Gowda on cash-for-vote: What if MLAs asked for money? They need it for polls!

[email protected] (CD Network)
June 4, 2016

Bengaluru, Jun 4: In a shocking admission, former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Deve Gowda said that corruption is part of Indian politics and questioned what was the big deal in his party members asking for money to vote.

deve
“Don't unnecessarily go on harassing as if you are going to clean up the system in this country... In this country politics itself involves corruption," Mr Gowda told news channels, whose sting operation exposed four Karnataka MLAs attempt to sell their votes for crores of rupees ahead of Rajya Sabha polls.

The two JD(S) legislators — Mallikarjun Khuba (Basavakalyan), G.T. Deve Gowda (Chamundeshwari) — were shown negotiating for rates ranging from Rs. 5 crore and above for their vote. Two other legislators caught on tape were B.R. Patil (Aland) from the Karnataka Janata Paksha and Varthur Prakash (Kolar), an Independent.

Mr Gowda said that the sting was a political conspiracy against his regional party. He also asked what was the big deal in his party members asking for money to vote..

“They think that JD(S) can be destroyed by this type of foul method?... What if my MLAs asked for money?... MLAs need money to fight elections,” he said.

On the other hand, Mr Gowda's son H?D?Kumaraswamy has termed the sting operation on RS polls “pre-planned.”

Speaking to reporters at Managuli in Vijayapura taluk Mr Kumaraswamy said that the episode had come to light only after the meeting between legislator Zameer Ahmed and Digvijaya Singh, who is in charge of Congress affairs in Karnataka.

“We had written to the Election Commission of India last week itself about possibilities of malpractice in the elections. But, the incident has come to light now. There are chances of the ECI deferring the elections, considering the issue seriously,” he said, adding that all the MLAs of the party were taken into confidence while writing to the ECI.

Comments

yogesh
 - 
Monday, 6 Jun 2016

Mr.Balasubramanian, without knowing should not comment about anyone and also he was our prime minister, we should respect them and their values. read about devegowda and try to know what he has done for Farmers when he was PM.
he had done so many progressive work and well you can read his life history book which contains all his achievements....

N V BALASUBRAMANIAN
 - 
Sunday, 5 Jun 2016

What for the politicians contest polls?to enrich their family or serve people?.What have these politicians done for people,can they name any benefit passed on to people.whereas these politicians are worth in crores.Devegowda was really fooled by congress by offering the PM's chair to feel and then drag him down,what he did was made ragi mudde famous,which he was taking for diabetes!

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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News Network
December 19,2025

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru CEN police have arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly posting provocative and misleading content on an Instagram page named “mr_a_titude”, targeting the Bajpe police.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H identified the arrested as Abhishek M, a resident of Katipalla in Mangaluru.

A case has been registered at the Bajpe Police Station under Sections 353(1)(c), 353(2), 56, and 57 read with Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with the post.

According to police, the accused uploaded a photograph of a hotel on the Instagram page and alleged that accused persons in a murder case under the Bajpe police jurisdiction were being given “royal treatment” by the police, including being served beef meals daily from the hotel.

The post further accused the police of supporting criminals, misusing their authority, and betraying public trust. Police said the content was provocative in nature and aimed at inciting public outrage against the police.

Following the post, a case was registered at the Bajpe police station, and further investigation was transferred to the CEN police station.

Police records indicate that the accused has a criminal history, with multiple cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, assault, and robbery at the Surathkal Police Station, and one case at the Kaup Police Station.

The Commissioner said the accused was traced and arrested using technical evidence.

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