Siddaramaiah, DKShi take oath as CM, DCM of Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term, along with state Congress President D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister, and eight legislators as Ministers on Saturday, exactly a week after the party swept the Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, where Siddaramaiah had taken oath in 2013, when he became Chief Minister for the first time.
The Legislators who were sworn in as Ministers are: G Parameshwara, K H Muniyappa, K J George, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge (AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge's son), Ramalinga Reddy, and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended the swearing in ceremony, while former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) and several top party leaders were also in attendance.
Congress chief Kharge had invited leaders of several like-minded parties for the swearing-in ceremony. The event seemed to be a show of strength for opposition parties amid unity efforts to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, NCP President Sharad Pawar, National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mahbooba Mufti, actor-politician Kamal Haasan, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary D Raja among others attended the event.
A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday had formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and Chief Minister, following which he staked his claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.
The 75-year old Siddaramaiah will become the Chief Minister for the second term after his earlier five-year stint from 2013; while 61-year old Shivakumar, who had earlier worked as Minister under Siddaramaiah, will also continue as the party's Karnataka state president till Parliamentary elections next year.
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Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University, Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ passes away at 63
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Mangaluru: Fr Melwin J Pinto SJ, Pro-chancellor of St Aloysius University Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, and Vice President of Mangalore Jesuit Educational Society (MJES), breathed his last on Friday, April 10. He was 63.
Born in 1963, Fr Melwin Pinto completed his schooling and college education at St Aloysius before joining the Jesuit order on June 20, 1981. He was ordained as a Jesuit priest on April 14, 1997.
Over the years, he held several academic qualifications, including an MA in English, a Master’s degree in Education, and diplomas in psychology and counselling as well as school administration.
He began his career in education as headmaster of St Joseph’s Primary School and High School in Hassan, serving between 1996 and 1999.
He later founded St Joseph’s Indian PU College and served as its principal until 2007. He subsequently served as headmaster of St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, from 2007 to 2011, and later as principal of St Joseph’s PU College, Hassan, until 2012.
Fr Melwin Pinto also worked with Vatican Communications and Radio in Rome, contributing to its English desk for Asia and Indian languages.
He later served as superior and director of Fatima Retreat House in Valencia for two years from May 2017, before being appointed as superior of the Jesuit study home ‘Vidyaniketan’ in Dharwad.
He was also closely associated with the development of St Aloysius Institutions and played a key role in securing the status of a Deemed-to-be University. His contribution to the education sector and efforts towards innovation were widely acknowledged. He was known for maintaining close relations with people from all sections of society.
Legislative Council MLA Ivan D’Souza, in a statement, said the demise of Fr Melwin J Pinto was a huge loss to the educational and religious fields and had created a significant void in society.
Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed grief, stating that his service and contributions to education would always be remembered.
Details regarding the funeral are yet to be announced.
