Karnataka HC urges transport unions to defer strike amid ongoing talks with CM
Bengaluru, Aug 4 (PTI): Karnataka High Court on Monday requested state-run transport unions to postpone their planned strike by a day to allow time for ongoing discussions between union representatives and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to conclude.
The unions have proposed to strike work on August 5.
During the hearing, the Division Bench questioned the government on the prolonged delay in wage revision for drivers and conductors, expressing concern over their interests being neglected.
Government counsel and representatives of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) informed the court that a Joint Action Committee (JAC) -- representing employees from all four state-run transport corporations -- had announced the strike even as conciliation proceedings over the dispute were still in progress under existing legal frameworks.
The JAC's demands include a salary revision effective from January 1, 2024, along with the release of pending arrears for 38 months -- from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023. The committee has further insisted that the revised pay structure remain in effect until December 31, 2027.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
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.
