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K’taka Cabinet consents for 4 pc quota to Muslims in tenders; govt prepares to present Bill

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Bengaluru, March 15: The Karnataka government has decided to provide a 4 per cent reservation to Muslims in government contracts, along with oppressed and backward classes. Sources confirmed that the Cabinet has approved the proposal, and a Bill in this regard will be presented before the state legislature during the ongoing Budget Session.

The Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, 1999, after amendment aims to provide 4 per cent reservation in tenders to Muslim contractors in government contracts up to Rs 1 crore, the sources stated.

The Cabinet has also approved the limit for the SC, ST community which has been extended from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.

Minority leaders had submitted a request to reserve 4 per cent of contract works for Muslim contractors, similar to the reservations provided for SC, ST, and other backward communities.

Considering the request, the government has decided to implement the reservation. A Cabinet meeting was held under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, where discussions were conducted regarding the introduction of the Bill.

The Karnataka government has been contemplating introducing a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in civil contracts on lines with the reservation provided to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Communities and Backward Classes.

The CM Siddaramaiah-led government is all set to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (KTPP) Act, 1999. The Finance Department has already prepared the blueprint and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil has also agreed to the amendment, the sources said.

However, slamming the state government, the BJP had stated that the move was against the spirit of the Constitution and nothing but the “peak of appeasement politics”.

State BJP President, B.Y. Vijayendra, claimed that the Congress was leading the state towards strife.

Vijayendra said the state government has not released any funds for legislators and when no tender has been called and work allotted, what’s the use of reservation?

Hitting out at the Congress, Vijayendra said: “Does the grand old party think that only Muslims constitute the minority group?”

“I urge CM Siddaramaiah, if he is real Ahinda (a Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits) leader, he should have enabled marginalised communities and strengthened them economically,” the BJP leader said.

“Madivala, Savita and many communities also exist and need support from the state. The government is not bringing these communities into the mainstream. Instead, the government is all set for Muslim appeasement, the people will have to teach them a lesson,” he stated.

“Muslims alone have been granted reservations in education and employment based on religion, which goes against the constitutional spirit. Now, the government is planning to introduce a 4 per cent reservation for Muslims even in government contracts, which is the peak of appeasement politics,” Vijayendra charged.

“If it was for all minority communities, we have no objections,” he said.

Crime

Haryana IPS suicide: Punjab Scheduled Caste panel seeks report from Chandigarh DGP

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Chandigarh, Oct 11: The Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission on Saturday took suo moto notice in the suicide case of Haryana’s ADGP Y. Puran Kumar in Chandigarh and sought a report from the Chandigarh Director General of Police.

Commission Chairman Jasvir Singh Garhi said this matter has come to his notice through the media, on which he has taken action and he has instructed the Director General of Police of Chandigarh to submit a report regarding this matter and the action taken so far on the suicide note and the complaint given by his wife Amneet Kaur through an ADGP-level officer to the commission on October 13.

Also, the Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman will visit the victim’s family’s house on October 13.

Meanwhile, Jai Narayan, a spokesperson for the 31-member committee for justice for Puran Kumar, told the media here that they formed this 31-member committee on Friday to sustain the movement across all over Haryana with key members from various regions.

“The government has not conducted any meaningful investigation, and we demand that at the very least, those responsible be terminated; only then will the post-mortem be performed,” he said.

Meanwhile, protests were held in Rohtak, demanding arrest of the accused in the suicide case. Inspector General of Puran Kumar, who allegedly shot himself dead at his Chandigarh residence on October 7 with his service revolver, left behind a “final note”.

The victim’s spouse, Amneet P. Kumar, a Haryana cadre senior bureaucrat, in a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has sought justice for her husband.

The letter, marked urgent and confidential, two days ago expressed anguish over what she described as a “grave injustice” and “complete administrative inaction” even after more than 48 hours of her husband’s death.

In a nine-page “suicide note”, Puran Kumar reportedly accused nine serving IPS officers of the Haryana Police, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers of “caste-based discrimination”.

The serving officers included DGP Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya.

Meanwhile, the government has removed Bijarniya from his post and has been replaced by Surinder Singh Bhoria as the Superintendent of Police of Rohtak.

No posting has been given to Bijarniya as of now. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the wife of late Haryana IPS officer, saying the incident “reveals that even the highest-level officers can be denied social justice on account of discriminatory attitude”.

“The passing away of Mr Y Puran Kumar reveals that even the highest-level officers can be denied social justice on account of the discriminatory attitude and the preconceived notions of the powers that be. Crores of Indians stand with you in your fight for justice,” she wrote.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Crores of rupees were defrauded in the name of government jobs, the accused was arrested from Delhi… The accused had received money from hundreds of unemployed people

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Economic Wing has claimed to have arrested the accused in a case of cheating in the name of getting government jobs in the central and state governments in several districts of Maharashtra. Santosh Ganpat, a businessman from Navi Mumbai, filed a complaint that the accused Nilesh Kanshi Ram Rathore had charged him Rs 5 lakh for a government job and Rs 5 to 15 lakh for medical tests and appointment letters. The EOW has registered a case against him because he has cheated him of Rs 2.88 crore by promising him a job and during the investigation it was revealed that he has cheated him of Rs 10 crore. The Economic Wing has formed a team to arrest the absconding accused and searched him in Akola and other areas. The accused cheated hundreds of youths for recruitment in RCF in 2022. His complaint was filed with the EOW. The EOW received information that the accused was trying to escape from Delhi, on which the police arrested him from Delhi. The accused has been booked in Mumbai EOW and Pune Deccan. A criminal case has been registered and further investigation is underway. This operation has been carried out under the leadership of EOW chief Nisht Mishra.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

ANC action, drugs worth crores seized, 6 arrested

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Mumbai: The Anti-Narcotics Cell has claimed to have arrested six drug smugglers, including a Nigerian, including a Nigerian, including MD and Natropum tablets worth Rs 7.01 crore, during operations at various locations in Mumbai. 523 grams of cocaine, worth Rs 5.23 crore, was seized from a Nigerian in Vakola, Mumbai. Five accused were arrested in raids conducted in Ghatkopar, Kurla CST, Mazgaon, tardeo, Borivali areas, from whose possession Mephedone MD worth Rs 54.65 lakh was seized. These are part of five inter-state drug gangs. Other drugs including Natropum tablets were also seized in this operation. This operation was carried out by DCP Nunath Dhule on the instructions of the Mumbai Police Commissioner.

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