Ram Nath Kovind not Dalit but OBC, claims Lalu Prasad Yadav

Mumbai, Jul 1: The Maharashtra government will set up a Marathi medium college in Kolhapur for the Marathi- speaking people residing in the border areas of Karnataka, a minister said on Tuesday.

Higher and technical education minister Uday Samant, in a statement here, said the decision has been taken with a view to cater to the educational needs of the Marathi-speaking population residing in the neighbouring state.

He said the new state-run college will be a sub-centre of the Shivaji University at Kolhapur.

The Kolhapur district collector will provide a five- acre plot for the proposed college following which all necessary official permissions will be given, Samant said.

The college will start functioning from the next academic year, the release said.

Acommittee headed by Shivaji University vice- chancellor Nitin Karmalkarwill work out the modalities for establishing the educational institute, it added.

The border areas of Karnataka have a sizeable Marathi- speaking population.

Bengaluru, Jan 21: Karnataka Chief Minister's political adviser MP Renukacharya has courted controversy yet again with his remarks targeting the Muslim community at a pro-CAA rally in Karnataka on Monday.

Addressing a rally in support of the new citizenship law, the BJP lawmaker accused Muslims of collecting weapons in mosques instead of praying. "There are few traitors who sit in a masjid and write fatwas. They collect weapons inside the mosque instead of praying. Is this why you want a Masjid," Renukacharya said on Monday.

Renukacharya said he won't hesitate to use the money allotted to Muslims for Hindus. "I will resort to such politics in my taluk where the money allotted for Muslims can be used for Hindus. I will put you [Muslims] in your place and show what politics is," said Renukacharya, who is a close aide of CM BS Yediyurappa.

This is not the first time a Karnataka BJP leader has made communal remarks targeting the minority community. Earlier, BJP MLA Somashekar Reddy had made controversial remarks at a pro-citizenship law protest in Ballari when he asked those opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to think of the "consequences" if the majority community members hit the streets against them.

The MLA had said, "If you do any drama, then if 100 per cent people come, understand what will be your situation. Congress people are lying to you, believing them you are coming on streets. We are 80 per cent, you are 17 per cent, if we react, what will be your situation? Be careful," Reddy had said.

Following outrage, a case was filed against Somashekar Reddy for alleged provocative speech targeting those protesting against the amended citizenship law.

Mysuru/Chamarajanagara, Apr 3: In order to prevent the transmission of Novel Coronavirus though overcrowding, the central jails in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar have begun releasing some of their inmates.

As many as 55 undertrials and convicts were released from Mysuru jail since the last two days, while 18 were released from the prison in Chamarajanagar. The jail inmates had been released on interim bail, for a period of two months.

While the undertrials were facing charges that involved a maximum prison term of seven years, the convicts were facing criminal miscellaneous cases of the family court. Most of the convicts released were prisoners who had not paid the maintenance costs ordered by the family courts in divorce cases.