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The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to be open for guided tours from June 1
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday. The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1. Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational. 'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.' 90-minute tour The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC. Entry fee Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory. 'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U.T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Online booking Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site. The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Now, a guided tour of Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha for public six days a month
A first-of-its-kind experience, the Guided Walking Tour of Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on Sunday (May 25, 2025). The tour of Bengaluru's iconic landmark will be open to the public from June 1. Speaking at the inauguration, Minister of Tourism, Law and Parliamentary Affairs H. K. Patil said that these tours should not be thought of as recreational. 'Vidhana Soudha is not just any other building but one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It is also the temple of democracy. Whoever finishes this tour should be able to identify their role in democracy. We want visitors to dream and aspire to become a Chief Minister or a Speaker or an Opposition party leader and represent people. We want to bring out a sense of pride about Karnataka.' A 90-minute tour The tours developed by Department of Tourism and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) in association with the Speaker's Office – Karnataka Legislative Assembly, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) and Vidhana Soudha Security Division will take place every Sunday and second and fourth Saturdays of the month in designated time slots between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Each tour group will consist of 30 people and will take approximately 90 minutes and will be supervised by a Tour Guide, Tourist Mitra and Vidhana Soudha security personnel. 'We aim to accommodate 300 people in a day in these tours. We also plan to have separate slots for tours in English,' said Rajendra K.V., Director of Tourism Department and MD of KSTDC. Entry fee of ₹50/person Entry for the tour will be given at Gate 3 of Vidhana Soudha and will then cover seven points of interest spanning approximately 1.5 kilometres. The entry fee for the tour is fixed at ₹50 per person. However, for children under the age of 16, the tickets are free, but registration is mandatory. 'We see this as a transformation programme to showcase the beauty and legacy of democracy. Only those who understand history can create history. We want every student to understand democracy and create that kind of history. That is why we have decided to make the tour free for students,' said U. T. Khader, Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Online booking of slots Those interested in booking tickets for the tour can do so on KSTDC's website While currently there is an option to send an email to KSTDC and then get a controlled link for booking, soon there will be a designated ticket booking portal on the website. Limited tickets may also be available at the KSTDC helpdesk on site. The visitors will also need to carry a physical copy of their original Aadhar card (digital copies will not be accepted) while students will need to carry a valid school ID along with original Aadhar. Foreign nationals should produce their original passports for verification at the entry point.
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Karnataka: Cabinet discussion on caste survey inconclusive, second time in 2 weeks
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday held another round of discussions on the Social and Educational Survey report, commonly referred to as the caste census, but once again stopped short of reaching a decision, with Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister HK Patil confirming that the deliberation remained 'incomplete'. Most ministers have submitted their written responses to chief minister Siddaramaiah, while a few are yet to do so. 'The cabinet today once again discussed the Social and Educational Survey report, the discussion was incomplete. The chief minister had earlier asked the cabinet ministers to give their opinion in writing and most of the ministers' opinions have reached the Chief Minister except three or four,' Patil told reporters after the meeting. 'The subject will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting or the one after that, after getting certain details and studying them,' he added. The Thursday's meeting marks the latest in a series of delays by the Congress-led government in deciding on the caste census report. The meeting on May 10 was also inconclusive, with ministers receiving additional data, including population statistics broken down by taluks and districts, prompting calls for a more detailed review. The cabinet convened a special meeting on April 17 exclusively to debate the report, but it too ended without a resolution. At that time, some ministers reportedly raised concerns about the methodology and accuracy of the survey, labelling it as unscientific and outdated, and pointing to possible undercounting. These concerns led Siddaramaiah to request written feedback from each minister. Criticism of the survey has intensified in recent weeks, particularly from influential community groups. The Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Karnataka's two dominant communities, have strongly objected to the findings, demanding that the report be scrapped and a fresh survey conducted. The groundwork for the caste census was laid during Siddaramaiah's initial tenure as chief minister, involving an extensive 2015 survey costing ₹162 crore. Although Siddaramaiah announced his acceptance of the report in June, its contents and release date remain undisclosed. The leaked data indicated that Scheduled Castes (SCs) accounted for 19.5% of the state's total population, followed by Muslims at 16%. Lingayats and Vokkaligas represented 14% and 11% of the population, respectively. Within the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Kuruba community alone comprised 7% of Karnataka's population, contributing to the OBCs' overall representation of 20% in the state. Collectively, these groups, including SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas, formed a substantial portion of the population at 47.5%. The political implications of these findings could significantly impact the state's political landscape, according to federations of marginalised sections.
