Will terminate pact if 108 failed to ensure better service: UT Khader

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.

Shivamogga, May 21: An FIR has been registered against Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka over tweets on May 11 by the party's official handle about PM-CARES fund.

The FIR, registered under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), identifies Gandhi as the handler of the social media account.

The complaint by advocate Praveen KV alleged that the Congress party, through the tweets, has made rumourous statements against the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was trying to provoke the people against the government.

According to the FIR, the Congress party had on May 11, 2020, made false and baseless allegations, claimed misappropriation of PM-CARES Fund and cast aspersions on the Government of India through the tweets.

"A Twitter account handled by All India Congress Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi had on May 11, 2020, published tweets terming PM CARES Fund as PM CARES Fraud. They had claimed that the PM CARES fund is not being used for the public," Praveen KV told ANI on Thursday.

He said that he has collected all the details related to the tweets and account from the handle and filed a complaint in the matter, following which a preliminary enquiry was conducted and an FIR was registered in the matter.

"They had also said that the Prime Minister was enjoying and going to foreign trips with this fund. This is clearly rumourous news against the Government of India in this COVID-19 pandemic situation. In this regard, I had filed a complaint. After a primary enquiry, the Sagar Police has filed an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, who heads the INC Twitter account," Praveen KV said.

Bengaluru, Feb 19: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Karnataka High Court, seeking a stay on Anand Singh functioning as Minister of Forests, Environment and Ecology contending that there are criminal cases filed against him by the Ministry.

"A stay be granted prohibiting Anand Singh from functioning as the Cabinet Minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology. Any other order that the Honourable Court may deem fit in the interest of justice and equity," the PIL prays.

The petition, filed by advocate Vijay Kumar, said that the Chief Minister has allocated the portfolio of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology to Singh without considering the fact that there are several criminal faces filed against him by the Ministry.

It said that the allocation of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology portfolio to Singh is in the conflict of interest.

"The holding of the post of Cabinet minister for the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Ecology is against public interest and completely in conflict of interest as he has business for which the subject Ministry is the overseeing authority and further he will also have access to the case files which again is in conflict of interest," the PIL said.

PIL adds that "it is pertinent and absolutely necessary" to deny the incumbent from accessing files related to his cases and from taking any decisions which may provide him with pecuniary benefits through his businesses.