GADAG: Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has dared BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, who has spoken about equal rights for all, to make someone from the minority communities an MLC, Rajya Sabha member or a minister in the Central cabinet. Shivakumar was speaking about the contributions of the late K H Patil at Gadag Cotton Sale Society.
When asked about Vijayendra’s tweet on equality, the DyCM said, “Let two Christians and three Muslims be allowed in his (Vijayendra) party. Only if this is done, Vijayendra will have the right to speak about equal rights”.
“Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists are citizens of our country and Karnataka. We think about all the minorities and the backward classes,” Shivakumar said.
To a question on his supporters insisting that he celebrate his completion of five years as KPCC president, Shivakumar said, “The ministers have been instructed to hold a meeting of workers at each assembly level and this should be done first. After that, it has been two years since the government came to power and this celebration has to be done.”
Education not priority for Centre: Kharge
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the Central government of not giving priority to education due to which 50 per cent of the posts of teachers are lying vacant in Kendriya Vidyalayas and Central universities. “Everyone is talking about the importance of education and health.
In the past, Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar AND Mahatma Gandhi used to lay more emphasis on education. However, today it is unfortunate that these sectors are ignored,” he said.
In the meantime, he said that he is happy that Karnataka is doing well in terms of education. “In the past, education was emphasised during the British era. In North Karnataka, there are people who have kept pace with the times and given importance to education,” Kharge said.
He was in Gadag to inaugurate the new building of Cotton Sale Society as part of the birth centenary celebration of the late K H Patil. Kharge said, “Hyderabad-Karnataka has 37,000 vacancies. If there are no teachers to educate our children, then how will the children progress?"
"In the country, there are 40,000 vacancies in Navodaya University, 7,400 in Kendriya Vidyalayas and 5,400 vacancies in universities. In addition, about 90,000 government schools have been closed across the country out of which 50,000 government schools are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Due to this, poor children are being deprived of education. The number of private schools is increasing, due to which government schools are closing,” he added.