Udupi: FM Nirmala Sitharaman visits Krishna Mutt, Kollur Temple

Kalaburgi, Mar 7: Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said that four to six BJP MLAs will not get the party ticket in the Assembly elections in the State. 

Addressing a press conference before Vijay Sankalp Yathra here, he said that the rest of the MLAs will enter the poll field. Responding to a question on the chief ministerial candidate, he said that the legislative party meeting will decide on it after obtaining a clear majority in the election.

Expressing confidence that the party will retain power in the State by winning at least 140 seats, he said that the first list of candidates will be announced soon after a discussion with the BJP top brass leaders. 

Reacting to the Opposition charges that the absence of leadership in State BJP has prompted the ruling party to invite national leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he questioned, ‘who is the leader of Congress, and why Rahul Gandhi is not coming for campaigning in Karnataka’.

Pointing out that Rahul Gandhi is talking very lightly about India in foreign countries, he said that the Congress leader should tender an apology for his remarks. 

He also lambasted Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar. “Congress leaders in the State are behaving as if they are CM now itself -- before the Assembly polls. It is only a beggar’s dream,” he added.

Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba, and KKRDB chairman Dattatreya Patil Revoor were present at the press conference.

Mangaluru, Mar 13: Senior BJP leader and former minister KS Eshwarappa once again made a provocative remarks on using loudspeakers for Azaan which is likely to once again stoke a debate on it.

Eshwarappa, who was addressing a gathering during BJP’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra held in Mangaluru’s Kavoor on Sunday, paused his speech on hearing azaan from a nearby mosque for a second but was quick in taking objection to the sound.

"In temples, girls and women offer prayers and bhajans. We are religious, but we don't use loudspeakers. If you have to call for prayers using loudspeakers, it means Allah is deaf," he said.

He further said Azaan gives him a headache and added that the Supreme Court's judgment is due, and this issue will come to an end one day.

The use of loudspeakers for Azaan has been a hot topic with many people complaining of disturbance. The Supreme Court had in July 2005 banned the use of loudspeakers between 10 pm to 6 am, except in the cases of public emergencies, citing health impacts of noise pollution.

Later, in October 2005, the court said loudspeakers could be permitted to be used till midnight on festive occasions for 15 days a year.

In May 2020, lyricist Javed Akhtar had asked Azaan on loudspeakers should be stopped as it causes discomfort to others. He also had stated that for 50 years Azaan on loudspeakers was Haraam in India for almost 50 years. It became Halaal thereafter, he added.

Bengaluru, Mar 15: Days after the Election Commission of India raised concerns about politicians offering freebies to lure voters ahead of Assembly polls in Karnataka, officials from the Income Tax department on Tuesday raided the residence and office of former minister and BJP MLC R Shankar in Ranebennur in the state's Haveri district.

During the raid, the officials seized saree boxes, plates, glasses and school bags reportedly meant to be distributed among voters in the constituency.

The IT team has asked the Assistant Commissioner, Haveri, to check the bills of the items seized.and submit a report to the state government.

The IT raid did not go down well with MLC Shankar. Though he claimed he was cooperative with the officials, Shankar also alleged that the raid was conducted "at the behest of someone". The Model Code of Conduct has not been announced so far and this raid has no meaning, he said.

"I had pledged for the development of the constituency and will be committed to it. Such raids cannot deter me (sic)," said an annoyed Shankar.

The MLC further said that he had purchased all the materials after paying the requisite GST and there were no irregularities. All the bills have been documented and will be shown to officials, he said.

This is not the first time that the MLC has found himself in trouble for distributing goods in the election season - just last month, Shankar was caught distributing pressure cookers in Ranebennur's Medleri and Tumminakatti areas.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah, the former state Chief Minister and the current Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, alleged that Shankar had received money to change his political loyalty to the BJP. Reacting to these accusations, Shankar said that he will quit politics if the charges are proven.

The IT raid was not received well by Shankar's supporters either. They claimed that Shankar had been distributing essential goods to Ranebennur's people since 2012. Since he played "a big role" in making Basavaraj Bommai the chief minister, such targeted raids would spell trouble for BJP in the next election, Shankar's supporters warned.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that the BJP had no role to play in the tax department's raid. "Agencies are given a free hand, and there is no need for the BJP to raid anybody. Let him cooperate if he has done nothing wrong" Bommai said.