1. Committee Bats for Tricolour State Flag
The nine-member special committee looking into the legal framework and design for an independent Karnataka flag has submitted a report to the government late on Monday, reportedly recommending a tricolour design. Three committee members confirmed that they had submitted the report.
The panel set up nine months ago had four design options to choose from. The members refused to say if the three colours were yellow, green and red or yellow and red with white in the middle. One member said it was yellow, green and red.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. ‘Modi is Morally Unfit to be PM’: K’taka CM Siddaramaiah Hits Back
Sunday was Prime Minister Modi’s day. In his first speech ahead of elections in the state, not only did he boost the morale of his workers, but also came down heavily on the Congress government over issues of corruption and lack of development.
But on Monday, 5 February, CM Siddaramaiah stole the show. Armed with fact sheets, he issued a point-by-point rebuttal against Prime Minister Modi and even called him morally unfit to be the prime minister, on grounds of endorsing corrupt leaders.
While addressing the media at the Karnataka legislative assembly, Siddaramaiah said that Modi peddled lies about the Karnataka government and dishonoured the people of the state. “He didn't speak like a prime minister. He has deemed our govt a 10 percent commission government. This is a baseless and an irresponsible allegation,” he said.
(Source: The Quint)
3. Traffic Police Told to Accept Vehicle Documents on DigiLocker
Motorists will no longer have to produce hard copies of driver’s licence, registration certificate and emission certificate when stopped by the traffic police or officials of the Transport Department.
Instead, they can show a scanned copy of these documents as long as they are uploaded on DigiLocker, the digital locker system launched by the government.
The Transport Department has issued a circular stating that digital certificates downloaded by citizens into their Digilocker will be deemed as originals. The circular asks traffic police and others authorities to treat DigiLocker documents on par with certificates issued by the RTOs in the form of a smart card or paper
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Why Should Bellandur Burn Only Before NGT Hearings? Asks KJ George
Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George raised doubts on the timing of the fires that happened at the Bellandur Lake, as his "surprise visit" to the lakeside led to more discontent among the locals.
Flanked by bureaucrats, the minister was taken to the lake's fenced area on Sunday where a JCB was clearing garbage and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike was carrying out civil works.
After the inspection, George asked if the timing of the fire incidents, coming as they did just before the National Green Tribunal hearings, was actually a coincidence.
"It could be manmade," George told the media, asserting that the blaze had ripped through the dry grass nearby and not the lake itself.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Court Orders Bank to Refund Rs 10k to First-Time ATM User
Little did Bengalurean BS Basavaraju realise that his attempt to use an ATM card for the first time would result in harassment from the bank and a court battle.
A resident of Kumaraswamy Layout, Basavaraju, 59, tried to use his ATM card issued by the Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank for his savings account on 26 February 2016. He visited the ICICI Bank and Axis Bank branches but his attempts to withdraw Rs 10,000 from their ATMs went in vain; the machines beamed a message that his card wasn't ready yet.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Mahadayi: Final Arguments From Tuesday
The Karnataka government on Monday claimed that it has not violated the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal's order and requested it to dismiss the contempt petition filed by the neighbouring state Goa on the issue.
The tribunal is set to resume final arguments of the sharing of Mahadayi river water on Tuesday. Karnataka, in its affidavit, said that it never made an attempt to divert the Mahadayi water violating the tribunal's order.
Refuting Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar's statement that Karnataka violated the Tribunal order, Karnataka said that Goa contempt petition should be dismissed since the allegations made by the neighbouring state are vague and baseless, both in fact and law.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
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