Minister Umesh Katti draws flak for asking farmer to die for seeking more rice in PDS
Bengaluru, Apr 28: Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti on Wednesday drew flak from Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and opposition parties for reportedly asking a farmer to die when he requested enhanced supply of rice though the Public Distribution System.
Katti later withdrew his statement, tendered an apology and said he never wanted anyone to die and that everyone should prosper.
Ishwar, the farmer activist from Gadag in North Karnataka, rang up Katti on Wednesday and asked him how he expected people to survive on just two kg of rice a month when the lockdown has rendered thousands jobless.
To Ishwar's query, the minister replied that the Centre would be giving five kg foodgrains in May and June in view of the lockdown.
This did not satisfy the farmer, who then sought to know whether people should fast till that period or die.
"It's better to die. It's better that you stop the business of selling rice. Don't ring me again," Katti said.
The government had decided to give two kg of rice and three kg of ragi through PDS in South Karnataka,and two kg of rice and three kg of either maize or wheat in North Karnataka.
The minister later clarified that he never meant anyone should die and that all 6.5 crore people in Karnataka should prosper and survive.
He said the entire quota of food grains under the PDS for April, alloted by the Centre, had already been disributed.
"What can I do if someone makes such a statement? We are giving the Central quota from May 1 to May 10. No one should die and no one should ask such questions."
The Chief Minister's Office, in a statement, quoted Yediyurappa as saying that he disapproved of the remarks and that it does not behove a minister to tell a farmer to die when the latter demanded five kg of rice.
"Arrangements are being made to give five kg of rice to the people in the area who do not need wheat," he said.
Congress state chief D K Shivakumar slammed Katti's remarks and demanded that the government remove him from his post.
"BJP Minister Umesh Katti has abused a citizen & asked him to 'go die' just because he asked him why Karnataka Govt has cut Rice under PDS to just 2 kgs! "CM @BSYBJP (Yediyurappa) must immediately throw him out of the cabinet for this most insensitive statement.
Does this Govt have any shame?" Shivakumar tweeted.
Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too lambasted Katti for his statement.
"The Food and Civil Supplies Minister, who is supposed to come to the aid of the starving people in this COVID-19 pandemic, has displayed his mental distortion," he tweeted.
He said it was 'inhumane' on the part of the Minister to make such a statement.
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Drug crackdown in Mangaluru: 25 arrested in 14 days, QR code tips aid police
Mangaluru: Intensifying action against drug peddling, Mangaluru City police arrested 25 people and registered 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. During the operation, police seized 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of Ganja, The Times of India reported.
City police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy reportedly said, the QR code based anonymous reporting system, introduced to enable citizens and students to discreetly share information on drug-related activities, has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers.
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According to the report, so far this year, up to December 14, police have registered 107 drug peddling cases and arrested 219 accused. In addition, 562 cases were booked for drug consumption, leading to the arrest of 671 people.
During raids conducted this year, police allegedly seized large quantities of narcotics, including ganja worth Rs 88.7 lakh, MDMA valued at Rs 1.2 crore, and MDMA pills worth Rs 87,000. Other raids include charas worth Rs 1.7 lakh, hydro-weed ganja worth Rs 94.7 lakh, methamphetamine worth Rs 50,000, bhang chocolates worth Rs 6,800, cocaine worth Rs 1.9 lakh, and opium worth Rs 9,000.
In 2024, police arrested 160 peddlers in 88 cases, in addition to booking 1,026 cases for consumption and arresting 1,244 persons. In 2023, the police arrested 199 peddlers in 94 cases and booked 619 cases for consumption and arrested 749 persons.
"We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence," TOI quoted commissioner Reddy as saying.
To curb drug use among students, police also introduced random drug testing in colleges. Around 100 educational institutions were covered in the first phase, where nearly 6,000 students were screened. As per the report, about 20 students tested positive and were counselled. They will undergo follow-up tests in the next phase.
Reiterating a zero-tolerance policy, the commissioner reportedly said random testing would continue and colleges have also been directed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse at an early stage.
