Cong stages ‘black band’ protest in Karnataka Assembly against BJP’s handling of hijab row

News Network

February 14, 2022

Bengaluru, Feb 14: Congress legislators wore black bands to the Karnataka legislature session on Monday to protest against the BJP government’s handling of the hijab row and the rejection of social reformer Narayana Guru’s tableau for the Republic Day parade.

Congress legislators sat through Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot’s address to both houses of the legislature with black bands on their arms.

“We’re wearing the black band to protest the raking up of the Hijab issue. It is the BJP government that made boys wear saffron stoles, which is something RDPR Minister KS Eshwarappa himself admitted. He even said saffron will replace the tricolour on the Red Fort, and no action has been taken against him,” Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said.

“The black band protest is also meant to condemn the rejection of Narayana Guru’s tableau,” he added.

The rejection of Narayana Guru’s tableau put the ruling BJP in a spot. The social reformer hail from Kerala, it was the Pinarayi Vijayan government that proposed the tableau - but he has followers in some parts of Karnataka, especially the coastal region where the BJP is strong.

Later in the day, Siddaramaiah will chair the Congress Legislature Party meeting where legislators will formulate a strategy to attack the BJP government during the session. It is likely that the party will explore the option of raising the Hijab issue, which is currently before the High Court for adjudication.

“We will raise the law-and-order issue, corruption, the 40% commission charge levelled by contractors and other failures of the government,” Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar told reporters.

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Voting underway in Karnataka bypolls: Family legacies and political heavyweights battle across 3 segments

News Network

November 13,2024

Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.

The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.

While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.

Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.

As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.

Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.

BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.

Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.

Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

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