Wrong of Chandrashekaranath Swami to make such statements, says DCM DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has told the media that it was wrong of Vokkaliga pontiff Chandrashekaranath Swami to say that Muslims’ right to vote should be revoked in India.
While the pontiff has apologized for his statement that whipped up a controversy, a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against him for making the statement, fuelling the controversy as political leaders have entered the fray in support of the senior seer.
Addressing reporters at the Vidhana Soudha recently, Shivakumar expressed happiness at the pontiff admitting his mistake in making such a statement and apologizing for hurting sentiments of the members of a religious community. “Swamiji has apologized for his statement and I am happy about this. We should not get involved in issues of caste and religion. Voting is the Constitutional right of every citizen in India, without any bias on any basis," he said.
Hitting back at Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly and senior BJP leader R Ashoka for his recent criticism of the Congress government for taking strict measures against the pontiff, Shivakumar said that the BJP leader was using the incident for his vested interest by fuelling tension between communities.
He pointed out that the government led by Janata Dal (Secular) too had taken legal action against Balagangadharanatha Swami, the late head of the Adichunchanagiri Mutt of the Vokkaligas, for violation of law during its tenure. “Former minister Channigappa had filed a case against Balagangadharanatha Swami, who was forced to appear in court for a couple of years before he was granted bail, although he was innocent. These facts are available in the records and irrefutable. Why did Ashoka not criticize the move taken by the JD(S) government then?” asked the Deputy CM, reminding the media, “Everyone is equal before the law.”
When asked to comment about the LoP’s warning that the Vokkaliga community will certainly avenge the insult to the pontiff, Shivakumar said that it was the BJP, especially Ashoka himself, who was fuelling the controversy by such declarations.
“He (Ashoka) has also said that I am using the community for my benefit, which is also not true. I have never done so with either Vokkaligas or other community people. It is true that I am a Vokkaliga by birth, but I respect all religions and communities equally. It is improper to comment on the rights of particular religions or communities when we belong to a republic and are bound by the rules in the Constitution,” the DCM opined.
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Army showcases several AI-driven applications at AI Summit, Rajnath visits pavillion
New Delhi (PTI): From a climatology and diaster prediction system to a device that detects driver's fatigue to avert accidents, the India Army has showcased a slew of artificial intelligence-based applications at the AI Impact Summit here, with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visiting the Army pavilion on Friday.
The Indian Navy has also put up a pavilion as part of the summit expo.
The AI Impact Summit is being held from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam, in which several heads of state, many global AI leaders, academicians and researchers, and heads of global tech giants, and philanthropists have taken part.
The Army has showcased several AI-based applications at its pavilion in Hall no. 4, and Defence Minister Singh interacted with military officials who gave him a tour of the pavilion, which has attracted both young and old-age visitors.
"Delighted to visit the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam today. India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in Artificial Intelligence and advanced technologies. The Summit showcases the immense talent of our innovators, researchers, startups, armed forces and industry leaders. India's AI vision MANAV, articulated by PM Shri @narendramodi at #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026, sets humanity’s direction towards a secure and future-ready world," Singh later posted on X.
"Guided by principles of morality, accountability, national data sovereignty, accessibility and robust systems, India is helping shape the next civilisational leap through responsible AI.
"AI is not just a driver of economic growth, but also a force multiplier for national security and good governance. I thank PM Modi for hosting the AI Summit in India. Compliments to the organising Teams and all participants for making this Summit a grand success," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the summit on Thursday and unveiled the 'MANAV' vision for a human-centric approach and use of AI with a strong accent on sovereignty and inclusivity.
"Army officers and personnel, researchers and scholars, of course have come to our pavillion in the past few days, but youths too are showing keen interest in AI-based military applications. And, today the honourable defence minister visited and showed keen interest in knowing more about these applications," a senior Army official told PTI.
Some of the AI-based applications which have been showcased include 'Prakshepan' a military climatology and diaster prediction system; Xface -- a facial recognition system for rapid image and video-based verification in boosting security and surveillance mechanism; Nabhdrishti -- a telemetry reporting system which can capture positional data, imagery and orientation, "even based on images of an unidentified drone in flight"; and an AI-based device that detects driver's fatigue and alerts the person behind the wheels to avert accidents.
Lt Col A R Packianathan said 'Prakshepan' was launched by the defence minister last November.
The name draws from Sanskrit word 'Prakshepan', which means projection, he said.
At the Army pavilion, a dashboard has been displayed showcasing how the system works, with "near-live data".
"This application is a cutting edge military climatology application developed in-house by the Army's Directorate General of Information Systems. It has been powered by scientific and technical collaboration from several ministries with agencies like India Meteorological Department, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Central Water Commission, North East Space Application Centre, Geological Survey of India and Defence Geospatial Research Organisation," Lt Col Packianathan told PTI at the pavilion.
It has three prediction modules -- prediction of flood, of landslide and of an avalanche.
"This is India's first hybrid military climatology system capable of predicting landslides and avalanches 3-7 days in advance using multi-agency scientific datasets, terrain intelligence, and AI/ML (AI/machine learning) modelling," another Army official said.
The Indian Army in January had declared 2026 as the 'Year of Networking & Data Centricity' and said that this initiative will enhance connectivity, real-time decision-making and combat effectiveness, thereby strengthening resilience and agility for a future-ready force.
In line with the vision, the pavilion also showcases visual representations of Army assets and weaponry using holographic projections.
The Army has said that beyond military use, man of these application can have dual-use and help civilian administration and the masses as well,
So, 'Prakshepan' can provide early warnings to civil administration in remote areas, contributing to national disaster resilience and capacity building, Lt Col Packianathan said.
Similarly, the AI-based device that detects driver's fatigue and alerts the person behind the wheels can help avert accidents on highways for civilian drivers too, another official said.
