Building Ram temple as announced in budget is for people, not politics: CM Bommai
Shiggaavi (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he announced the construction of a 'majestic' Ram temple at Ramadevara Betta in Ramanagara district near here, responding to the wishes of the people and not for any political reasons.
Requesting cooperation from everyone in this regard, he asserted that the temple will certainly come up there.
"I did not announce it keeping in mind Congress, JD(S) or BJP. There is a historical trace there, there is historic Ramadevara Betta (hill) there, there is an old Rama Mandira there for long, and it is the wish of the people that a new Rama Mandira should be constructed there," Bommai said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, Bommai said he responded to the wishes of the people and hoped that everyone will extend cooperation, and no one will oppose the project.
"If someone wants to oppose, let them. I won't object, but Rama Mandira will certainly come up there," he added.
Soon after the Chief Minister made the announcement in the budget on Friday, state Congress President D K Shivakumar had said, "There is a small temple there already, what is there for them (ruling BJP) to construct now? Let them construct their party office there in Ramanagara first."
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had said, "If they (BJP) had announced it three years ago when they came to power and contructed the temple, I would have appreciated it. Now, when election is around they have announced. It will remain in the budget book itself."
If a Ram temple is to be built, the ruling BJP cannot do it, he asserted, while claiming: "I know who will form the next government, so I will have to do it."
Ramanagara, part of Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region, is not considered among the BJP's strongholds. It is considered as a JD(S) bastion, where Congress is also strong.
While Ramanagara is the home district of Shivakumar, it is also the 'karma bhoomi' of Kumaraswamy. While the latter is MLA from the district's Channapatna segment, his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy represents the neighbouring Ramanagara seat.
Kumaraswamy is seeking re-election from Channapatana, while his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy will be facing polls from Ramanagara.
Chief Minister Bommai also hit out at the Congress' 'Kivi Mele Hoova' (flower on the ears) campaign against the state budget. 'Flower on ears' is a symbolic statement in Kannada, which means making someone a fool.
"Let them (Congress) keep flowers on their ears permanently. They used to keep flowers on the ears of the people till now, by not keeping up the promises they used to make during their budgets. Siddaramaiah (Congress leader and former CM) is a 'maatu tappida maga' (a son who did not keep up his words)," he said.
Targeting Siddaramaiah for not fulfilling the promises made during his budgets, the hief Minister said, "He had promised to give 10 kg free rice, then he brought it down to four kg, and when election came, he made it 7 kg, cheating people. So, a situation will come for them (Congress) to keep the flowers permanently on their ears," he added.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders, including Shivakumar, came to the assembly with flowers on their ears alleging that the BJP government has "cheated people and made them fools" by not fulfilling promises from the previous budget, and the promises made in the 2018 election manifesto.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
