I am not money bag of JD(S), says BM Farooq who owns assets worth Rs 778 crore

Bengaluru, Jan 6: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would not get involved in any 'wicked act' of bringing down the B S Yediyurappa-led government in Karnataka, amid claims that 15 to 20 BJP MLAs were ready to come out.

Clarifying that he would not disturb the government, the former Chief Minister said for him, the development of the state was important. "With great difficulty, you (Yediyurappa) have become Chief Minister for the fourth time, (I am) happy, I have nowhere said that I will disturb your government. Even now some people come and ask why I'm sitting silent when 15-20 people are ready to come out of BJP and why don't I make an attempt (to poach them), Kumaraswamy said. Speaking to reporters in Hassan, he sought to know why he should get entangled in that 'sludge' and he was not in a hurry.

"I will not get involved in a wicked act of removing a responsible government like Yediyurappa did. For me the development of the state is important," he said.

Though Kumaraswamy had raised questions about the longevity of the BJP government ahead of the December 5 bypolls, he had even then given clear indications that he would not attempt to pull down the administration as it would affect the development of the state.

The ruling BJP had swept the by-elections by winning 12 of the total 15 seats, helping the Yediyurappa government retain the majority in the Assembly.

With BJP winning 12 of the 15 assembly constituencies, it's numbers went up from 105 (including an independent) to 117, which is well ahead of the halfway mark of 111 in a 223-member Assembly (two seats-- Maski and R R Nagar-- are vacant due to pending litigation in the High Court).

The BJP came to power after the Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) coalition government collapsed as 17 MLAs had rebelled against the alliance leadership and resigned as legislators, to later favour the saffron party.

Mar 11: Two activists of Sangh Parivar have been arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore for hurling a petrol bomb at a mosque in Ganapathy on March 5.

The miscreants had hurled petrol bombs at the front gate of Hidayathul Sunnath Jamath Mosque at Vedhambal Nagar near Ganapathy in Coimbatore around 1 am on March 5. Since the bomb did not explode, nobody was injured in the incident.

Following a complaint from the Secretary of the Jama’ath, the police had formed three separate teams to nab the miscreants.

Based on tip-offs, the police detained BJP member Pandi (41) and VHP member Akhil (23), both from Rathnapuri in Coimbatore for inquiry.  The duo has also been remanded to judicial custody.

According to a statement by the Coimbatore police, the accused told the police that they hurled petrol bomb at the mosque to protest against the attack against Anand, a Hindu Munnani functionary a few days ago. The accused also reportedly told the police that they were planning to create more chaos.

Madukkarai Anand, the District Secretary of Hindu Munnani was attacked on March 4, while he was returning home after participating in a pro-CAA dharna organised by the BJP and allied parties in Gandhipuram.

He was allegedly followed by men on two motorbikes, who attacked him with rods. Anand suffered head injuries in the attack and was admitted to a hospital. The Podanur police registered a case for attempt to murder based on a complaint and had also formed special teams to nab the accused. However, no one has been apprehended in that case till now.

Based on the statements given by the accused, the police arrested the two men, seized the two-wheeler they used, two cell phones and the things they used to manufacture the petrol bomb.

Belagavi, Mar 16: Despite issuing an order banning large gathering, including lavish weddings, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa attended the grand marriage celebrations of the daughter of BJP MLC Mahantesh Kavatagimath in Belagavi on Sunday.

The Chief Minister had advised people to postpone weddings till the COVID-19 scare passed off, or to restrict the number of guests to around 100. But the wedding on the lawns of Shagun gardens in the Udyambag industrial area in Belagavi had many more times the number of visitors.

A police officer on duty at the venue estimated the crowd to be over 3,000.

The large gathering was in clear defiance of the government order and the Chief Minister’s appeal. But Mr. Yediyurappa’s presence seems to have vindicated this act.

Hundreds of cars were parked on both sides of the Khanapur road, outside the venue which was decorated with flowers, buntings, rolls of paper and colourful cloth. Two huge banners about preventing the spread of COVID-19 have been put up at the venue. There are wash basins at two ends and several hand sanitiser counters across the ground.

Apart from Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, and ministers Srimanth Patil and MLA Mahesh Kumthalli, there were several leaders from the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) who attended the marriage. There were some officers from the city corporation and district administration among the guests.

The Chief Minister arrived around 11 a.m. and stayed for nearly an hour at the venue. He left after wishing the couple and greeting some leaders.

On his arrival, at the Sambra airport, Mr. Yediyurappa said the State was well-equipped to handle the spread of the infection. “Over one lakh have been tested. Among the 100 suspected cases, the virus was detected only in six persons. One person has died. But otherwise the situation is under control. Officers are working round the clock,’’ he said.