Siddaramaiah formally elected Congress Legislature Party leader in Karnataka
Bengaluru, May 18: A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress central leadership earlier on Thursday announced that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister, while state party chief D K Shivakumar would be his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
The meeting of newly-elected Congress MLAs, MLCs and MPs, which took place at Indira Gandhi Bhavan here was also attended by AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and two other central observers, namely former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh.
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According to Surjewala, Shivakumar moved a resolution to elect Siddaramaiah as the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Karnataka. All the members of CLP endorsed it unanimously.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tight race for the top post, will take oath on May 20 at 12.30 PM along with a group of ministers-designate.
The CLP had earlier met on May 14, a day after the announcement of the poll results, during which a one-line resolution was passed authorising AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide on the new Chief Minister.
The three central observers who had come that day had also gathered opinions of the MLAs, which they shared with Kharge.
In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats respectively.
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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.
