Many top opposition leaders to share stage during Siddaramaiah's swearing-in ceremony
Bengaluru (PTI): Several prominent opposition leaders and Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister and D K Shivakumar as the Deputy Chief Minister here on Saturday as the grand old party seeks to promote opposition unity ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections.
Eight newly-elected legislators are set to take oath as Ministers along with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Prominent among those who will be the star attractions of the event are Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and former Jammu & Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah, the sources said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, would be conspicuous by her absence at the event at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Former union minister M Veerappa Moily said the swearing-in ceremony could also be a launchpad for opposition unity and demonstration of strength and solidarity.
Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge has also invited leaders of JMM, RJD, Shiv Sena, SP, PDP, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, RSP, CPI(ML), VCK, RLD, Kerala Congress and IUML for the ceremony, the sources said.
Banerjee has designated TMC Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for the programme.
"Banerjee skipping the event has come as some kind of a dampener, especially after her recent statement that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong," a Congress leader said.
"Wherever the Congress is strong, let them fight. We will give them support; there is nothing wrong (in that). But they also have to support other political parties," Banerjee said recently.
Her statement came soon after Congress scored the emphatic victory over the BJP in the southern state bagging 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly.
"I have been invited by the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge). It (Karnataka Assembly poll) was an important election. Also, I have an old friendship with him (Siddaramaiah). I will be going tomorrow," Nitish Kumar told reporters in Darbhanga on Friday.
Kumar asked journalists to hold their horses upon being repeatedly asked about a meeting of opposition leaders, which his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee has asked him to hold in Bihar.
"Let me come back from the function tomorrow. We will take a call in due course," said the JD(U) supremo, who had hinted that the meeting could be held after the election in the southern state.
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Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University, Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ passes away at 63
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Mangaluru: Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ, Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, and Vice President of Mangalore Jesuit Educational Society (MJES), breathed his last on Friday, April 10. He was 63.
Born in 1963, Fr Melwin Pinto completed his schooling and college education at St Aloysius before joining the Jesuit order on June 20, 1981. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest on April 14, 1997.
Over the years, he held several academic qualifications, including an MA in English, a Master’s degree in Education, and diplomas in psychology and counselling as well as school administration.
He began his career in education as headmaster of St Joseph’s Primary School and High School in Hassan, serving between 1996 and 1999.
He later founded St Joseph’s Indian PU College and served as its principal until 2007. He subsequently served as headmaster of St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, from 2007 to 2011, and later as principal of St Joseph’s PU College, Hassan, until 2012.
Fr Melwin Pinto also worked with Vatican Communications and Radio in Rome, contributing to its English desk for Asia and Indian languages.
He later served as superior and director of Fatima Retreat House in Valencia for two years from May 2017, before being appointed as superior of the Jesuit study home ‘Vidyaniketan’ in Dharwad.
He was also closely associated with the development of St Aloysius Institutions and played a key role in securing the status of a Deemed-to-be University. His contribution to the education sector and efforts towards innovation were widely acknowledged. He was known for maintaining close relations with people from all sections of society.
Legislative Council MLA Ivan D’Souza, in a statement, said the demise of Fr Melwin J Pinto was a huge loss to the educational and religious fields and had created a significant void in society.
Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed grief, stating that his service and contributions to education would always be remembered.
Details regarding the funeral are yet to be announced.
