits accordingly. He accused the subsequent BJP government of lacking interest in issuing permits for sand extraction even outside CRZ areas and claimed they indirectly encouraged illegal sand mining.
Rai added that the scarcity of red stone and sand is severely affecting the common people and construction workers. “While the royalty on red stone in Kerala is just ₹32, in Karnataka it is ₹280. I have held discussions with the concerned ministers and officials to bring down this rate,” he said, assuring that the issue will be resolved once permit issuance resumes.
He also criticized BJP MLAs for failing to fulfill their responsibilities and instead blaming the government. “They are speaking in the wrong forums and avoiding accountability,” he remarked.
Former Mangaluru Mayor Shashidhar Hegde, Block Presidents J. Abdul Saleem, Prakash Salyan, Shubhodaya Alva, George, and Nazir Bajal were present at the press meet.
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SC seeks ED's response on journalist's bail plea in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response within three days on a bail plea of journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to an alleged financial fraud.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the jailed journalist, to file rejoinder, if needed, to the ED's response within two days of it being filed.
The top court fixed the case for further hearing on December 15.
During the brief hearing on Monday, Sibal said a journalist has been facing as many as six cases.
"The journalist is accused of extortion," the counsel for the ED said and sought a short adjournment on the ground that Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta was unavailable at the moment.
The top court on September 8 sought responses from the Gujarat government and the ED on Langa's bail plea.
While issuing the notices on Langa's bail plea, the bench asked, "What kind of a journalist is he?"
"With due respect, there are some very genuine journalists. But there are also people who on their scooter say we are 'patrakar' (journalists) and what they actually do everybody knows," the bench told Sibal.
Sibal replied that these are all allegations.
"In one FIR, he gets anticipatory bail, then a second FIR is lodged and again anticipatory bail is granted but now he is booked under a third FIR for income tax evasion. There are other things also against him," Sibal submitted.
He added that there is a background to the case also.
On July 31, the Gujarat High Court rejected Langa's bail plea in the money laundering case on the grounds that if released on bail, prejudice would be caused to the prosecution case.
On February 25, the ED said it arrested Langa in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.
He was first arrested in October 2024 in a GST fraud case.
The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by Ahmedabad police on charges of fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.
