Bengaluru:Opposition Chief Whip in the Legislative Council N. Ravi Kumar has written to Chief Minister D K Shivakumar seeking immediate clarification and withdrawal of an advertisement issued by the Department of Minorities, which offers 60 days of Army training exclusively to minority youths.

In an open letter written on Wednesday, Ravi Kumar termed the advertisement misleading and questioned the provision of religion-based Army training. “The Army does not offer religion-based training. There is no provision in the Constitution for providing Army training on the basis of religion,” he said.

He maintained that Army training was imparted by the armed forces to candidates selected through a rigorous selection process and that the state government had no role in either the training or the selection. Ravi Kumar alleged that the advertisement could mislead minority youths by creating the impression that the state government could arrange Army training exclusively for a particular religious community.

He said the government could organise Civil Defence training for youths, irrespective of religion, caste or community, to prepare them to respond to emergencies such as train accidents, floods and earthquakes. However, describing such an initiative as Army training exclusively for Muslim youths was incorrect, he said. Ravi Kumar urged the Chief Minister to issue a clarification and direct the Department of Minorities to withdraw the advertisement.

E-Swathu for properties excluding B-Kharab land: Khandre

Bengaluru:Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar B. Khandre directed officials to issue E-Swathu certificates for eligible properties in residential layouts developed on revenue land within Gram Panchayat limits, after verifying that the properties do not fall under B-Kharab land.

Chairing a meeting with officials at Vikas Soudha on Tuesday, the minister held detailed discussions on issuing E-Swathu certificates to owners of sites and houses with registered sale deeds on both converted and non-converted revenue land. He instructed officials to ensure that such properties do not fall under B-Kharab, forest or government land before issuing E-Swathu certificates. He also directed them to hold a meeting with Revenue Department officials to resolve issues relating to land classified as B-Kharab.

The minister noted that around 1.30 lakh applications submitted for E-Swathu in the Bengaluru Urban Zilla Panchayat were pending due to technical reasons. He directed officials to take necessary action in accordance with the rules to ensure the speedy disposal of these applications.Principal Secretary of the department Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Secretary D. Randeep, Commissioners Fauzia Tarannum B. and Venkataraju, CEO Rahul Shinde and other officials attended the meeting.