Opponents of law against black magic are communal: Siddaramaiah

Bangalore, Nov 22: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly defended the controversial move to enact a legislation banning inhuman superstitious practices and, hit back at those opposing it by terming them as “communal.”

He said: “Those who are opposing it (the proposed legislation) remarked that Siddaramaiah is communal and casteist. But, in reality those who are opposing it are communal.”

He, however, said the government will not take any hasty decision on enacting the legislation and that there should be wide public debate on the issue. Only a concept paper on banning superstitious practices has been submitted to the government and it is only looking into it. No concrete step was taken in this regard.

“But, a section of people pounced upon us as if we have committed a blunder. There is a need to develop scientific temper among people. There is a need to prevent exploitation of gullible people in the name of superstitious practices,” he stated.

Defends Shaadi Bhagya

The chief minister also defended the scheme, Shaadi Bhagya, saying that the intention of the government is to uplift the oppressed section of society.

“The Constitution says that preferential treatment should be given to the oppressed section in order to bring them to the mainstream. But, vested interests have made it a big issue,” he observed. The scheme was announced in the revised budget 2013-14. Nobody had opposed it then. Now, when the government is taking steps to implement it, people are opposing it, he added.

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DK-Udupi local authorities' constituency by-poll: 4 candidates – Cong, BJP, SDPI, Ind – in fray

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October 8,2024

Mangaluru: The by-election to the legislative council from the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi local authorities' constituency will be a contest among four candidates. An independent candidate, Muhammed Riyaz, has withdrawn his nomination on Monday, the last day for withdrawal.

Deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP stated that candidates Kishore BR (BJP), Raju Poojary (Congress), Anwar Sadat S (SDPI), and Dinakar Ullal (independent) will be in the fray.

Polling will be held at 392 booths in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts between 8am and 4pm on Oct 21.

A total of 6,032 voters from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are eligible to vote. While there will be 234 polling booths in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi will have 158 stations. Gram panchayat members, corporators of the Mangaluru City Corporation, members of city municipal councils, town municipal councils, town panchayats, MLAs, MLCs, and Lok Sabha members are eligible to vote.

Election observer of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Pankaj Kumar Pandey, reviewed the poll preparations at the deputy commissioner's office on Monday. He issued directions to officials regarding arrangements to be made during the election and counting of votes.

The deputy commissioner stated that out of 6,032 voters, 3,127 are women and 2,905 are men. He said the counting of votes will be held at St Aloysius PU College in the city on Oct 24.

Udupi deputy commissioner Vidya Kumari K, city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal, Dakshina Kannada ZP CEO Anandh K, Dakshina Kannada SP Yathish N, Udupi SP Arun K, and additional deputy commissioners Santhosh Kumar G and Mamatha Devi were present.

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