Shidlaghatta municipal employees stage protest accusing Cong leader of threatening commissioner
Chikkaballapura (Karnataka) (PTI): The employees of the Shidlaghatta City Municipal Council on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside their office demanding action against a Congress leader for allegedly threatening the Municipal Commissioner Amrutha Gowda.
The protesting employees alleged that the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee state convener Rajeev Gowda had called Amrutha Gowda over phone and hurled abuses for removing his banner in the town.
The audio of the alleged conversation has gone viral on the social media where Rajeev Gowda is purportedly threatening Amrutha Gowda that he would ensure that she is transferred from Shidlaghatta.
Amrutha, as heard in the audio, tried to explain to him that the banner was removed from the busy circle because it was causing accidents. The leader was not ready to understand and allegedly threatened her of dire consequences.
Municipal employees have also taken out procession in the town, condemning the Congress leader's behaviour.
In the audio, Rajeev Gowda is purportedly saying, “If my banner is removed then I would come and set things on fire. You have seen my gentleness, not my evil side.”
When Amrutha Gowda sought time to listen to her, he said, “I will not wait for a minute or two. Don’t treat me like any ordinary man.”
In a bid to persuade the Congress leader, the Municipal Commissioner said there were accidents happening due to the banner.
“Since we had received a complaint, it was removed. It was not put out in a scientific way. It was tied right in the middle of the road causing accidents. We will be held accountable if the accidents happen. No permission was taken to put out the banner,” Amrutha Gowda said.
Hurling abuses, Rajeev Gowda told her in a derogatory way that the banner should be restored immediately.
“I will bring people there (to the municipal office) so that you run away from the Taluk leaving your job. I will create riot in all the 31 wards and I will make people beat you up with slippers,” the Congress leader said.
As the Municipal Commissioner wept for being ill-treated, Shidlaghatta CMC employees went on a strike and raised slogans outside their office building. Many people came out in support of Amrutha Gowda in the town.
Reacting to the incident, Rajeev Gowda said he had obtained all the permissions. He also said that he had never used derogatory words or abuses against anyone.
According to him, his audio was edited.
The opposition leader in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy slammed Rajeev Gowda for using abusive words against Amrutha Gowda.
He alleged that a disputable banner had led to the death of a Congress leader Rajashekhar Reddy in Ballari, "who was shot dead by a private gunman of another Congress leader on January 1.
Narayanaswamy said the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should immediately order the arrest of Rajeev Gowda.
“Rajeev Gowda, who had said that he would riot in the town and hurled invective against a woman, should be arrested under the Goonda Act. If this does not happen then we will stage demonstration across the state,” the BJP leader said.
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India Open: Sindhu out; Srikanth, Prannoy advance
New Delhi (PTI): Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu was knocked out of India Open but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy progressed to the second round on a mixed day for the hosts at the USD 950,000 Super 750 badminton tournament, here Wednesday.
Sindhu, who reached the semifinals of Malaysia Super 1000 last week, couldn't maintain the pressure after narrowly pocketing the opening game to eventually go down 22-20 12-21 15-21 to Vietnam's Thuy Linh Nguyen in 68 minutes.
"I don’t think it was my day, she isn’t an easy opponent. At this level, everyone plays well and you can’t expect easy points or easy wins. She has good strokes, you had to keep the tempo and keep the shuttle in play. Small mistakes in those moments become decisive," Sindhu said after her exit.
"I definitely need to be more consistent. Giving away easy or consecutive points is something I have to stop. After losing one point, I need to reset immediately and be ready for the next rally. That’s the main takeaway for me."
Earlier, former world No. 1 Srikanth had to dig deep to outlast fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19, while Malvika Bansod, returning from an injury layoff, displayed patience and defensive solidity to beat Chinese Taipei’s Pai Yu Po 21-18, 21-19.
Prannoy, who received a last-minute entry in the tournament, made it count as he outwitted last year's runner-up Lee Cheuk Yiu 22-20 21-18 to advance to the second round. He will next face eighth seed and former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Tanvi Sharma, silver medallist at the BWF World Junior Championship, then played her heart out before going down fighting 20-22 21-18 13-21 to world number 2 Wang Zhi Yi.
Indian women’s doubles campaign also got off to a positive note with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand cruising past Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai 21-15, 21-11.
The Indian pair, fresh from defending their Syed Modi International title, will next face seventh seeds Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min of China.
However, it was a disappointing day for India in mixed doubles, with three Indian pairs exiting the tournament at an early stage.
Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto went down 15-21, 14-21 to Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost 19-21, 14-21 to Germany’s Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen.
Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh were also shown the door after a 15-21, 7-21 defeat to Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara.
Sindhu vs Nguyen
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Coming into the match after two losses in her last two meetings against Nguyen, the Indian knew the importance of a strong start. She raced to a 3-0 lead.
The Vietnamese clawed back to 6-6 before Sindhu pulled away again to make it 12-6. Nguyen, however, stayed in touch, narrowing the gap to 11-12 and then 13-14.
A smash followed by a sharp cross court drop helped Nguyen close in at 16-17 before she drew level at 19-19 and earned a game point.
She failed to convert, though, spraying a return wide, and Sindhu capitalised immediately with a decisive smash to take the opening game.
The second game began on an even note with the scores locked at 4-4. Nguyen then moved ahead 7-4, but Sindhu once again reeled her in at 8-8. The Vietnamese went into the interval with a two point cushion and surged ahead to 15-9 after the restart.
A series of wide and long shots compounded Sindhu’s frustration as Nguyen raced to 19-11. A precise backline placement earned her multiple game points and she sealed the game with a body smash to force a decider.
The third game followed a similar script with neither player willing to yield ground. Two superb cross court smashes helped Sindhu stay level at 7-7 and the contest remained tight at 10-10 before another wide error from the Indian shifted momentum.
Nguyen seized control after the break, opening up a four point lead at 18-14 and then unleashed another accurate smash to move within two points of victory. The Vietnamese earned five match points. Sindhu erred again as she closed it out comfortably.
