FIR against Ashok Kheny for abusing TV journalist

June 9, 2016

Mumbai, Jun 9: Independent MLA Ashok Kheny, accused of being part in the recent horse-trading scandal, has now landed into yet another controversy. Kheny was caught on the camera abusing a reporter of television news channel Times Now. The video has been released by the channel and is rapidly turning viral on social media.

ASHOKAn FIR was filed by the Mumbai police against Karnataka MLA Ashok Kheny based on a complaint lodged by Times Now Mumbai bureau chief Megha Prasad. Megha approached the police after the MLA and businessman refused to produce a written apology for abusing her while she was trying to interview him on allegations of horse-trading for elections to the Rajya Sabha.

The case against the MLA under IPC section 509 (using word intended to insult the modesty of a woman) has been registered at the Santa Cruz police station.

"I was just doing my job by quesitoning him. His reaction is just not acceptable. He had no business treating a journalist, who is doing her job, like that. Yesterday when I went to the police station, I just lodged a simple complaint against Kheny. But about 10 minutes later they said they want to register an FIR. I went back and filed a detailed complaint,"said Megha.

The journalist approached him at J.W. Marriot hotel in Juhu area, where few independent MLAs from Karnataka had been brought together by the Congress party.

In her complaint she said "I was following a story about the alleged horse-trading indulged into by a few MLAs from Karnataka, in connection with the Rajya Sabha elections. I spotted MLA Ashok Kheny in the hotel lobby. I first introduced myself and asked for two minutes of his time. He kept walking away from me and called the hotel staff, and in an absolutely unacceptable manner used abusing language for me saying "arrest karo iss saali ko". Such language cannot be tolerated at all."

The channel's editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami called Kheny on Tuesday and asked him for a written apology for using "disgraceful" language against his colleague, who was only doing her job.

In a sting operation conducted by Times Now and India Today last week, it was found that Congress leadership offered lucrative amount of kickbacks to the independent MLAs, in order to win their support for the Rajya Sabha elections. Although, the MLAs were not offered direct cash, a tacit deal was made assuring them that they would be allotted huge sums of amount for development of their respective constituencies.

Comments

M R GOWDA
 - 
Friday, 10 Jun 2016

The allegation of 'bias' towards BJP is baseless. I have been watching \Times Now' since its inception. AG has never spared BJP reps on show whenever they are at fault. Most of the comments seem to be of anti-BJP people! AG thumbs up!!!!!!!!"

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News Network
February 28,2020

The Karnataka BJP, which faced action on Twitter earlier this month over incendiary tweets, this time has passed the blame of Sangh Parivar sponsored Delhi violence to the victims.

In an insensitive tweet on Friday, it dubbed the protests against the notorious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "fake" and added that the violence that followed was "the most well-planned assault on the Idea of India," in an apparent attempt to portray the victims as villains.

The handle, notorious for tweets targeting Muslims, blamed the clashes that erupted in Delhi between people demonstrating for and against the CAA on "so called 'Peacefuls'" - a known right-wing slur for Muslims.

Many people on social media called out the tweet for misleading people and covering up the role of Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra's provocative speech for triggering the violence or the failure of the Delhi Police, which reports to the former BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in controlling the riots.

Earlier this month, the Karnataka BJP had tweeted a video of Muslim women standing in queue to vote in the Delhi elections, showing their voter ID cards, with the snarky caption: "Keep the documents safe, you will need to show them again during NPR (National Population Register) exercise."

Soon after, the party unit's Twitter handle was blocked by the social media platform for 24 hours after many accused it of encouraging Islamophobia.

NPR has been widely criticised by opposition parties as a precursor to the government's planned NRC or National Register of Citizens which intends to make Indians prove their citizenship with documents that many poor or illiterate do not possess.

Many fear that combined with the already imposed CAA - which promises citizenship to only non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh - the NRC can be used to make millions of Muslims stateless.

The government has denied the allegation and said the CAA only intends to help those who have faced religious persecution. In recent weeks, it has gone back on its rhetoric on the NRC which was announced by Amit Shah in parliament as "it will certainly happen".

The CAA, which was cleared by parliament in December, has triggered deadly protests in the country which left at least 25 dead till Sunday. Since then, at least 42 more people have been killed as large-scale violence erupted in northeast Delhi and hundreds of homes and shops have been burned to the ground.

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News Network
April 29,2020

Bantwal, Apr 29: Two people were injured after the truck laden with poultry feed rammed into the compound wall of after catching fire on Wednesday, at Marnabailu near Melkar.

Police said the injured were the driver and an assistant in the truck. They were admitted to a private hospital at Mangaluru.

However, it is not yet clear whether the truck transporting poultry feed from a company at Kandur caught fire after colliding against the electric pole or with the compound wall.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Mangaluru, Feb 28: BJP Corporator in Mangaluru's ward number 46 (Cantonment), Divakar, has been elected as the Mayor of the city on Friday. While Janaki aka Vedavathi, Corporator of ward number 9 (Kulai), has been elected as the Deputy Mayor.

Divakar secured 46 votes including that of MLAs D Vedavyasa Kamath and Dr Y Bharath Shetty.

Regional Commissioner V Yashwanth conducted the election at the Council Hall of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC).

Two nominations were filed for the post of Mayor. Congress had fielded Keshav, representing ward 37 (Maroli) for the post of Mayor. Keshav secured 15 votes including that of MLC Ivan D'Souza.

Congress had fielded Zeenath Samshuddin of ward number 44 (Bunder) for the post of Deputy Mayor and secured 17 votes.

Two Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) corporators remained neutral for the post of Mayor while they supported the candidature of Zeenath Samshuddin of Congress for the Deputy Mayor post. Janaki aka Vedavathi of the BJP secured 46 votes.

The BJP had swept the elections to the 60-member council held on November 12 by winning 44 wards, while the Congress won 14 wards. Social Democratic Party of India won two seats.

Election to the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor was conducted as per the reservation roaster for the 21st term dated September 3, 2018. Accordingly, the Mayor's post was reserved for candidate from BCM ‘A’ category while that of Deputy Mayor for woman general.

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