Siddaramaiah accuses Modi govt of misusing I-T department in poll-bound Karnataka

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday demanded that BS Yediyurappa-led government should cut down on 'unnecessary' expenditures to mobilise funds to fight against coronavirus.

"Yediyurappa government needs to cut down on unwanted expenses which government is spending on several things in order to save the taxpayers money to fight against coronavirus," said Siddaramaiah here in a press conference.

He alleged that the ruling state government is indulged in corruption due to which the government is running bankrupt, adding that instead of mobilising funds, Yediyurappa government is only concentrating on auction of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) sites.
Siddaramaiah claimed that the "BDA was already in loss".

"The present government does not have money due to its involvement in corruption. The Karnataka government must concentrate on cutting expenses and there is no need to waste money on unwanted things including vehicles for board and corporations chiefs," said the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader.

"Yediyurappa government has decided to auction more than 12,000 BDA sites to get benefit of Rs 15,000 crore, rather than fullfiling requirements of people of the state at the time of coronavirus crisis," he said.

In Karnataka, 247 people have tested positive for coronavirus, including 59 cured and discharged and 6 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Tumakuru, Jan 4: Three people were burnt alive and four others sustained injuries in a head-on collision between a four-wheeler (Omni van) and a private bus on NH-206 near Doddaguni in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district in the early hours of Saturday.

Police said that Narasamma’s relatives and villagers were taking her to a hospital in Nittur when a private bus, heading to Shivamogga from Bengaluru, collided with the van on the tank bund road near Doddguni around 0200 hrs. The two vehicles caught fire and Vasanthkumar, Ramaiah and Narasamma were burnt alive in the van. The passengers in the private bus escaped unhurt.

The deceased were identified as Vasanthkumar (23), Ramaiah (62) and Narsamma (60) of N Hosahalli in Gubbi taluk, whereas the injured were identified as Ravikumar (23), Radhamani (30), Narasimha Murthy (40) and Gowramma (28).

Bengaluru/Ballari, Jan 7: Former minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan of the Congress set a one-week deadline for the BJP government on Monday to arrest Ballari City BJP legislator G Somashekhara Reddy for his recent speech warning Muslims of dire consequences if they continue to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Police have already booked Reddy, younger brother of tainted mining baron G Janardhan Reddy, under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) of the Indian Penal Code.

However, Khan took the fight to Reddy a step further. “If the government fails to arrest Reddy by January 13, I will stage a dharna outside his house in Ballari, come what may. Let them do whatever they want,” Khan told reporters in Bengaluru.

In his speech at a pro-CAA rally organized by BJP workers and ABVP activists in Ballari, the BJP legislator had said, “We [Hindus] are 83% and they [Muslims] are 17% and if we take law into hands, you know what will happen.”

Khan said on Monday, “I challenge Reddy, the coward, to unsheathe his sword and cut me down first. It is absolutely shameful for a legislator to speak such things against a particular community. Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often says Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, silent?”

On his part, Reddy on Monday said he stood by what he said. “What I meant was you Muslims should not get swayed by CAA protests and damage public property. We [Hindus] are sons of the same mother and live peacefully. However, they [Muslims] should not test our [Hindu] patience. I stick by my words 100%,” he said.

A delegation of the Ballari district Congress unit also submitted an appeal to the deputy commissioner, inspector general of police and superintendent of police on Monday to arrest Reddy for his provocative speech.