Sullia: Sullia block congress on Wednesday August 5 protested against the suspension of 25 MPs from parliament.

Speaking on the occasion block congress president M. Venkappa Gowda said, Modi government is trying to strangulate the voice of democracy. It is not correct to suspend the members of the opposition who raised their voice aganist corruption, he said.

He also said that if MP Nalin Kumar Kateel want to implement Adarsh gram yojna then he should ask money from the union government. Ther is no need to take th grant from state government.

Bharatraj Mundodi, K.M Mustafa, Somashekar Koyingaje, Divyaprabha Chiltadka spoke on this occasion. Gokuldas, Prema teacher, Achyuta Malkaje, Narayana Jattipalla, Sudhir Rai Menala, Kiran Badlegutthu and many others were present.

Protesters blocked the road and shouted slogans agianst the government on this occasion.

Battle lines remained drawn in Parliament on Monday ahead of the all-party meeting called by the government to break the fortnight-long deadlock.

While Question Hour ran its full course in the Lok Sabha amid protests, Rajya Sabha was adjourned within minutes in the morning as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought to make a statement on the Lalit Modi scam. Ms. Swaraj stated that she did not make any recommendation to the British government to provide travel papers to the former IPL chief.

Earlier, the Congress made it clear that there can be "no productive discussion & no meaningful proceedings as long as those responsible for wrong-doings remain in office". Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, party president Sonia Gandhi reminded that the BJP was the author of the "resign-now-debate-later" principle of parliamentary practice which it had used against the UPA at least five times in 10 years.

AAP too decides to boycott Lok Sabha for five days.

Expressing solidarity with the suspended Congress MPs, Trinamool Congress has decided to boycott the parliamentary proceedings for five days.

All 25 suspended Congress MPs refuse to leave the House even as other opposition parties call for revocation of disciplinary action.

Speaker suspends them for causing "grave disorder" in the House.

25 Congress MPs suspended from Lok Sabha for five consecutive days by Speaker for carrying placards into the House.

Srinagar: A Congress legislator in Kashmir on Thursday claimed to have met Tiger Memon several times in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said the fugitive don had acknowledged carrying out the 1993 blasts to avenge the Mumbai riots a few months earlier.

Usman Majeed, militant turned counter-insurgent turned MLA who represents Bandipore in the Assembly, recalled meeting Tiger two or three times in 1993 and 1994.

"He (Tiger) was a close friend of Hilal Beig and would visit our office in PoK as a guest. So I got to meet him a few times," Majeed told The Telegraph.

Beig was the chief commander of the militant group Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, with which Majeed was associated those days before switching sides and joining hands with counter-insurgent Kuka Parray.

"Tiger Memon was staying in Karachi after the Mumbai blasts but would visit our office in PoK.... We would make arrangements for his food and lodging whenever he came," Majeed said.

Majeed claimed he was in Kashmir when the March 1993 blasts took place but left for Pakistan around a month later, via Bangladesh. "I met him (Tiger) for the first time perhaps in November 1993," he said.

During one of their conversations, Majeed said, he had asked Tiger why he had carried out the blasts.

"He replied that after the communal riots in 1992, some (Muslim) women came to him weeping, carrying a tray of bangles, and asked him to wear them (for sitting idle after the riots)," Majeed said.

"He said he got emotional and carried out those blasts to take revenge."

Majeed said Tiger had told him the Pakistani external intelligence agency, ISI, helped him carry out the serial blasts that killed 257 people.

The MLA said he had never met Yakub Memon but claimed that Tiger was extremely disturbed when his brother "surrendered" to the Indian agencies.

"I remember he fled to Dubai, fearing he would be targeted by the Pakistani agencies," he said. "They (the ISI) later brought him back from Dubai after negotiations."

Majeed, who returned to India in early 1995, said he had met Tiger in 1994 as well.

Majeed later joined mainstream politics, won as an Independent during the 2002 state elections and became a minister in the then Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government.

Kashmir was largely quiet on Thursday after Yakub's hanging but another MLA, Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, was detained when he organised a mourning procession at Srinagar's Lal Chowk to protest the hanging. He was later released.

Bengaluru: The aura of film stars has been known to have an impact during elections.

Now the ruling Congress party in Karnataka is using star power to boost its image among farmers in distress.

The ruling party, which is facing disenchantment for not doing enough to help the debt-ridden farmers, has fielded film stars in a bid to boost morale.
Party insiders believe the move will counter the party's negative image in the state.

An impressive team of film stars from the Congress fold are at work across the state.
Former MP and superstar of Kannada movies, Ramya, was the first to visit the farmers in Mandya district, the sugar bowl of Karnataka where more than 25 peasants committed suicide in the last two months.

Ramya represented the Mandya Lok Sabha seat in the past and she narrowly lost in the last poll.
There were complaints that she had neglected the constituency after losing the polls.

The actress was abroad for nearly a year while she pursued her studied and returned to India recently.
During her visit the actress doled out funds to the relatives of the farmers who committed suicide.

She blamed the sugar mills for the crisis.
“They (sugar mills) have not cleared the dues of the farmers. In addition, the prices for sugarcane procurement are not fixed on a scientific basis. I will discuss this with the authorities concerned,” she said.

The Congress Disciplinary Action Committee has recommended the expulsion of its legislator from Devarahipparagi (Karnataka), AS Patil Nadahalli, for his alleged derogatory statement against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The MLA was suspended from the Congress a few months ago after he demanded a separate statehood for north Karnataka region on the grounds that Siddaramaiah had ignored the development of the region. He had also dared the Congress to suspend him from the party.

As a consequence, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President G Parameshwara wrote to Siddaramaiah, who also happens to be the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, recommending disciplinary action against Patil. As a result, Patil was suspended from the Congress on April 25.
 
Later, the matter was referred to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Disciplinary Action Committee, which today informed the KPCC to expel AS Patil from the party. The Congress' strength in the Karnataka Assembly is 123 and his expulsion from the party is unlikely to affect the party.

The Congress party on Wednesday postponed a sit-in protest by its lawmakers outside Parliament after reportedly failing to get other political parties on board but continued to disrupt Parliament over various scams involving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forcing both Houses to adjourn.


Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi were to participate in the protest as the party appeared in no mood to let the government pass key reform bills.

Rahul refused to speak to the media on external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj's tweet alleging that a senior Congress leader approached her for a diplomatic passport for coal scam accused Santosh Bagrodia prompting the former minister to retort that his name was unnecessarily being dragged in.

"We will speak in Parliament," he said.

In a series of tweets, Swaraj, who is facing opposition heat for allegedly supporting tainted former IPL chief Lalit Modi's bid for British travel papers, said she will reveal the name of the Congress leader in Parliament.

"A senior Congress leader was pressing me hard to give diplomatic passport to the Coal Scam accused Santosh Bagrodia...I will disclose name of the leader on the floor of the House," she tweeted.

Shortly afterwards, Bagrodia hit back saying that he himself had approached the foreign minister for a diplomatic passport.

"I am eligible for a diplomatic passport. I can't see why my name is dragged into this, " Bagrodia told India Today TV.

According to CNN-IBN news channel, Swaraj has said she will speak on the issue in Lok Sabha.

India Today TV reported quoting sources that the Congress changed strategy and decided to confront the government after it failed to get the support of parties like the Samajwadi Party and the Biju Janata Dal.

The opposition parties, however, continued their attack on the government demanding the resignations of Swaraj, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Chouhan, forcing an early adjournment of Lok Sabha.

Congress MPs protest in the House by wearing black bands only to be chided by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Some MPs were also seen carrying placards in the House after Opposition ruckus in the Lower House.

Amid the chaos, Mahajan rejected Congress' adjournment motion and adjourned the House till noon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House when it was adjourned amid loud protests.

While Swaraj and Raje are under fire for helping tainted former IPL chief Lalit Modi, who faces an Enforcement Department probe for alleged money laundering and forex violations, Chouhan is under pressure to quit over the Vyapam admission and recruitment scandal.

Similar scene played out in Rajya Sabha as the Opposition stuck to its guns demanding Swaraj's resignation despite the government's stance that it is ready for a discussion on the controversy.

"You want to discuss Sushma Swaraj, start the discussion on the issue right now," said finance Arun Jaitley amid the ruckus.

Jaitley sought to turn the heat back on the opposition saying that any debate over scams in statesshould also involve Kerala and Assam, where Congress chief ministers Oommen Chandy and Tarun Gogoi are facing corruption charges.

The ruckus forced deputy chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the Upper House for 15 minutes.

On Tuesday, the monsoon session of Parliament began and ended on stormy notes amid signs of continued disruption over the demand for the resignation of Swaraj and BJP chief ministers in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Lok Sabha was adjourned immediately after it met as a mark of tribute to a sitting member who died away recently. Wednesday is the first working day of the Lower House in the session which concludes on August 13.

Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments with Congress members trooping into the well of the House to press their demand for foreign minister's resignation. It was supported by parties like CPI(M) as well as the Samajwadi Party.

Karkala: Farmers are the backbone of our country. Congress is the backbone of the farmers. It is congress party which made the farmer the owner of the land said former central minister Oscar Fernandese.

He was speaking in a program 'Bale Benni Benka' an agricultural awareness program organised by block congress and youth congress in Pusalayi field near Shri Bhuvanendra college.
He further said that suicide is not the solution for problems. To make people understand this youth congress has organised this program.

Speaking on the occasion President of SCDCC bank Dr. M.N Rajendra Kumar said, our bank is providing necessary loans to the farmers. As the farmers are remitting the loans promptly suicide incidents are rare in this region.

He also opined that the other cooperation fields should be improved. He also said that when farmers opt for finance loans they are trapped in problems.
The program was presided over by former MLA H. Gopal Bhandary. Block congress president Neere Krishna Shetty, Sudhakar Kotian, Karkala purasabha president Rahmat S. Sheikh and many others were present.

Ullala:Block congress president Ishwar Ullal alleged that the police department has completely failed in arresting the culprits in stabing incidents in Ullala and Konaje.
He was speaking in a press meet on Firday July 17 at Tokkottu block congress office. He said that the police is not taking any action against drug mafia, this has led to the increase in criminal cases. The CCTVs installed in Ullal is not working properly. He further said that CCTVs should be installed from Nethravathy to Talapady.

The stabbing incidents are happening between 8 to 10pm. It looks like same gang is involved in stabbing incident. Police have not exmined the CCTV footage installed in a private commercial complex in Kapikad in a stabbing incident, he added. He also said that police department is resposible if the stabbing incident is continued in coming days.
The sand is being transported illegally to Kerala.Lories carrying the sand crosses the Konaje police station limit but Manjeshwar police waylay thes e lorries. This is an example of the irresponsibility of Mangaluru police he said.

President of backward class unit Dinesh Kumpala, Ullala bolck congress secretary Santosh Kumar Shetty, Abdul Rehman Kodijal and Padmanabh were present.