Karnataka HC grants interim relief to Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari

Guwahati, Sept 7: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) president Badruddin Ajmal on Monday said the Congress might have snapped ties with the party but he has no grudge against it as the decision will benefit both the parties during by-elections to be held in seats lying vacant due to resignation of MLAs.

GuwahatiThe AIUDF chief said his party will contest one or two seats in the by-polls, the dates of which are yet to be announced.

"Whatever decision the big brother (Congress) takes, we agree to it. We have accepted that the alliance is not there anymore but they could have at least discussed the matter with us once before announcing their decision," Ajmal said.

At a meeting of its core committee on August 30, the state Congress decided to break alliance with the AIUDF saying "continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress party".

The AIUDF was part of the Congress-led Grand Alliance that fought the BJP-headed in NDA in the assembly election held earlier this year in Assam.

To a question, Ajmal said the party did not feel betrayed by the decision of the Congress.

"Why should we feel betrayed? We had a political arrangement and then they decided to break the ties. Let them be happy and we are also happy," the MP from Dhubri said.

Of the six vacant assembly constituencies where by-elections will be held, the AIUDF will contest in only one or two, he said without naming the seats.

"The break-up of the alliance will benefit both the AIUDF and the Congress," he said without elaborating.

Ajmal, however, criticised Raijor Dal president and independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, claiming that he is "frustrated and seeking cheap publicity".

"Akhil is meeting Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to be part of an all-India alliance. His party has only one MLA and he wants to be a national leader. This is indeed a joke," the MP said.

The 10-party Grand Alliance was formed ahead of this year''s assembly elections in the state. Besides the Congress, AIUDF and Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), it comprised the Jimochayan (Deori) People''s Party (JDPP), Adivasi National Party (ANP), CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), Anchalik Gana Morcha, and the RJD. The alliance had won 50 seats in the assembly polls with Congress securing 29, AIUDF 16, BPF four and the CPI(M) one.

On August 30, the Congress also decided to snap ties with the BPF.

Chikkamgaluru, Sept 2: The Criminal Investigating Department (CID) sleuths probing the sensational case of Dalit youth allegedly forced to drink urine while in custody have arrested the prime accused sub-inspector Arjun, police sources said on Thursday.

Arjun, a former sub-inspector at the Gonibeedu police station in Chikkamagalur district was arrested by the team headed by Superintendent of Police Ravi D. Channannavar on Wednesday night in Bengaluru, sources said.

The police in Gonibeedu had picked up Punith K.L. on May 10 in connection with an elopement case probed by SI Arjun. Arjun allegedly tortured Punith and asked another youth to urinate on his face. It has also been charged that Punith was asked to lick the urine on the floor.

The matter came to light when Punith wrote a letter to the police department and the Human Rights Commission. An FIR was registered in this connection against the accused police officer Arjun on May 22. Following the backlash, the accused police officer was kept under suspension.

Meanwhile, a rape case was lodged against Punith and his relatives but he had obtained bail in the case. Both the cases are being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The Karnataka High Court has turned down the plea of accused sub-inspector Arjun to quash the charges against him in the case in July. He had withdrawn the application seeking quashing of the case. The court had also directed the police not to take any coercive measure and file a charge sheet in the case.

Various organisations in the state have planned a massive protest this week demanding the arrest of the accused sub-inspector.

Bengaluru, Sept 3: The government of Karnataka has decided to hold a low-key Mysuru Dasara celebrations with a ban on street celebrations in view of Covid situation.

"How the Mysuru Dasara celebrations were held last year, this year too, it should be celebrated as such. This has been announced by the chief minister in the meeting," Mysuru district-incharge minister ST Somashekhar told reporters here on Friday.

On October 7, Dasara celebrations will be inaugurated at Chamundi Hills and chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has been given the power to decide on who should inaugurate the event, he said.

"At an appropriate time, the chief minister announced the guest who would inaugurate the celebration at Chamundi Hills. The inauguration event will be conducted between 8.15 am to 8.45 am," Somashekhar said.

Public entry has been banned, he said. Every year, Dasara attracts a huge number of tourists from all over the world to the heritage city.

He said the jumbo ride will be conducted on Mysuru Palace premises, between 2.45 pm to 3.15 pm, he said.

Somashekhar said the state government has paid the 2019 Dasara festival's Rs 8.09-crore arrears.

For this year's Dasara to be held in Mysuru, Srirangapatna and Chamrajnagar, the government has sanctioned Rs 6 crore, he said.

Mysuru Dasara is a grand 10-day spectacle that culminates on the day of Vijayadashami.

Scientists and other experts have predicted a possibility of a third wave hitting Karnataka in the last week of September or October and as such they are against mass gatherings that have potential to be super-spreaders.