No divisions within ruling Cong in Karnataka, govt intact: G Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Rejecting the claims of any divisions within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, amid talks of leadership change, Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday asserted that the government is intact, and there is absolutely no problem.
Playing down the speculations about leadership change and cabinet rejig, the senior Congress leader said, such discussions are only in the media, and nothing on this has been discussed in the legislature party.
There have been talks about chief minister change in the state, when the Congress government reaches the halfway mark of its five-year term in November, which is being referred to by some as the "November revolution", citing purported "power-sharing" agreement involving Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar.
There are also speculations about cabinet reshuffle. According to many party insiders, if the Congress high command gives its go ahead for the reshuffle, it will mean that the incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will continue, scuttling the chances of Shivakumar occupying the coveted post.
"Who is making all these speculations? Inside the party we have not decided anything, we have not discussed anything. The CLP (Congress Legislature Party) has not been called or discussed about leadership change or expansion, nothing is happening within the party. It is only outside in the media, a lot of speculations are happening," Parameshwara said in response to a question on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "naturally if you (media) come and ask for my reaction, I will say something, and that is how this (speculation) is happening. I don't think inside the party any discussions are happening in this direction."
Asked as to when the cabinet reshuffle is expected, the Home minister said, the CM had shared with leaders and senior ministers that four months back the party high command had given permission for cabinet reshuffle, but he had requested for the government to complete 2.5 years to carry out the exercise.
"But, now I don't know if there is again the same attempt to reshuffle the cabinet," he said, adding that "let's wait and see."
Responding to a question, Parameshwara asserted that "our government is intact. There is absolutely no problem in our government. People speculate, what can you do?"
He asked the opposition BJP leaders to set their house in order, before criticising the Congress.
Meanwhile, responding to opposition -- for extending Bengaluru metro rail services to neighbouring Tumakuru, Parameshwara, who is Tumakuru district incharge Minister said, the Congress government's concept is to ease out the pressure on Bengaluru city in terms of traffic, water and electricity.
"We want to go beyond Bengaluru -- Ramanagara, Kolar, Tumakuru. We want to go out of Bengaluru and develop those cities. That's the concept we have in mind. If we want to develop those cities, you have to give connectivity. So for the first time we are going out of Bengaluru. Or else the Metro normally is within the city," he said.
Stating that he doesn't understand BJP MP Tejasvi Surya's view that -- extending metro to Tumakuru is a "waste of money", the Minister said, "I will try to speak to him and convince him, and explain. He is the representative from Bengaluru south Lok Sabha segment and he can say his views on Tumakuru, but we hail from Tumakuru, we look forward to developing it on the lines of Bengaluru."
Surya on Monday expressed reservations over extending metro service to Tumakuru, terming it an "urban planning nightmare" and criticising the Congress government in Karnataka for the "exorbitant" cost involved in the project.
The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has floated tenders to prepare the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 59.6-km corridor from Madavara in Bengaluru to Tumakuru, estimated to cost Rs 20,896 crore.
Stating that the digital arrest incidents are becoming more and more serious, the Home minister said, such incidents will be looked into seriously and action will be taken.
Citing an incident where a 57-year-old woman allegedly lost about Rs 32 crore in a sophisticated 'digital arrest' scam, which is perhaps the largest cyber fraud of its kind in Karnataka, he said, "it was happening for the last one year, but she did not come to police, now she has complained to police after losing money. We will definitely take it seriously and look into it."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Indigo fiasco: B'luru airport suffers disruptions; over 102 services cancelled, KIAL issues advisory
Bengaluru: IndiGo’s service disruption at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport continued for the fourth consecutive day, leading to the cancellation of over 102 flights on Friday. Many passengers were stranded for more than 12 hours.
According to reports, 52 arrivals and 50 departures were cancelled.
Passengers expressed widespread anger over IndiGo’s lack of proper communication and shared videos and updates on social media highlighting the chaotic situation.
Some users alleged that the airline intentionally cancelled flights to indirectly pressure the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into rolling back the newly introduced ‘weekly rest’ clause under the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A user wrote, “An airline that had two years to meet global standards managed to blackmail the government and force a rollback. What about passenger safety and pilot health? The problem is we will keep flying IndiGo because there is no option.”
An airline company that had two years to meet global standards has managed to blackmail the government and forced it to toll back.
What about passenger safety? Pilot health? Problem is we will keep flying indigo because there is no option pic.twitter.com/cpbwf4SM5D
— Snehesh Alex Philip (@sneheshphilip) December 5, 2025
Another commented, “So the blackmail by @IndiGo6E worked. What about the problems faced by passengers? No accountability?”
So the blackmail by @IndiGo6E worked. What about the problems faced by the passengers. No accountability?? pic.twitter.com/9DNxmH8b0I
— CA Brindavan Giri (@BrindavanG) December 5, 2025
The widespread cancellation came owing to pilot and crew crunch after the DGCA introduced crew shortages triggered by the rollout of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A social media user, Nitin Malpani shared a video about this and said, "What are you IndiGo staff doing? We have been at Bangalore airport since 8 pm last night till now. Are you playing with children, elderly and sick people just to change the work schedule of the staff?"
A video of exhausted passengers singing bhajans while waiting at the airport has also gone viral.
Meanwhile, at a time when Indigo cancelled flights to major cities, ticket prices of other airlines sharply surged.
As per reports, the New Delhi–Chennai one-way fare touched nearly ₹66,000, while fares on the Mumbai and Kolkata routes also crossed ₹38,000.
A passenger reported that an Air India ticket from Bengaluru to New Delhi for Saturday evening had risen to nearly ₹34,000, leaving many with no choice but to pay increased prices.
Bengaluru airport issues advisory
In a statement issued on Friday, Bengaluru airport authorities said that IndiGo flights to Mumbai and Delhi had been cancelled and advised passengers to check their flight status directly with the airline before arriving at the airport.
They added that their teams were working with IndiGo and other stakeholders to decrease inconvenience and assist passengers affected by the disruption.
ಇಂಡಿಗೋ ಮೂಲಕ ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಈ ಸೂಚನೆಯನ್ನು ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಹಕಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು.#ಪ್ರಯಾಣಸಲಹೆ #ಇಂಡಿಗೋ #ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯವಿಮಾನನಿಲ್ದಾಣಬೆಂಗಳೂರು #ಬೆಂಗಳೂರುವಿಮಾನನಿಲ್ದಾಣ #ವಿಮಾನ pic.twitter.com/SLV6Nl69B9
— ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು (@blrairport_kn) December 5, 2025
Need a sanitary pad for my daughter !
A video of a distressed father pleading for a sanitary pad for his daughter amid the chaos has gone viral across social media platforms, sparking outrage on social media.
In the video, the man can be heard saying, “My daughter needs a pad. Blood is coming out.” He is also seen repeatedly requesting a female staffer for a sanitary pad, but she allegedly refuses.
The video has gone viral, with strong reactions from netizens.
"Need sanitary pad for my daughter," a visibly angry man could be heard venting at the Indigo crew amid hundreds of flight cancellations leaving passengers, in dire need of basic amenities, stranded for hours. pic.twitter.com/TRlMA27DVS
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) December 5, 2025
One user wrote, “What kind of airports do we have where even basic emergency services are unavailable?”
What kind of airports we have where we didn't even have basic emergency services.
— Himanshu (@himanshukr2841) December 5, 2025
Another commented, “Welcome to the world’s fourth-largest economy, where one airline brings the aviation ministry to its knees, and ministers get away with zero accountability.”
Welcome to the worlds fourth economy where one airlines brings the aviation ministry to it’s knees @PMOIndia And the ministers get away with zero accountability
— Pintoo Ganguly (@pintooganguly) December 5, 2025
What caused the IndiGo fiasco?
The disruption at India’s largest carrier, which has a control of over 60% of the domestic market comes after crew shortages, which were triggered by the rollout of DGCA’s new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
According to a NDTV report, the airline has said that it expects to completely restore its normal services within three to four days.
However, following chaos at major airports, DGCA rolled back the newly implemented FDTL norms on Friday.
