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HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition wins floor test, BJP walks out

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7 years ago

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HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition wins floor test, BJP walks out

Earlier, in another embarrassment for BJP, its candidate for Speaker’s post withdrew nomination and Congress nominee was elected unanimously

Amid hyped fears of cross-voting and poaching of Congress-JD (S) coalition’s legislators by BJP, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy won the floor test in Karnataka Vidhan Soudha, on Friday, May 25, as the saffron party gave him a walk-over once again by walking out ahead of voting.

Last week, BS Yeddyurappa, who had been sworn in as CM as the leader of the single largest party in a hung assembly, after failing to get any Congress or JD(S) MLAs to defect and get him a majority, had chosen to walk out in the face of certain defeat in a floor test, paving the way for HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing in as chief minister.

On Friday, Kumaraswamy won the trust vote with 115 legislators voting for him: 77 of the Congress (excluding Speaker Ramesh Kumar), 36 from the JD-S (the party had won 37 seats but the tally is 36 as Kumaraswamy had contested and won from two seats), 1 from the BSP and 1 from the KPJP.

The floor test showed that the Congress and JD (S) managed to shield their MLAs from the BJP’s desperate attempts to get them to either cross vote in its favour or abstain. Just three MLAs switching sides or five of them abstaining would have brought the Congress-JD(S) numbers down below the magic figure of 113, jeopardising the coalition government.

Moving the motion of confidence on the floor of the house, Kumaraswamy, who took oath as chief minister on May 23 with heads of almost all non-NDA parties present in what was dubbed as the grandest show of Opposition unity, said: “The assembly polls have resulted in unique political developments… The people have not given me a complete mandate. The Opposition feels the mandate is theirs, but I am yet to understand how they believe it to be so.”

Recounting how the Congress turned the tables on the BJP shortly after the May 15 assembly polls result by offering unconditional support to the JD (S) to form a government to keep the saffron party out of power, Kumaraswamy said: “Soon after results, I got a call from Dr. Parameshwara (Congress’ Karnataka unit chief, now deputy chief minister) who suggested that Congress and Janata Dal (S) should join hands and form a government. I was not desirous of the CM post but I have been given a second chance to be CM. Those who helped me become CM (the BJP) for the first time are now sitting in the Opposition side.”

Taking a swipe at Yeddyurappa, who had to resign as chief minister last week after staying in office for just about 55 hours, Kumaraswamy said: “Last week, Yeddyurappa, as CM, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing him to lead the BJP in the polls. But, I am unable to understand how he made a statement that he will not allow any other party apart from the BJP to form the government in Karnataka. He is the custodian of democracy. We are now 118 in strength, including Congress, Janata Dal (S), BSP and independents. We submitted the letter to the Governor (Vajubhai Vala) requesting him to allow us to form the government. However, he chose to invite the single largest party and gave them 15 days’ time to prove their majority. This has not happened in other States.”

HD Kumaraswamy added that his past decision to ally with the BJP to become the state’s chief minister had hurt his father, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. “I am guilty of taking political decisions that have pained my father. The circumstances were such that I did not have much choice… My family has not hankered for power. We have worked for maintaining a secular identity. Today, people should not feel that I joined hands with Congress because I wanted to become the Chief Minister. I took the decision for the future of my party. I want to right the wrongs that I have done when I was previously the Chief Minister,” he said.

Recalling his past mistakes during his first stint as chief minister, Kumaraswamy said: “There were rumours that pained me a great deal when I was the Chief Minister. When I did not hand over power the first time (after the BJP moved to end the alliance with JD-S), I earned a lot of ill will. I had an agreement with Yeddyurappa and not the BJP’s leadership. I have borne the brunt of being labelled as someone who hasn’t kept his word for the past 10 years.”

He added: “BJP is questioning why Congress with 78 MLAs joined hands with JD(S) with 37 MLAs. I took the decision to right the wrongs of the past and remove the black mark that is on my father. I am grateful for the second chance. I am pained that the citizens did not bless JD(S) with majority.”

Yeddyurappa, speaking after Kumaraswamy, was resentful. “The democratic mandate has been sidelined for opportunistic politics,” he said.

Still trying to sow dissensions in the ranks of the coalition that ousted him, he said to Congress veteran DK Shivakumar: “You will regret protecting the MLAs and reposing your trust in an untrustworthy person (Kumaraswamy). JD(S) lost their deposit in more than 120 seats, and has not won in 16 districts. And then all of you gang up to make a JD(S) leader the CM… I have no objection if you (DK Shivakumar and Congress) want to join Kumaraswamy in a sinking ship.” Shivakumar had played a key role in ensuring that Congress MLAs didn’t defect to the BJP ahead of the floor test that Yeddyurappa was supposed to face on May 19.

For former chief minister Siddaramaiah, against whom he had launched a bitter campaign, Yeddyurappa said, “I have decided to not speak against the Congress leaders. From now, our struggle will be against the corrupt father-son duo (of Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy)… I ask chief minister Kumaraswamy, why did you not hold hands or bow to Siddaramaiah (at the swearing-in ceremony). You held hands and bowed down to leaders who had come down from different parts of the country. The citizens of the state were all watching this.”

As soon as Yeddyurappa finished his speech, all 104 BJP legislators shouted “shame, shame, shame” and staged a walk out, leaving the floor completely open to the Congress-JD(S) combine to comprehensively win the trust vote.

The walk-out was coupled with a threat by Yeddyurappa – if the Kumaraswamy government doesn’t announce a loan waiver for the state’s farmers immediately, the BJP will carry out a state-wide bandh on May 28 in protest.

SPEAKER’S ELECTION

Earlier, the BJP, in another attempt at political brinkmanship and to tst waters ahead of the floor test, had got its five-term MLA S Suresh Kumar to file his nomination for the election of the Assembly Speaker, pitting him against Congress nominee KR Ramesh Kumar.

Later, perhaps realising that without the requisite number of legislators within its ranks to ensure its candidates victory and none from the Treasury falling for the allurements to cross vote, the BJP got Suresh Kumar to withdraw his nomination at the last minute.

To justify, the BJP talked principles. Yeddyurappa and Suresh Kumar both claimed that the nomination was withdrawn as the “BJP wanted the election of the Speaker to be unanimous in order to maintain the dignity of the Speaker’s post and in keeping with the legislature’s tradition.”

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Padma Awards 2025: Full list of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri awardees

The awards recognize outstanding achievements across all fields, with a focus on public service. The recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister.

Published

11 mins ago

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January 26, 2025

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The central government announced the recipients of the prestigious Padma Awards on Saturday. These awards, conferred annually on the eve of Republic Day, represent India’s highest civilian honours. They are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (for distinguished service of a higher order), and Padma Shri (for distinguished service).

The awards recognize outstanding achievements across all fields, with a focus on public service. The recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister.

This year, a total of 199 awards were presented: 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. The President of India bestows these awards at a formal ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan, typically held in March or April.

List of Padma Award Winners 2024:

Padma Vibhushan:

  • Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy
  • Justice (Retd.) Jagdish Singh Khehar
  • Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia
  • Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
  • MT Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous)
  • Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous)
  • Sharda Sinha (Posthumous)

Padma Bhushan:

  • A Surya Prakash
  • Anant Nag
  • Bibek Debroy (Posthumous)
  • Jatin Goswami
  • Jose Chacko Periappuram
  • Kailash Nath Dikshit
  • Manohar Joshi (Posthumous)
  • Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti
  • Nandamuri Balakrishna
  • PR Sreejesh
  • Pankaj Patel
  • Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous)
  • Rambahadur Rai
  • Sadhvi Ritambhara
  • S Ajith Kumar
  • Shekhar Kapur
  • Shobana Chandrakumar
  • Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous)
  • Vinod Dham

Padma Shri:

  • Advaita Charan Gadanayak
  • Achyut Ramchandra Palav
  • Ajay V Bhatt
  • Anil Kumar Boro
  • Arijit Singh
  • Arundhati Bhattacharya
  • Arunoday Saha
  • Arvind Sharma
  • Ashok Kumar Mahapatra
  • Ashok Laxman Saraf
  • Ashutosh Sharma
  • Ashwini Bhide Deshpande
  • Baijnath Maharaj
  • Barry Godfray John
  • Begam Batool
  • Bharat Gupt
  • Bheru Singh Chouhan
  • Bhim Singh Bhavesh
  • Bhimawa Doddabalappa Shiilekyathara
  • Budhendra Kumar Jain
  • C S Vaidyanathan
  • Chaitram Deochand Pawar
  • Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous)
  • Chandrakant Sompura
  • Chetan E Chitnis
  • David R Syiemlieh
  • Durga Charan Ranbir
  • Farooq Ahmad Mir
  • Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid
  • Gita Upadhyay
  • Gokul Chandra Das
  • Guruvayur Dorai
  • Harchandan Singh Bhatty
  • Hariman Sharma
  • Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale
  • Harvinder Singh
  • Hassan Raghu
  • Hemant Kumar
  • Hriday Narayan Dixit
  • Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous)
  • Inivalappil Mani Vijayan
  • Jagadish Joshila
  • Jaspinder Narula
  • Jonas Masetti
  • Joynacharan Bathari
  • Jumde Yomgam Gamlin
  • K. Damodaran
  • K L Krishna
  • K Omanakutty Amma
  • Kishore Kunal (Posthumous)
  • L Hangthing
  • Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer
  • Lalit Kumar Mangotra
  • Lama Lobzang (Posthumous)
  • Libia Lobo Sardesai
  • M D Srinivas
  • Madugula Nagaphani Sarma
  • Mahabir Nayak
  • Mamata Shankar
  • Manda Krishna Madiga
  • Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli
  • Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous)
  • Nagendra Nath Roy
  • Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous)
  • Naren Gurung
  • Neerja Bhatla
  • Nirmala Devi
  • Nitin Nohria
  • Onkar Singh Pahwa
  • P Datchanamoorthy
  • Pandi Ram Mandavi
  • Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai
  • Pawan Goenka
  • Prashanth Prakash
  • Pratibha Satpathy
  • Purisai Kannappa Sambandan
  • R Ashwin
  • R G Chandramogan
  • Radha Bahin Bhatt
  • Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy
  • Ramdarash Mishra
  • Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar
  • Ratan Kumar Parimoo
  • Reba Kanta Mahanta
  • Renthlei Lalrawna
  • Ricky Gyan Kej
  • Sajjan Bhajanka
  • Sally Holkar
  • Sant Ram Deswal
  • Satyapal Singh
  • Seeni Viswanathan
  • Sethuraman Panchanathan
  • Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
  • Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa)
  • Shyam Bihari Agrawal
  • Soniya Nityanand
  • Stephen Knapp
  • Subhash Khetulal Sharma
  • Suresh Harilal Soni
  • Surinder Kumar Vasal
  • Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj)
  • Syed Ainu Hasan
  • Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
  • Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi
  • Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla
  • Vadiraj Raghavendracharya Panchamukhi
  • Vasudeo Kamath
  • Velu Assaan
  • Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar
  • Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj
  • Vijayalakshmi Deshamane
  • Vilas Dangre
  • Vinayak Lohani

Note that “(Posthumous)” indicates the award was given posthumously.

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Republic Day 2025: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says respect differences, live in harmony

Attempting a task without understanding, he warned, is akin to acting like a “lunatic,” leading to wasted effort and potential problems. This concept extended beyond culinary skills to encompass all aspects of life, highlighting the need for informed action and diligent work ethics.

Published

31 mins ago

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January 26, 2025

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At the 76th Republic Day celebration in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday asserted the importance of unity and understanding in a diverse society. His speech, delivered after unfurling the national flag at a local college, extended beyond the celebratory aspects of the day, focusing on the responsibilities inherent in Indian citizenship.

Bhagwat’s central theme revolved around the need for societal cohesion, a concept he presented as crucial for harmonious coexistence. He acknowledged the presence of diversity within India, contrasting the nation’s approach with global conflicts often fueled by similar differences.

He argued that while individual distinctions and specializations should be respected, they should not overshadow the paramount importance of mutual respect and collaborative living. His analogy extended to the familial and community levels; just as a family requires harmony for its well-being, so too does a town and, ultimately, the nation. Internal conflicts, he implied, undermine the collective good.

He further emphasised the critical role of knowledge and dedication in achieving individual and societal success. Bhagwat used the simple act of cooking rice as a powerful metaphor. He explained that simply possessing the ingredients – rice, water, and heat – is insufficient; the knowledge of how to combine them properly is essential for a successful outcome.

Attempting a task without understanding, he warned, is akin to acting like a “lunatic,” leading to wasted effort and potential problems. This concept extended beyond culinary skills to encompass all aspects of life, highlighting the need for informed action and diligent work ethics.

His message extended into the realm of interpersonal relationships, highlighting the importance of faith and dedication. He contrasted the impersonal service received at a hotel with the welcoming hospitality often found in a home.

At a hotel, a simple request for water might be met with indifference or even hostility. However, at home, a similar request is usually met with generosity and warmth. This difference, he explained, lies in the presence of faith and dedication; actions rooted in trust and commitment invariably yield more positive results. Bhagwat concluded by emphasising that such faith and dedication are vital not only for personal fulfilment but also for building strong, harmonious communities and a thriving nation.

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Congress chief Kharge extends Republic Day greetings, slams Modi govt, says secularism being targeted by Goebbelsian propaganda

He claimed that minorities are being systematically targeted, and those advocating for secularism are subjected to what he termed “Goebbelsian propaganda,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s manipulative propaganda techniques. He further asserted that weaker sections of society – Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the poor, and minorities – are treated as second-class citizens.

Published

53 mins ago

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January 26, 2025

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On India’s 76th Republic Day, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge delivered a message that was as much a celebration of the Constitution’s 75th anniversary as it was a scathing critique of the current political climate.

He began by honouring the architects of the Constitution, mentioning Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, B.R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, and Sarojini Naidu, acknowledging their monumental contribution to shaping India’s republic.

He extended his appreciation to the nation’s armed forces, paramilitary personnel, security forces, scientists, teachers, farmers, and the diverse workforce – including daily wage earners, gig workers, artists, writers, and sportspersons – for their indispensable roles in nation-building and preserving India’s rich cultural tapestry.

However, the celebratory tone was quickly overshadowed by a stark assessment of the nation’s democratic health. Kharge expressed deep concern over what he characterized as a decade-long erosion of democratic principles and institutions. He alleged a deliberate and malicious campaign fueled by religious fundamentalism, designed to fracture Indian society along religious lines.

He claimed that minorities are being systematically targeted, and those advocating for secularism are subjected to what he termed “Goebbelsian propaganda,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s manipulative propaganda techniques. He further asserted that weaker sections of society – Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the poor, and minorities – are treated as second-class citizens.

The Congress president directly accused the ruling government of political interference in autonomous institutions, asserting that the control over independent bodies is perceived as a mark of power. He claimed that federalism is being systematically undermined, with the rights of opposition-governed states being curtailed.

The functioning of Parliament, he stated, has significantly deteriorated due to what he described as the tyrannical tendencies of the ruling government. Universities and self-governing institutions, he continued, face constant intrusion, and a large segment of the media has been co-opted as a propaganda tool. The suppression of dissent through the targeting of opposition leaders, he argued, has become the government’s primary policy.

The ongoing crisis in Manipur served as a stark illustration of his concerns, with Kharge highlighting the state’s prolonged turmoil and the lack of accountability at the highest levels of power.

He concluded his message with a fervent call to protect the Constitution’s fundamental values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, emphasizing that these tenets are being systematically undermined by what he called an authoritarian regime.

He urged citizens to be prepared to make sacrifices to defend the Constitution, viewing this as a fitting tribute to their ancestors. His statement ended with the powerful slogan: “Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem, Jai Samvidhaan. Jai Hind.”

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