CM Yediyurappa asks top district officials to work from taluks to check COVID-19
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday directed district authorities including the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police to camp at taluk centres and work towards curbing the spread of COVID-19.
Calling for strengthening of vigilance mechanism on those in home quarantine at ward and village level, he said, FIR should be booked against those violating quarantine norms.
Yediyurappa held a videoconference with DCs, ZP CEOs and SPs of Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Udupi, Yadgir, Raichur and Belagavi districts that have seen spike in cases.
Asking DCs, ZP CEOs and SPs to divide taluks of respective district among themselves and camp there to supervise the control of COVID-19 from there, the Chief Minister said all precautions should be ensured before easing the lockdown restrictions on June 8 and the guidelines issued by the central government has to be followed.
Pointing out that COVID-19 cases were increasing in the state because of returnees from Maharashtra, he asked officials to take all necessary measures to check it, his office said in a release.
Instructing district administrations to be vigilant about those under home quarantine, Yediyurappa said, police department should appoint a constable near the house of those under home quarantine, also at gram pancyat level task force has to be constituted for surveillance.
Noting that booth level teams should be asked to submit reports regarding this on a daily basis, he said, adding "at every village and ward (in cities) vigilance committees have to be set up and they have to work efficiently.
If home quarantine is violated FIR has to be registered."
Asking border districts to be extra vigilant at the borders aimed at controlling unauthorized entries in to the state, Yediyurappa said, bodies should not be allowed to be brought into the state at any cost.
He also instructed to conduct the SSLC (class 10) and PUC (class 12) that have been scheduled later this month smoothly.
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar among others were present at the meeting.
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.
Kamal Haasan-led MNM opts out of TN Assembly poll race, extends full support to DMK & allies
Chennai (PTI): Actor-politician Kamal Haasan's MNM, a constituent of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, on Tuesday announced that it would not contest the April 23 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.
The number of seats DMK offered and the 'suggestion' that MNM nominees should contest under DMK's Rising Sun symbol are not acceptable, the party said.
MNM founder chief Haasan declared that his party will not fight polls but extend unconditional support to all the candidates of the DMK-led alliance and the move was hailed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin as "magnanimous decision setting aside self-interest with dignity and prioritise the welfare of Tamil Nadu."
"I don't know how to express my gratitude to him. His decision has deeply moved me," Stalin, who is the president of the DMK, said and thanked Haasan. He requested "brother Kamal Haasan" to campaign across Tamil Nadu for the April 23 polls.
Haasan, who called on the chief minister and conveyed his decision on Tuesday evening, said in a statement: "In today's difficult political environment, the number of seats that they (DMK) have promised to give us and the suggestion that we should contest under the Rising Sun symbol are not acceptable to the members of the MNM and to me."
Haasan said in politics, election is only a part and it is not final; there is no 'full stop' in politics.
The MNM joined the DMK-led alliance during the last parliamentary election for the good of the nation. "We worked hard for the alliance's success. As a result, the voice of Makkal Needhi Maiam was heard in the Rajya Sabha. From that day till today, we have maintained the alliance dharma without giving up our uniqueness," he said.
The chief minister and other leaders in the DMK "behaved with love, respect, and friendliness" towards him during the seat-sharing negotiations for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
"I fully understand that there is justification for it on their part. In an environment where communal forces are scheming in every way to somehow capture Tamil Nadu, the overall chance of victory of the alliance is paramount. And it is justified," Haasan said.
But the bond of MNM members with the party's "torch" symbol is emotional because it is not just a symbol for them but is their "identity." "I cannot and will not ignore the feelings of my workers who have been travelling with me for the last nine years without any gain," he said.
The decision to abstain from poll fray was "not sacrifice but a duty" and through this he has planted the seeds of a new political civilisation. "Proudly rejecting what the chief minister lovingly offers is also a form of love," he said and added that he gave up the seats for the progress of Tamil Nadu, and for the formation of a Dravidian Model 2.0 government which was the need of the hour.
