Timeline India

Tag: Karnataka Politics

  • Distraught by mother's suicide, son kills self

    Madikeri, Nov 18: In a tragic incident that occurred in Alekatte of Chowdlu village in Somwarpet taluk of Kodagu district, a son, who saw his mother hanging as he came home, killed himself in a similar way by hanging.

    Tangamani (55) and her son Harish (26) are the unfortunate victims of this tragedy. Tangamani, who is a resident of Alekatte road earned her livelihood by working as a daily wage labourer. Her son Harish was an auto driver.

    On Sunday, November 18 Tangamani had hanged herself in the house when Harish was not at home. When Harish came home, he was shocked to see his mother hanging. He immediately informed his relatives, who rushed to his house and later went to the police station to register a complaint. During this time, Harish also went inside the house and hanged himself with his lungi.

    The story behind this extreme step by mother and son has come to light after their deaths. Harish had married a girl, a resident of Alekatte Road Siddeshwara Tyre Works vicinity, nine months ago. However, their marital life was not okay. His bride was at Harish’s home for just 15 days and had left for her parent’s house. Though Harish tried his best to bring her back, she did not respond. In addition, Harish’s wife also filed a complaint in the court seeking alimony and divorce. Due to this both Harish and Tangamani were dejected in life.

    Both Harish and Tangamani used to share their sad story with relatives and neighbours often. On Sunday afternoon around 2.30 pm Tangamani killed herself and later Harish followed her in death.

    Somwarpet circle inspector Nanjundegowda, station officer Shivashankar and personnel visited the spot and did the inspection. A case in registered in the Somwarpet police station.

    Source: Daijiworld

  • Karnataka development a victory for democracy: Rajinikanth

    A day after BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa stepped down as Karnataka Chief Minister without facing a floor test in the Assembly, actor Rajinikanth on Sunday said the development in the neighbouring state was a victory for democracy.


    “According to the Constitution, majority should be proved in the assembly, the Congress-JD(S) is going to do it, and I see this as a victory for democracy,” he told reporters in reply to a question on the assembly elections in Karnataka and its outcome.

    Dubbing as “farcical” the time of 15 days given by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to Mr. Yeddyurappa to prove his majority, the Tamil superstar, who is set to enter politics, said that it should not have been done.

    “Hats off to the Supreme Court which gave a good ruling,” he said, apparently referring to the apex court asking the BJP to take the floor test to prove its majority in the House on Saturday.

    After a meeting with the women’s wing functionaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram (Rajini people’s forum), the actor said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue should be implemented in letter and spirit.

    Asked what he felt the Congress-JD(S) coalition should do on the river water issue as the alliance would assume power shortly, he said, “Whatever the Supreme Court has said must be implemented and it is their (Karnataka’s) duty.”

    “It is my humble opinion that it will be good if the control over the dams (in Karnataka) is with the (proposed) Cauvery authority,” he said.

    Anticipating “government intervention” in the authority that has been mooted, he said, “Let us see what happens in due course.”

    To a query if his frequent meetings with functionaries were as per the plan for the launch of his party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he said, “It can be said that is the plan… we will be ready.”

    There was a huge response from women followers and it made him very happy, he said, adding that “success is sure” for his upcoming political innings since women in large numbers supported him.

    The 67-year-old political aspirant said women would be given priority in his party.

    To a report which stated that support for him was strong in about 150 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, he said, “If that report is true I am happy.”

  • 'Tweet in Kannada or English, don't understand Hindi,' Siddaramaiah tells BJP's P Murlidhar Rao

    Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday hit out at BJP general-secretary P Murlidhar Rao for his Hindi tweet about his plans to contest the 12 May Assembly polls from two constituencies, by asking him to tweet in Kannada or English.

    Rao, who is in-charge of Karnataka, asked whether Siddaramaiah was scared he wouldn’t win the Chamundeshwari seat in Mysuru.
    “@Siddaramaiah ji are you scared? After much effort you chose Chamundeshwari seat, now after seeing that you will be defeated there you are searching for a second place.”
    “To end your doubt let me clarify that not only your two seats, but entire Karnataka will be Congress-mukt (Congress free),” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
    Replying to Rao in Kannada, Siddaramaiah tweeted, “Sir, tweet in Kannada or English. Don’t understand Hindi.”
    Speculations are rife that Siddaramaiah, who has been fielded from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru, will be opting Badami in Bagalkote district of north Karnataka as his second seat.
    Siddaramaiah has said that he was under pressure from Congress leaders from Bagalkote and Bijapur districts to contest from Badami, but maintained that he would abide by the high command’s decision.

    The Congress, in its list of candidates for 218 seats announced on 15 April, had named Dr Devraj Patil as its nominee from Badami.
    But issuing of B-form (required to be filed by a political party mentioning name of its approved candidate) to Patil has been put on hold.
    Badami with a strong presence of Karubas, the community to which Siddaramaiah belongs, was seen as the second safe option for the chief minister as reports have suggested that the battle in Chamundeshwari will not be an easy one for him.
    Siddaramaiah has won five times and tasted defeat twice at Chamundeshwari, from where he has been announced as the candidate.
    He has been representing Varuna constituency in Mysuru since 2008, which has now been allotted to his son Yatindra.
    Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Saturday, Siddaramaiah said he had conveyed to the high command, his desire to contest only from Chamundeshwari constituency.
    “I have told the high command that I will contest from Chamundeshwari and not from two constituencies. However, the people of north Karnataka are pressurising the high command that I should contest from north Karnataka too,” he said.
    The chief minister said he has not taken any decision so far and he would go by the decision of the high command.

  • BJP announces third list of candidates, Raghupati Bhat will contest from Udupi

    Releasing its third list of candidates on Friday for the upcoming Karnataka polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lifted the suspense on who would challenge the incumbent chief minister by fielding Gopal Rao from Chamundeshwari against Siddaramaiah. In the latest list of candidates for 59 seats, the party also changed the existing candidate in Kolar Gold Field (SC) seat.









    There appeared to be confusion over who the party would pick to contest from Udupi as it did not name a contestant from Udupi in the first two lists of candidates released.


    But the party has finally revealed that former MLA Raghupathi Bhat will be returning to politics to set up a straight fight against current MLA and Minister of Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports Pramod Madhwaraj of the Congress.


    According to BJP’s Udupi District President Mattaru Ratnakar Heggade, Raghupati was always going to be the leader to challenge Madhwaraj in Udupi. In 2008, Raghupati Bhat won over Pramod Madhwaraj by a margin of 2,479 votes but since then, the political fortunes of the two leaders have gone in opposite directions.


    Madhwaraj succeeded Raghupati as the MLA of Udupi after the BJP leader did not contest the 2013 Assembly elections. A video clip of Raghupati with an unidentified woman was leaked to TV channels in March 2013, just before elections in the state. This lead to Raghupati withdrawing his candidature, citing ‘personal reasons.’ Senior BJP leader B Sudhakara Shetty contested in his place and was defeated by a whopping margin of 39,524 votes by Pramod Madhwaraj.



    Meanwhile, another former MLA Lalaji Mendon will contest from Kaup constituency. Like Raghupati, Lalaji had won in the constituency in 2004 and was then re-elected in 2008 before he was defeated by Vinay Kumar Sorake of the Congress by a margin of 1,855 votes in 2013.

    The Gandhi Nagar seat in the capital city of Bengaluru has been given to Saptagiri Gowda who is BJP State Youth wing in Karnataka. While, the Mandya seat which was in news for actor Ambareesh’s tussle with Congress over his candidature, has been handed over to Basavegowda.

    The Hunsur seat which was once represented by former chief minister D. Devaraj Urs for six terms is now under the command of Ramesh Kumar.The party also announced a replacement for the Kolar Gold Field (SC) seat which will now be represented by S. Ashwini.

    BJP on Monday had released its second list of 82 candidates for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly polls which included names like G. Somashekar Reddy who is the younger brother of Bellary mining baron G. Janardhan Reddy.

    Other prominent candidates in the second list were former BJP ministers Murgesh Nirani, Hartalu Halappa, MP Renukacharya, Krishnaiah Shetty, and K. Subramanya Naidu and Kumar Bangarappa, who switched over from the ruling Congress and is the son of former chief minister S. Bangarappa.he party had released its first list of 72 candidates, including three women on 8 April.

  • JDS releases 2nd list of Candidates: Congress, BJP rebel leaders get tickets

    Janata Dal (Secular) on Friday released the second list of its 58 candidates after party chief HD Kumaraswamy filed his nomination papers from Kanakapura and Channapatna constituencies. JDS has given chance to rebel leaders from both BJP and Congress who did not get tickets to contest.






    In a surprising move, the party has fielded former minister PGR Sindhia from Basava Kalyan constituency. Sindhia, who was one of the architects of Janata Parivar, had held various portfolios in different governments of the Janata Parivar.


    Actor-turned-politician Sasikumar gets JDS ticket to contest from Hosadurga constituency and BH Ramachandra to contest from Bengaluru’s prestigious RR Nagar constituency. Also, BJP’s rebel candidate Prakash Khandre, who did not get the ticket to contest from Bhalki constituency, will now contest from the same constituency.


    Mandya- M Srinivas, Tarikere- Shivashankarappa, Shanti Nagar- Sridhar Reddy, Rajajinagar- Jedarahalli Krishnappa, Bommanalli- M Somashekhar, Chickapete- Hemachandra Sagar, Hukkeri- MB Patil, Khanapur- Nasir Bagwan, Jamakhandi- Sadahivmaruti Kalal, Aurad- Dhanaji yadav, Nanjanagudu- Dayanand, Raichur Rural- Ravi Patil, Rona – Ravi Doddameti, Shigganvi- Ashok Bevinamarad, Kampli- B Narayanappa, Bengaluru South- Prabhakar Reddy, Bellary city- Iqbal Ahmed, Siraguppa-  Devarahipparagi-  The party had announced names of 126 candidates in the first list.

    More details awaited.

  • 1222 saris seized in a bank

    Bantwal: The flying squad of the Election Commission’s Bantwal Assembly Constituency on Thursday seized 1,222 saris stocked at the South Canara District Central Cooperative Bank’s B.C. Road branch.



    On the complaint, the flying squad personnel and the Bantwal Town Police went to the bank and seized the saris stocked in seven bags.

    It is said that the complaint about distribution of saris had been made on Wednesday itself but the officials had not acted promptly. Thereafter, the concerned contacted the state election commission at Bengaluru after which the bank was raided, the informant claimed. Head of the investigation team, Rajesh and Seetharam Bhat, said that the officials raided the bank at 11.30 am on Thursday after getting instructions from the election commission.

    Bank sources said that these saris had been bought before the election process was set into motion. They were meant for distribution among the members of the bank as uniform. The saris were kept in the bank as it is easier for members to collect them from there, but distribution of saris was withheld as election was announced, they added.

    However, during the raid, the officials failed to provide bills towards purchase of these saris. They also fumbled when they were questioned about the people to whom these saris were meant to be distributed, it is gathered.

    Complainant, A Govinda Prabhu, claimed that sari distribution has been going on not only in B C Road branch of the bank, but also elsewhere. “After getting information, a complaint was made to the election commission here. The officials, out of fear towards the ruling party in the state, did not take any action. After the state election commission was alerted, the officials here acted, he claimed.

    With inputs from Daijiworld

  • Watch : Karnataka polls 2018 about Hindus vs Muslims : BJP MLA

    A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Belagavi has raked up a controversy with his comment that the upcoming state assembly election is “not about roads and drinking water but about Hindu-Muslim incidents”.
    “This election is not about roads, water or other issues. This election is about Hindus vs Muslims, Ram Mandir vs Babri Masjid,” ANI quoted BJP lawmaker Sanjay Patil as saying in Belagavi. Patil represents the Belagavi Rural constituency in north Karnataka. The video of Patil making this comments has been doing rounds on social media and has evoked criticism from many quarters.





    Belagavi District Congress Committee will file a complaint against BJP MLA Sanjay Patil for his alleged remarks that were likely to disrupt communal harmony made in the last few days of his campaign.
    Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 and the results will be declared on May 15. The tenure of the current Karnataka Legislative Assembly will expire on May 28.
    BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, had recently said that the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will be a contest between two “mentalities” — Hindu and Islamic. “Ye 2019 ka chunav Islam banam bhagwan hone ja raha hai (The 2019 elections are going to be Islam versus bhagwan),” Singh told the public during a rally in Ballia on Thursday.

  • I-T raids in Koppa take ‘political hue’

    The officers of Income Tax Department, who conducted search operations on properties belonging to four Congress workers in Koppa taluk on Monday, allegedly enquired about their political leanings and opinion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


    Books fallen on the floor following the I-T search on the residence of Sudhir Kumar Murolli, president of Koppa Block Congress.  



    I-T sleuths reached houses of Sudhir Kumar Murolli, president of Koppa Block Congress, and party leaders Subrahmanya Shetty, H.M. Sathish, and Ravi Kukkadige in Koppa taluk. The search operations began around 6.30 a.m. and continued till 6 p.m. According to Congress leaders whose properties were searched, the I-T officials did not find unaccounted cash or any important document.


    Mr. Murolli, who is an advocate, said: “They terrorised all of us. My wife and I have a good collection of books. The officers threw all the books out of the racks. I don’t know what they were searching for,” he said. He was surprised when the officers asked him why he often passed comments on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and criticised the Prime Minister. “They wanted to know why I work for the Congress. I told them it was none of their business,” he said.


    During the search operation at his residence, the officers found ₹1.95 lakh, including the ₹1.48 lakh belonging to his sister. “My sister lost her husband two months ago. She had received the amount from insurance policies. Besides that, my parents and I had a few thousand rupees. I had little over ₹5,000 in my pocket,” he said. Gold ornaments worth ₹2.22 lakh were found.


    Mr. Kukkadige, whose house was also searched, said: “The officers wanted to know how many Congress rallies I have participated in. I told them I have not yet started campaigning this time.” The officers did find a few thousand rupees in his residence.

  • Fake currency notes seized, kept for distribution during election?

    Belagavi: A midnight operation threw up an interesting challenge for Belagavi police and election duty officials on Wednesday. During the raid of an uninhabited government quarters in Vishveshwarayya Nagar, they discovered a hoard of fake and duplicate currency notes.





    The notes were found in two boxes. The building built by the Public Works Department was allotted to the Revenue Department. It is dilapidated and is no longer used by the staff.


    The initial suspicion was that the notes were to be used to lure voters, by mixing them with real currency notes. But a closer look at the notes and the claim of the accused that they were being used for shooting a film, made the officials think again.


    The 24 fake notes looked like colour photo-copies of ₹ 2,000 notes. But the other bundles were interesting. They included 292 bundles of notes that looked like ₹ 2,000 notes, but had Rs. zero as the denomination. They were printed by the ‘Children Bank’ and not the RBI. There were 153 bundles modelled on ₹ 500 notes and 15 bundles of notes that look like ₹ 1,000 notes. All have zero denomination.


    If fake and duplicate notes were to be valid notes, they would amount to around ₹ 7 crore. If they were to be valid, it would have been the biggest cache of notes seized in the State before elections. Since the announcement of elections, officials have seized ₹ 4.4 crore in cash in the district in over 26 cases.


    Following some clues, a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police S.B. Patil arrested Ajit Kumar Channappa Nidoni of Vijayapura who now lives in Belagavi. He has been accused of some offences, including circulating fake currencies in the past.


    Commissioner of Police D.C. Rajappa, told presspersons later that he suspected the fake and duplicate notes were to be meant for distribution to voters in the coming elections.


    However, the accused, Ajit Kumar, said he was a film-maker and he was using the duplicate notes for the film tentatively titled ‘15 Seconds’. The film is being shot in Gokak in Belagavi district now. Prakash Rao from Bengaluru is the director of the movie, according to the accused.


    “Such duplicates are freely available in fairs and toy shops. Children use them to play games. We are stacking the photocopies of real notes on top of the bundles and keeping the others below them to make them look like real notes,’’ Ajit Kumar told investigators during preliminary interrogation.


    Mr. Rajappa, however, is not convinced. “I have heard the claim, but it is difficult to believe him,’’ the Commissioner said. “First of all, he has printed 24 fake currency notes, which is a clear offence. Secondly, why did the accused keep them in an unused government quarters? That raises suspicions. Anyway, investigation will reveal the truth,’’ he said.


    A poll duty officer, who was part of the team that raided the house, said circulation of fake or duplicate currency before elections was not rare. “In some constituencies, leaders have distributed such notes among voters on the eve of polling in past elections,’’ he said. “Such notes are used to adulterate real money, by inserting them into bundles of real notes, and trick them. Voters will realise that they have conned, only after casting votes the next day. And there is nothing much they can do.’’


    “But the offenders are very careful while distributing such notes. They give them only to men, especially when they are drunk. They will be in such a condition that they will be unable to distinguish between real and fake notes and the offenders get away with it,’’ a surveillance squad member said.


    He, however, is willing to consider the possibility that the whole thing is a hoax and the duplicate notes were truly being used for film shooting. “We need to spend two or three days with the accused. We will know the truth only then,’’ he said.


    The case registered in the APMC police station charges the accused and his unknown associates of violating election rules under section 123 of the Representation of the People Act and section 489 of Indian Penal Code relating to possession and circulation of counterfeit currency.


    (With Inputs from TH)

  • Anantkumar Hedge Sees Murder Plot in Accident; Shows Your Criminal Thinking, Says CM Siddaramaiah

    Union Skill Development Minister Anantkumar Hegde claimed a “deliberate attempt” on his life when a truck tried to hit his car on Tuesday night in Halageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district.










    Hegde tweeted that his car escaped collision with a truck since the vehicle was in top speed, but another vehicle in his convoy was damaged. A policeman in the vehicle reportedly suffered injuries to his shoulder. 



    The truck driver Nasir has been arrested. 


    Tweeting about the accident, the Minister said: “A deliberate attempt on my life seems to have been executed just now. A truck on NH, near Halageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district has hit my escort vehicle which tried to hit my vehicle in the first instance. Since our vehicle was in top speed we escaped the hit.”







    Chief Minister Siddaramaiah blaming the incident on “negligence” said the minister’s allegations show “pettiness and a criminal way of thinking”.


    “Incidents happen because of negligence or other such reasons. Is it right to think of them as attempt to murder? This shows pettiness and criminal way of thinking. Some people in BJP have a criminal mindset so they think like that,” said Siddaramaiah.


    The minister, while posting the photo of the truck driver, urged the police to “expose the bigger nexus” behind the incident. 





    Hedge also alleged that “the vehicle was being driven in the wrong direction and was parked right in the road horizontally” and as his convoy approached near, the man “tried hitting our car”.