Swiss government rejects proposed burka ban
Geneva, June 28 : The Swiss government on Wednesday said it opposes a proposed burka ban that is due to come to a referendum after supporters gained 106,600 signatures last year to enable a popular vote against full facial covering.
The Swiss Federal Council said in a statement that while the wearing of a full veil can be "problematic", it should continue to be left up to individual cantons to decide.
The matter will go to a nationwide vote after enough public support, in the form of 106,600 signatures, was gathered in September last year for a people's initiative calling for a ban on the veil fully covering the face, known as a burka, Xinhua reported.
Neither the date nor the exact wording of this vote has been announced, national broadcaster Swissinfo reported.
Belgium, neighboring France, Denmark and Spain, have all taken measures against the wearing of Islamic veils and the Netherlands also passed a ban this week.
The federal council said a full national ban would make it impossible to consider individual cantons' differing sensitivities.
The government also specified that under its counter proposal, it would remain "unacceptable" and "a punishable offence" to force a woman to cover her face.
A group seeking a national vote on a proposal needs to collect more than 100,000 signatures, and a group called "Yes to a ban on full facial coverings" did so.
It includes some of those who spearheaded a 2009 Swiss ban on constructing new minarets, the towers above mosques. Italian-speaking Ticino is the only Swiss canton which has introduced a total face-covering ban in public places.
The measures sought in the vote would also seek to forbid protesters from concealing their faces during demonstrations.
In January, a newspaper poll showed that 76 per cent of Swiss voters would approve of a nationwide ban on face-coverings, said Swissinfo.
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Dy CM Shivakumar confident of Congress win in Karnataka bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday expressed confidence that the ruling Congress will secure a decisive victory in the Assembly bypolls scheduled for April 9 in the Bagalkote and Davanagere South constituencies, citing a favourable ground response to the party’s guarantee schemes.
These are ‘Shakti’, ‘Gruha Lakshmi’, ‘Gruha Jyoti’, ‘Yuva Nidhi’ and ‘Anna Bhagya’.
The bypolls were necessitated by the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, who represented Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies, respectively.
The Congress has fielded Shivashankarappa’s grandson, Samarth Shamanur, in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote. They are locked in direct contests with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.
“Both Bagalkote and Davanagere are very positive. Congress workers are doing an excellent job, going door to door and convincing people about the guarantee schemes,” Shivakumar told reporters here.
He said even voters who had earlier supported the BJP were now inclined towards the Congress.
“Even those who voted for the BJP earlier are saying they will vote for Congress. People want the guarantees to continue and are expressing difficulties due to rising prices,” he said.
Expressing confidence of an improved electoral performance, he added, “There is a strong sense that we will win with a bigger margin than before.”
Shivakumar also said he would travel to Kerala for two days and resume campaigning thereafter. “I am going to Kerala for two days. After returning, we will continue the campaign from Davanagere,” he said.
Referring to the shortage of LPG, including auto LPG, in the state, Shivakumar blamed the BJP-led government and called for immediate intervention by the Centre.
“The LPG shortage is due to the BJP. Auto drivers and those in the transport sector are facing difficulties,” he claimed.
“This is something the central government has to address. It must formulate proper policies and take precautionary measures,” he said, adding that the BJP should apologise to the public.
“They should come forward and apologise to the people for the inconvenience caused and resolve the issues they have created,” he said.
