Karnataka Chief Minister says he won’t allow pub culture, his daughter disagrees

HOURS after Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said he “won’t allow pub culture” in the state, one of his daughters Umadevi said: “It’s for women to decide if they would like to visit pubs or any other public place, and that government, politicians or outfits like the Sri Rama Sene cannot restrict their movements”.

“If she is an adult woman, it’s for her to take a call on whether to go to a pub or not. If she is not an adult, the issue is then essentially between the child and her parents. There is no role for anyone else in this,” Umadevi told The Indian Express.

Umadevi, who runs Candor Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, a BPO in Bangalore, said “individual freedoms” cannot be regulated and agreed that Bangalore is also known for, among other things, its pubs. “

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Samajwadi Party deals Kalam trump card

To give its political decision of supporting the UPA the stamp of “national-interest” legitimacy, the Samajwadi Party today armed itself with a ringing endorsement of the Indo-US nuclear deal from former President A P J Abdul Kalam.

The SP’s Kalam announcement came hours after it got its allies in the UNPA to climb down from their strident opposition to the deal to saying they were ready for a “national debate.”

While these allies — TDP, INLD, AGP and the Jharkhand Vikas Party — stay opposed to the deal, they watched in awkward silence as SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said: “I can assure you that the UNPA will not take any step that will go against the national interest. The UNPA will also not do anything that will strengthen the communal forces (BJP) in the country.”

All the UNPA members, except the SP, have been associated with the NDA and all supported Kalam for a second term as President as well.

When Kalam had approved the deal, the BJP had distanced itself calling it his “personal opinion.”

“We had gone to seek the advice of former President Abdul Kalam, who is also a respected scientist, on the clarifications to our apprehensions provided by the PMO yesterday,” said Mulayam after his meeting with Kalam.

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