Cong govt's protest in Delhi against "injustice" to State, not against BJP: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Feb 5: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the protest by the Congress government in New Delhi on February 7 is against the 'injustice' by the Union government in tax devolution and grants-in-aid to the State, and not against BJP.
Listing out "injustice" caused to the state, he urged the opposition BJP to join the agitation in the interest of the state, as the struggle was not against it.
"On February 7, all the Ministers and all MLAs of both the Houses of the legislature, also MPs, are going to agitate against the Government of India for injustice caused to Karnataka state by the 15th Finance Commission and several other issues concerning the state including grants from the Centre," Siddaramaiah told a press conference here.
He said the agitation would be held at Jantar Mantar in the national capital as he urged BJP MPs from the state to also participate in it.
"The struggle is not between Congress and the BJP or against the BJP, it is against injustice caused to Karnataka state," Siddaramaiah added.
ALSO READ: Injustice to Karnataka in tax devolution, loss of over Rs 45,000 crore in 4 years: CM Siddaramaiah
Pointing out that as per the 14th Finance Commission Karnataka got a share of about 4.71 percent of taxes, and 3.64 percent of taxes as per the 15th Finance Commission, the Chief Minister said, because of this the loss to the state is to the tune of Rs 62,098 crore in taxes.
Further noting that the state government has submitted a memorandum to the Government of India regarding the severe drought situation in the state, Siddaramaiah said, the crop loss is to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore, and Karnataka has requested the Centre to release Rs 17,901 crore from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), but has not received any relief so far.
"After we submitted the memorandum to the Government of India, the central team had come to Karnataka and visited the affected areas, and submitted a report to the Centre, but so far no meeting has been held by the Government of India to look into the report submitted by the central team. So far we have not received a single paisa from the Centre through NDRF," he said.
Stating that the opposition BJP has been making false allegations against the Government of Karnataka alleging that it has not paid any relief towards crop compensation, Siddaramaiah said the state government has released Rs 2,000 as first installment to each of the affected farmers benefiting 34 lakh of them.
"About Rs 650 crore has been released for this. In addition to that, more than Rs 800 crore are with Deputy Commissioners of districts to take up relief works, and to provide drinking water, fodder, and other necessities," he said.
Alleging that despite the opposition BJP having 27 MPs (including one independent and one from JDS) on its side, "they have not opened their mouth" either in the Parliament or with the government, the Chief Minister said, adding, the Ministers who are representing Karnataka in the NDA government have also not spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah about the state's concerns.
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.
Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune's leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman's relatives were making misleading allegations.
A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident. "He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune," it said.
It said that the deputy secretary or under-secretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committee.
Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
"All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the 'Charity Hospital Help Desk' through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups," it said.
The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals, and they should be filled immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was "insensitive" on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
He conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incident.
"Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister's medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge," Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party's women's wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Pune's Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital.
Dr Nilima Ghaisas, his mother, said her son did not practice there.
Activist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Wagh's remarks and claimed that the BJP-led state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rent.
The deceased woman's husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, yet he could not do anything, Chaudhari said.
