Udupi, December 27: The security arrangements made during the visit of President Ramanath Kovind to Udupi on Thursday have literally thrown the normal life out of gear. People openly expressed their unhappiness about the forced bandh-like situation in the temple town.

For just 45 minutes programme of the President, the people had to suffer for almost a whole day. From Adi Udupi to Mutt through Karavali Junction on Manipal road, all vehicular movement was restricted while coming and going. The vehicular movement was also restricted on circuit house road. All shops and business establishments in the vicinity of the mutt were forcefully closed and the entry of devotees into the mutt was also prohibited till afternoon. As there was no vehicular movement on major roads in the city, the adjacent roads also wore deserted look due to which there was an undeclared bandh in the city and it has irked the people.

Those who have come to Udupi for emergency works, those who have marriages and other programmes, and patients suffered a lot due to security measures. People have also expressed their resentment against this situation in the social media.



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.



Patna: The opposition INDIA bloc has named Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as the head of its coordination committee for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

The decision was made during a meeting of the six alliance partners – Congress, RJD, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)), and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) – held in Patna on Thursday, April 17.

While the bloc stopped short of formally declaring Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, it confirmed that he will lead the key decision-making committee for the election campaign. The committee will be responsible for drafting a common minimum programme, finalizing the manifesto, managing seat-sharing talks, and coordinating campaign strategies.

Congress’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, said, “The coordination committee will be the supreme body for the INDIA alliance, overseeing every aspect of the election. Tejashwi Yadav will be its chairman, and members from all alliance partners will be included.”

The meeting followed Yadav’s recent discussions in Delhi with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the media after the Patna meeting, Yadav said, “There is deep resentment among the people of Bihar due to unemployment, poverty, and increasing migration. Even the NITI Aayog’s report confirms Bihar as the poorest state despite 20 years of rule under the NDA.”

He further criticized both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the central government, stating, “The real double engine in Bihar is crime and corruption.”

In the 2020 Assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, while Congress won 19 of the 70 it contested. The CPI(ML) secured 12 of 19 seats, and the VIP, despite exiting the alliance before the elections, won four seats.

The INDIA bloc is now preparing to mount a consolidated challenge to the ruling NDA in the upcoming state polls.