Debate erupts after BJP leader says Karnataka will be split into 2 states after 2024 LS polls

News Network
June 24, 2022

Bengaluru, June 24: BJP leader and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti has said that Karnataka will be divided into two and India will have 50 new states after the next Lok Sabha elections. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will take the initiative on this issue, Katti added.

Katti, a vocal proponent of separate statehood for north Karnataka, , made the statement at a Belagavi Bar Association event on Wednesday. A video of his speech has now gone viral.

“A debate is trending on social media that over 50 states will be formed in the country after next Lok Sabha polls. It is for sure that North Karnataka will also become a separate state on the basis of population spread across Karnataka. After the 2024 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will form new states. Maharashtra will become three, Karnataka two, and Uttar Pradesh will become four states,” Katti said.

Saying that Bengaluru city is overcrowded, lacks water supply for citizens who have to spend hours in traffic jams, Katti said that it was high time that IT companies thought beyond Bengaluru. North Karnataka has huge potential, he said, urging people to join hands to demand a north Karnataka state.

Katti, who represents Hukkeri Assembly constituency, has demanded separate statehood for north Karnataka in the past too, causing embarrassment to the ruling BJP. In 2019, Katti demanded then chief minister B S Yediyurappa award separate statehood to north Karnataka.

In 2021, Katti courted controversy by saying that people “low on confidence” in fighting coronavirus could not be saved.

Siddaramaiah slams

Meanwhile, former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday criticised Katti saying “to even think of dividing the state was equivalent to betraying mother, motherland and mother tongue.”

“Many Kannadigas had sacrificed everything to realise a unified Karnataka. To even think of dividing our state is equivalent to betraying mother, motherland and mother tongue. Minister Umesh Katti has revealed that the discussions are being held at Prime Minister @narendramodi’s level to divide Karnataka. This is a very dangerous development,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Siddaramaiah also sought a clarification from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the issue. “@PMOIndia @CMofKarnataka  @BSBommai should issue clarification about this. This is not the first time Minister Umesh Katti has made such statements,” the former CM said.

CM disowns statement

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday disowned the statement of his cabinet. “There is no thinking or proposal at the government level at all on a separate state of North Karnataka,” Bommai told reporters in New Delhi.   

“This is not the first time Umesh Katti has spoken about it. He has been saying it for many years. He should himself reply to this question”, he shot back to a query posed by reporters.

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News Network
December 30,2024

Mandya: A 21-year-old man died after he allegedly blew himself up with a gelatin stick in front of the house of a girl he was in love with after her family rejected him, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred at Kalenahalli village of Mandya district on early Sunday morning, they said.

According to police, Ramachandra was in a relationship with a minor girl. Last year, he was booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act after he eloped with the girl. He was arrested in the case and spent three months in jail as an under-trial.

After getting released from jail, he entered into a compromise with the girl's family and the case was refuted in the court. But later, he started calling the girl and continued to maintain his relationship with her, police said.

Apparently, the girl's family was planning to get the girl married to someone else once she attained the legal age, a senior police officer said.

Ramachandra, a resident of a neighbouring village in Nagamangala taluk was allegedly upset with the girl's family for rejecting him. Suddenly on Sunday, he reached in front of the minor girl's house and detonated the gelatin stick he carried with him and the explosion claimed his life on the spot, the officer added.

Based on the complaint from the deceased person's family, calling it suspicious death, a case has been registered, police said. His family was in quarrying business and that's how he got access to gelatin stick, police said.

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News Network
January 6,2025

gazajournalist.jpg

Journalist Mohammad Hijazi has been killed in an Israeli attack, raising the number of media workers killed by Zionist forces since the start of the war on Gaza to 220.

The Israeli regime forces killed the Palestinian writer, poet and journalist in an airstrike on northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, according to his family.

He was among nearly 90 other Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardment across the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement on Sunday.

“I don’t know if I will write to you again. I keep what I have written and am writing. Maybe it will come to light one day. I refuse a cheap death. I curse the murderer,” Hijazi wrote in a post on social media in August 2023.

“Let us in this bottom that we have finally reached, arm ourselves with patience and prayer, and count the days we have lived as a historic achievement while awaiting what is coming with a broken heart, an extinguished eye, a head held high, and a spirit that fights until the end of the road.”

Since the Israeli killing machine imposed a military siege of northern Gaza in early October intensifying its bombing attacks on the the Jabalia camp, hundreds of people have been killed.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 88 Palestinians had been killed and 208 others injured in the past 24 hours alone.

According to media reports from central Gaza, among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday were three Palestinians who were living in a tent in Deir el-Balah.

A family of 15 people was also buried under the rubble in Gaza City, following a separate strike, media reported.

The Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian  Hamas resistance movement in October last year, killing more than 45,805 Palestinians and wounding 109,064 others.

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News Network
January 9,2025

Udupi: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a 38-year-old woman from Karkala in Udupi district, has reportedly lost Rs 24 lakh to a digital arrest scam. The victim, Preema Sheril D'Souza, fell prey to a fraudulent scheme orchestrated through fake calls and threats.

According to the complaint filed, the incident unfolded on Tuesday when Preema received a call at 12:30 pm from an individual claiming to represent the Delhi Telecom Department. The caller alleged that another SIM card had been purchased using her Aadhaar number and was being used for illegal activities in Uttar Pradesh, leading to multiple cases being registered against her.

To add credibility to the scam, the caller arranged a video call where a person dressed as a police officer introduced himself as a CBI official. This individual instructed her to cooperate with the "investigation" and warned her not to disclose the matter to anyone. The scammer also issued threats, claiming that harm would come to her husband and child if she failed to comply.

Under duress, Preema was coerced into sharing her bank account details and transferring a staggering Rs 24 lakh to accounts specified by the fraudsters. She transferred Rs 14 lakh to an account in Federal Bank and Rs 10 lakh to an account in Yes Bank via RTGS from her Fixed Deposit account. The threats of an arrest warrant further pressured her into complying with the scammers' demands.

Upon realizing the fraud, she reported the incident to the authorities. A case has since been registered at the Karkala Rural Police Station, and investigations are underway.

This incident serves as a critical reminder to stay vigilant against such scams. Individuals are advised to verify the identity of callers and refrain from sharing sensitive information or transferring money without proper authentication. If you encounter similar fraudulent activities, report them immediately to the police or cybercrime cell.

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