Leader of Opposition R Ashoka says law and order completely deteriorated in Karnataka
Belagavi, Dec 13: Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday alleged complete deterioration of law and order situation in Karnataka, and asked whether the Congress government was "dead or alive".
Making a preliminary submission before the Chair in the Legislative Assembly, seeking permission to move an adjournment motion on the law and order issue, he touched upon various incidents and accused the government of either inaction or failure in handling them.
"After Congress came to power in Karnataka, in the last four months, there has been an increase in cases. Is there law and order in Karnataka? Is the government dead or alive, I'm unable to understand," Ashoka, a former Deputy Chief Minister, said.
"Under this government, 43,412 cases have been registered, about 60 dacoity, 718 burglary, 12,642 robbery, 1,349 riot cases, 6,226 causing harm related cases, 1,211 POCSO cases, 809 caste related atrocities cases, 216 rape related cases, 8,043 cyber crime, among other cases -- a total of 43,412 cases have been registered, and till September-end 117 murder cases have been registered," he alleged.
Pointing at Lawyers' strike following alleged police assault on an advocate in Chikkamagaluru, Ashoka said after the Military, police are considered to be the next disciplined force and they never indulge in any kind of protest or strike, but in this case police too had staged a protest.
"But the government kept silent with their eyes shut and did not do anything. Even when police protested the Congress government remained silent. They did not intervene and hold negotiations," he alleged.
Also referring to incidents with communal overtones in Shivamogga with one involving posters of Tipu Sultan, and the Home Minister terming it as a minor incident, Ashoka said, "why curfew was imposed if it was a minor incident? There were reports of those linked to the Popular Front of India behind the incident."
He also highlighted alleged attacks on BJP and Hindu activists in Bhadravati, Belagavi, and Udupi among other several places, and also spoke about the recent incident where a woman was allegedly assaulted, paraded naked and tied to an electric pole in a village in Belagavi, which had shocked the state.
There are also reports of an incident about a Superintendent of Police's high-handedness against protesting farmers, he said, adding, "is there no one to ask in this government? Is the government alive or dead? If alive, they should have taken action against the SP and also against the police who staged the protest."
This government boasts of having the support of 136 MLAs, but they don't take any action, Ashoka said, adding, the law and order situation in Karnataka has completely deteriorated; certain incidents (like parading of a women naked) taking place in Belagavi when the legislature session is under way here --- "we have to bow our head in shame."
Earlier, Home Minister G Parameshwara objected to Ashoka raising the issue under adjournment motion, pointing out that the issue of law and order cannot be taken up for discussion under the section.
Speaker Khader too stated that the law and order issue cannot be taken up for discussion under adjournment motion and he would allow the issue to be raised in some other format under a different rule.
However, Ashoka insisted that the Chair should hear his preliminary submission and then decide whether to allow discussion under adjournment motion or not. "Earlier too there have been instances where a law and order issue has been raised under adjournment motion...the chair has the right to convert the discussion under some other rule, based on my preliminary submission."
Later, after hearing Ashoka's preliminary submission, Speaker Khader said he will give an opportunity for discussion on the issue under some other rule in a couple of days, as law and order issues cannot be raised under adjournment motion.
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2 LPG tankers sail through Strait of Hormuz, 16 still stranded
New Delhi (PTI): Two more Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz and are headed for Indian ports even as 16 other vessels remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, officials said Monday.
LPG vessel Green Sanvi carrying 46,650 tonnes of LPG is scheduled to reach Indian port on April 7 while Green Asha with 15,500 tonnes of cargo is scheduled to touch Indian coast on April 9, said Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways at a news briefing.
"Indian maritime operations remain safe and uninterrupted amid West Asia crisis. 16 Indian-flagged vessels with 433 seafarers are in the region; two LPG carriers, Green Sanvi and Green Asha, safely crossed Strait of Hormuz," he said.
With this, eight Indian-flagged LPG tankers have safely transited through the strategic waterway, which has remained effectively shut since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
Of the vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf, one is of a loaded liquefied natural gas (LNG), two are LPG tankers (one loaded and one empty), six are crude carriers (five loaded, one empty), three are container ships, one is a dredger, one is carrying chemical cargo and two are bulk carriers, he said.
Asked about reports of Iran charging a fee for letting ships cross the strait, Mangal said, "we have no information of such payments."
For a country that relies on imports from Gulf nations to meet as much as 60 per cent of its cooking gas needs, the arrivals will help ease the worst LPG shortage it is battling in decades. India consumed 33.15 million tonne of LPG last year, with imports accounting for about 60 per cent of demand. As much as 90 per cent of those imports came from West Asia.
The US-Israel attacks on Iran, and Tehran's sweeping retaliation have all but halted shipping through the strait - the narrow shipping lane that is the conduit for oil and gas exports from Gulf countries to the world. Iran has, however, stated that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the waterway after coordinating with Iranian authorities.
Last week, two LPG carriers, BW TYR and BW ELM, carrying combined LPG cargo of about 94,000 tonnes safely transited the region. While BW TYR reached Mumbai on March 31, BW ELM docked at New Mangalore on April 1.
Prior to that, four Indian-flagged LPG tankers had safely sailed through the strait. Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, carrying 92,612 tonnes of LPG, reached Indian ports between March 26 and March 28. MT Shivalik and MT Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, had reached Mundra port in Gujarat on March 16 and Kandla port in the state on March 17.
Originally, there were 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz when the war in West Asia broke. Of these, 24 were on the West side of the strait and four on the East side. Eight vessels from the west side and two from east have managed to sail to safety.
Besides the eight LPG tankers, the Indian-flagged oil tanker Jag Laadki, with 80,886 tonnes of crude oil from the UAE, reached Mundra on March 18.
Another tanker, Jag Prakash, carrying gasoline from Oman to Africa, had previously safely crossed the strait and is en route to Tanzania.
