DK all set for GP polls on May 29, dist admin assures free and fair elections

Bagalkot, Apr 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of planning religion-based reservation in the country for the sake of vote bank politics but asserted that he will not let it happen.

He said this Congress proposal is to appease minorities as the SC/ST and OBC community is now with the BJP.

"In Karnataka, Congress has started a campaign to change the Constitution and to snatch away the rights of SC/ST and OBCs. Our Constitution does not accept religion-based reservation. But the Karnataka government has given part of OBC reservation to Muslims," Modi said.

Addressing a mega election rally in this district headquarters town, he said, "They (Congress) will not settle with this. They had earlier too in their manifesto said about coming out with a law to provide religion-based reservation. There is a similar signal in their manifesto this time."

"I want to make my Dalit, SC/ST and OBC brothers and sisters aware about Congress' intentions. These people on the basis of religion, to keep their vote bank safe, are planning to loot your right which was given by Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Constitution," he added.

Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, BJP candidates and MPs from Bagalkot (Bagalkot) and Vijayapura (Bijapur) - P C Gaddigoudar and Ramesh Jigajinagi, respectively - were among those present at the rally.

Noting that most of SC, ST and OBC MPs in the Parliament are from BJP, Modi said, "So they feel that as SC, ST and OBC are with BJP. To gain the trust of minorities, they want to loot from SC, ST and OBC and give it to minorities. Will you let this happen?"

"I want to guarantee today to my Dalit, Adivasi and OBC brothers and sisters. I will not let such intentions of Congress be successful. To protect your rights, your reservation, Modi will go to any extent. I'm assuring you this," he added.

Mangaluru, May 4: The Mangaluru International Airport was besieged with a harrowing message of terror recently, when an email, purportedly from malevolent elements, menacingly declared the planting of bombs within the airport premises. 

Addressed to the office of the airport authority, the missive, steeped in ominous overtones, bore the ominous signature of a terrorist faction, ominously named 'Terrorizers 111'.

The communication, disseminated in English, ominously detailed the clandestine emplacement of explosives in areas eluding facile detection, accompanied by a chilling warning of their imminent detonation. The threat, ominously looming over not only the infrastructure but also the airborne vessels, portended a catastrophic deluge of bloodshed and loss.

In response to this dire communiqué, airport authorities swiftly engaged the apparatus of law enforcement, dispatching urgent alerts to the vigilant guardians of public safety. Acting upon the dictates of higher echelons, a formal dossier of this menacing correspondence was meticulously compiled, cloaked in the veil of confidentiality to thwart any premature dissemination.

Mangaluru International Airport found itself in grim camaraderie with more than 30 counterparts under the aegis of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private domains, all recipients of this chilling electronic diatribe. A comprehensive net of precautionary measures was swiftly cast, fortifying the bastions of security in anticipation of any nefarious designs lurking within the shadows.

Bengaluru, May 5: In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sex video scandal involving JD-S MP Prajwal Revann on Saturday arrested his father and JD-S MLA H.D. Revanna following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea in a victim kidnapping case by the People’s Representative Court in Bengaluru.

H.D. Revanna was taken into custody from the residence of his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Bengaluru’s Padmanabhanagar locality.

First, he was taken to the SIT office on the premises of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). After preliminary questioning, the former JD-S minister was taken to the Bowring Hospital for a medical check-up.

Sources said he will be produced before the magistrate at the latter's residence later.

Commenting on the development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told mediapersons that he won’t interfere in the matter.

“Action should be initiated as per the law,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said, “We will not interfere in anything related to this matter. Let them get protection from the court under the law."

Shivakumar also said that let the proceedings follow the manner suggested by former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Quoting a Kannada proverb, Kumaraswamy had said that those who commit crime must be punished.

The SIT officers reached the former PM’s residence soon after the court turned down his anticipatory bail plea in a case related to the kidnapping of a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by his son Prajwal Revanna, the sources said.

Earlier on Saturday, the SIT traced the kidnapped woman to the farmhouse of Rajashekar, the personal assistant (PA) to H.D. Revanna, at Kalenahalli village in Mysuru district.

In the court, Special Public Prosecutor B.N. Jagadish submitted that the case is about saving the life of a poor woman.

Jagadish argued that H.D. Revanna did not turn up before the authorities even after being served three notices.

Senior counsel Muthy D. Naik, appearing for H.D. Revanna, argued that the only allegation against his client is a statement that he had called the victim to his residence.

Barring this, there is nothing to prove the role of H.D. Revanna in this case, he argued, adding that the statement was made by an accused in the case, with whom his client has no connections.

He also claimed that the SIT has deliberately added IPC Section 364A, which attracts life imprisonment and capital punishment, to ensure that his client’s bail plea is rejected.

The other IPC Sections invoked in the case — 363 and 365 — attract imprisonment of less than seven years. Therefore, to prove the innocence of H.D. Revanna, he should be granted bail, Naik submitted.

Meanwhile, the woman, who had gone missing on April 29, was found locked up in the farmhouse when the SIT officers reached there following a tip-off.

Sources said Rajashekar is absconding ever since the SIT traced the missing woman to his farmhouse.

The woman is being brought to Bengaluru where her statement will be recorded.

On Friday, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against H.D. Revanna in connection with the kidnapping of the woman, believed to be one of the victims of the sex video scandal involving his son Prajwal Revanna.

The woman’s son had registered a kidnap case naming H.D. Revanna as the prime accused in the case.

His relative Satish Babu was named as the second accused in the FIR, whom the police arrested from Mysuru district on Friday.

The woman’s son alleged that his mother went missing after the surfacing of a purported sex video in which Prajwal Revanna could be seen sexually assaulting her.

He also alleged that his mother was locked up in an undisclosed location, as he pleaded with the police to initiate legal action against H.D. Revanna and Satish Babu.

Prajwal Revanna, the sitting JD-S MP from Hassan, has reportedly fled from the country.