Karnataka Cong to kick-start preparations for bypolls in 17 seats

News Network

August 1, 2019

Bengaluru, Aug 1: The Congress in Karnataka will kick-start preparations for the byelections in 17 constituencies, necessitated by the disqualification of rebel legislators, by holding a meeting of senior leaders on Thursday, top party sources said.

Stating that there can be only coordination or understanding with the JD(S), a top party functionary said party workers were "happy that in a way we are out of alliance now."

He said preparations for the bypolls would start soon and added a meeting of senior party leaders have been convened on Thursday and senior party leaders will be given responsibility of constituencies.

"We don't know when the byelection will come, what the court ruling will be (on disqualified MLAs) we are not sure, but immediately we will be deputing leaders giving them responsibility of each constituencies," he said.

As most disqualified MLAs are from the Congress, the process will have to begin to search for new candidates.

"Some places strong candidates have gone, they have won two, three, four times...individual leaders will travel in the constitutencies and assess the situation and find the candidate also," he said, adding that "it won't be easy for those who have left us too."

Seventeen rebel MLAs of the Congress-JD(S) were disqualified on Sunday by the then assembly speaker Ramesh Kumar under the anti-defection law based on the complaint by their respective parties citing anti-party activities.

Fourteen MLAs from the Congress and three from JD(S) had abstained from the trust vote on July 23, when the HD Kumaraswamy government collapsed.

Responding to a question on continuity of alliance with JD(S), the Congress leader said, he didn't see the party fighting election in alliance but can try for having an understanding.

"What kind of understanding will depend on the situation, as we did during the local body polls, or else both parties will not get any benefit," he said.

"From workers to leaders no one is in favour of alliance, party workers are happy that we have come out," he further noted.

The appointment of new KPCC office bearers has to happen and the plan is to do it in a month's time, sources said, "but our primary focus will be on the byelections."

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Better no alliance

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Priest from Udupi kills self in Mumbai after learning about coronavirus lockdown extension

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April 15,2020

Mumbai, Apr 15: A 35-year-old man, who worked as a priest in suburban Kandivali, allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday afternoon, hours after learning that lockdown to contain coronavirus has been extended.

The deceased was identified as Krishna Pujari, native of Udupi in Karnataka, who was attached to Durga Mata temple in Iraniwadi area of Sanjay Nagar.

Pujari, who lived with three other priests, was waiting for the lockdown to end as he wanted to go back to his hometown, a police official said.

When he learnt that the lockdown has been extended till May 3, he was terribly depressed and allegedly hanged himself in kitchen, the official added.

No suicide note has been found, he said.

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High Court rejects plea to transfer Amulya Leona’s slogan case to NIA

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July 29,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 29: The Karnataka High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice H P Sandesh today rejected an application that wanted Amulya Leona’s case to be transferred from Karnataka Police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The bench, while observing that extraordinary jurisdiction can’t be exercised for transferring the case to the NIA, asked “What is so special that investigation should be transferred to NIA?”

The court, in its previous hearing, had questioned the maintainability of the petition seeking transfer of the sedition case against Leona to the NIA.

According to the petitioner, advocate Pavana Chandra Shetty, the case is a serious matter against national integration and unity and has not been investigated properly by the police. The state police also failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days, he said, and also asked for cancellation of her bail.

The bench asked the petitioner as to how a bail, already granted to a person, can be cancelled. “Is it not the indefeasible right of the accused to be released on bail if chargesheet is not filed within stipulated time? How can you make a prayer for cancellation of bail?” the Court asked.

The counsel for the petitioner also stated that in cases of a cognizable offence, when the chargesheet is purposely not filed within the stipulated time, the matter will have to transferred to the appropriate authority.

The court responded to his contention by asking him how could the court override law and cancel the bail. “Where is the question of cancellation of bail? Can we override the law and say that bail should be cancelled?” said the bench.

Advocate Vishal Raghu had filed the petition for transfer of Leona’s case, who was accused of raising pro-Pakistan slogans at an anti-CAA rally on February 20 at Freedom Park. The advocate had blamed the probe team for not filing a chargesheet on time and has asked the state government to approach the higher court against bail granted to Leona.

Bengaluru student Amulya Leona was charged with sedition for her actions in the presence of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She was arrested by the Bengaluru police for allegedly shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at an anti- CAA Protest in Bengaluru in February this year. On June 11, she was granted conditional bail by the Bengaluru civil court.

Her bail plea was earlier rejected by a Bengaluru court, after she had spent a three-month period in jail, stating that she may abscond if she is released. The sessions judge Vidhyadhar Shirahatti had also stated that if the petitioner is granted bail, she may abscond and may involve in similar offence which affects peace at large and hence her petition is liable to be rejected. The court had also noted that Amulya Leona is an influential person who may threaten and influence the witness and hamper the case in case of the prosecution and will abscond if released on bail.

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