Rahul Gandhi to hold key Cong meet during K'taka visit to attend Siddarmaiah's 75th birthday bash
Chitradurga, July 31: Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar on Sunday said party's national leader Rahul Gandhi will attend its political affairs committee meeting on August 2, amid rumblings within ahead of 2023 assembly polls, as he will be in the state to take part in senior leader Siddaramaiah's 75th birthday bash.
He will also be visiting the Murugarajendra Mutt, a prominent Lingayat seminary in the region, during the visit.
"On August 3, Rahul Gandhi has desired to meet Chitradurga's Muruga mutt seer (Sri Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru) and other seers. Before that he will be attending the party's state political affairs committee meeting of about 35 state leaders on August 2 evening in Hubballi," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here after meeting the seer at mutt, he said, on August 3, Rahul Gandhi will be attending the 75th birthday celebrations of Siddaramaiah at Davangere, following which he will be leaving to New Delhi via Hubballi.
Gandhi's visit to other prominent mutts in Davangere and surrounding areas is still being worked out, as he will be once again travelling in the region during Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in September and thinking on whether visits to other mutts can be planned then, he added.
The visit comes even as the Congress in Karnataka seems to be in a conundrum, as many within the party fear about it imploding ahead of assembly polls, amid a game of one-upmanship between its two top leaders-Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar- as to who will be the Chief Minister in the event of the party coming to power.
There is also palpable worry within the party about a virtual division getting created between the camps of both leaders, and it diminishing its prospects in the polls.
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.
Moscow court slaps google with $20 decillion fine over Russian channel block on YouTube
Moscow: A Moscow court has issued an unprecedented $20 decillion fine against Google, following its block on Russian state-affiliated channels like Tsargrad TV on platforms including YouTube. The amount, a figure surpassing the global GDP, has drawn worldwide attention as it highlights ongoing tensions over content censorship.
This legal dispute began when Google blocked Tsargrad TV, a pro-government channel, four years ago, later extending restrictions to other Russian state-linked media. Russia’s invocation of Article 13.41 of its Administrative Offences Code, which prohibits unauthorised restrictions on legal content, led to the court-imposed penalty of 100,000 roubles per day, doubling every 24 hours that Google did not comply. The fine eventually ballooned to 2 undecillion roubles, equivalent to $20 decillion.
In response, Google halted operations in Russia, declaring bankruptcy amid unmanageable legal demands. Following this, Russian authorities seized $100 million in assets from the company, reportedly allocating the funds to military support.
