Vijayapura, Apr 26: Amid fresh COVID-19 concerns in different parts of the country and apprehensions of a possible fourth wave of the pandemic, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday indicated that precautionary and surveillance measures may be reintroduces at airports and border districts of the state, depending on the Centre's advisory.
He appealed to people to follow precautionary measures like wearing masks and maintaining social distance to control the spread of virus.
"Everyone has to follow the precautionary measures, there is no need for worry as hospitalisations have not increased, but still we have taken certain precautionary measures," Bommai told reporters here.
In response to a question, he said during the previous three waves movement of people from neighbouring Maharashtra and Kerala was a cause of concern.
"So, depending on the advisory from the centre following the Prime Minister's meeting with Chief Ministers of all states tomorrow, all precautionary and surveillance measures will resume at airports and border districts, especially those bordering Maharashtra and Kerala," he added.
With concerns of the virus once again looming large, the Karnataka government had on Monday issued guidelines making wearing of face-masks and maintaining social distancing compulsory.
Pointing out that the coronavirus situation seems to be aggravating again, and it has happened in about eight countries, including countries close to India like Thailand, Indonesia, China, Bommai said as the numbers have slightly increased here, the Prime minister has convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of all the states to discuss the precautionary measures to be taken.
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.
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
