No adjustment politics in Lok Sabha elections: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday dismissed any rumours of "adjustment politics" in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, and said that Congress party workers fought the election hard.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, was reacting to reports that party functionaries allegedly told a fact-finding team a day ago that "adjustment politics" and "administrative lapses" in the government were among the reasons for the ruling Congress in the state winning only nine out of the total 28 seats in Karnataka in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.
The opposition BJP and its ally JD(S) won 19 seats.
A fact-finding committee headed by senior leader Madhusudan Mistry was formed to analyse the party’s performance in the polls.
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Speaking to reporters here, he said, “All the party workers strived hard unitedly for the party’s success. The party itself instructed some of the ministers to field their family members in order to mobilise votes. There was no adjustment politics whatsoever.” He was replying to a reporter’s query on whether there was adjustment politics in the Lok Sabha elections.
"The fact-finding committee met winners, losers, party workers and party leaders to analyse the results. The committee has collected feedback and will take a decision on the future course of action," Mistry said.
Asked about BJP’s protest against alleged Muda irregularities, he said, “BJP is politicising the issue as the assembly session is coming up. They are exposing their own doing. We will respond to it appropriately in the session."
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
