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Bengaluru, Feb 21: Historian Ramachandra Guha on Thursday refuted Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai's claim that the latter had apologised for police allegedly manhandling him during an anti-CAA protest in the city, saying he received no such call or apology.

The writer further said even if such an apology had been offered, he would have rejected it.

"The Home Minister of Karnataka has claimed on the floor of the State Assembly that he apologised to me by phone for the manhandling by the Bengaluru police on 19th December 2019. This is false.

I received no such call or apology," Guha tweeted.

"Even if such an apology had been offered, I would have rejected it.

The imposition of Section 144 was illegal (as the Karnataka High Court has since held) and I was proud to be one of thousands of peaceful protesters who defied the States arbitrary action on that day," he said in another tweet.

During his reply to the debate on law and order situation in the state, Bommai on Wednesday claimed that he had apologised to Guha.

The minister was apologising to senior Congress MLA and former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar for police serving him notice and detaining him along with others at Mangaluru airport in December for trying to enter the city despite restrictions following violence there.

Stating that anti-CAA protests have taken place peacefully across the state, he had said, there might have been minor discrepancies, like that with historian Ramachandra Guha, being manhandled during a protest.

"I have called and apologised to him," he had said.

Guha was detained on December 19 for staging a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens at the Town Hall here, in defiance of the prohibitory orders imposed in the city.

He was taken away by police personnel and led to a police vehicle parked nearby.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah said Bommai has committed a "perjury" in the House, and asked him to apologise to people and Guha in front of media.

"Bommai has committed a perjury on the floor of the House. It answers the question of where @BJP4India workers derive their motivation to spread fake news.

Bommai has insulted the people whom he represents," he tweeted and demanded that he apologize to people and Guha.

Bengaluru, Feb 2: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said that the cabinet expansion would take place on February 6, with 13 MLAs taking oath of office. “The cabinet expansion will take place on February 6 with the oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhavan at 10.30 AM,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.

Thirteen MLAs, including 10 who had joined BJP from parties, including Congress and the JD(S), will take oath, he said. The cabinet expansion is on the cards for nearly two months ever since the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 5 2019 bypolls and got a majority in the Karnataka assembly.

Bengaluru, May 9: With 41 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Saturday, the total number of positive cases in Karnataka has reached 794, said the state Health Department.

Out of the total number, 386 are discharged and 30 patients have passed away. The total number of active cases now in Karnataka is 377.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country is 59,662, including 39,834 active cases.

Till now, 17,846 patients have been cured and discharged and 1,981 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.