'Jamath is striving to establish peace and order'

Bengaluru: Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa was moved from the Bengaluru prison to the Ballari jail amid tight security on Thursday morning.

Darshan, a Kannada A-lister, is in judicial custody till September 9, along with 16 others, for the murder of Chitradurga native Renukaswamy.

According to officials, Darshan was escorted out of Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in a police SUV around 4 am and then moved into a police van near Chikkaballapura. The van with Darshan on board reached the Ballari prison around 9.30 am.

Sources said that the actor was escorted via Andhra Pradesh route to avoid security lapses.

Darshan entered the prison flanked by police officials. He wore a black Puma T-shirt but was seen without his hairpiece.

A Bengaluru court ordered the transfer of Darshan and nine other suspects in Renukaswamy’s murder after photographs of the actor enjoying “special privileges” at the Parappana Agrahara prison went viral.

The actor was seen hobnobbing with gangsters, smoking a cigarette and sipping a cuppa. Fresh cases were also registered against the actor and others.

Mandya: Accusing the opposition BJP of attempting 'Operation Kamala' to destabilise the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka, a ruling party MLA on Sunday claimed that efforts were on to entice Congress legislators, by offering Rs 100 crore.

Congress MLA from Mandya Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga) alleged that though attempts are on by the BJP to destabilise the government by luring MLAs, no legislator will fall for it, and the government was stable and strong.

‘Operation Kamala’ (Operation Lotus) refers to an alleged attempt of the BJP to engineer defection of its opponent party legislators to install its own government and to ensure its stability.

"Even today I'm saying, they (BJP) have now raised the offer to Rs 100 crore from Rs 50 crore, someone had called day-before-yesterday saying hundred (crore) ready, (wanted) to purchase 50 MLAs. BJP people have gone from Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore," Gowda said in response to a reporter's question.

Addressing media here, he said, "Someone had called me, I told him to keep Rs 100 crore with himself, I thought of complaining to ED." "Everyday they (BJP) are planning to dislodge our government, from Rs 50 crore, they have now gone to Rs 100 crore offer, but our government is stable, the Chief Minister is also strong," he added.

Earlier, in October last year too, Gowda had claimed that a team was trying to lure Congress legislators with offers of Rs 50 crore and ministerial positions. He had said that four legislators have been contacted, and there is evidence to support this claim.

Gowda today accused BJP national General Secretary Organisation B L Santhosh, Union Ministers Shobha Karnadlaje, Pralhad Joshi and H D Kumaraswamy (of JDS) of working as a "gang" to destabilise the Congress government in the state.

With 136 MLAs the Congress government is "strong like a rock", there is a popular CM, who is pro-poor, and no one can dislodge it, he further said. "But these people have promised PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and are walking around with an aim to topple the government."

Alleging that BJP's "brokers" are contacting Congress MLAs every day, Gowda said, "none of our MLAs will fall for it... they (BJP)want to dislodge the government, by purchasing MLAs. They want to destabilise, as Congress is strong in Karnataka."

"We are collecting evidence, we will give it to ED, CBI, we want to catch them with the bag of cash...I have the audio of the person who had called me, he should be feeling his heart beat now, we will release it at the right time," he added.

Mangaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a major membership drive in Dakshina Kannada, targeting the enrolment of 3.5 to 4 lakh members in the district.

DK BJP unit president Satish Kumpala, speaking to reporters on Wednesday, announced that over 2.5 lakh citizens had joined the party in 2019. This year, the goal is to add another 1.5 to 2 lakh members.

New members can enrol by calling the toll-free number 8800002024 to receive a registration link, while existing members are encouraged to renew their membership. Citizens aged 18 and above are eligible to join the party.

The drive was officially launched in Mangaluru by former BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel. Kumpala added that the initiative will cover all 57 Mahashakthi Kendras in the district, with a special focus from September 11 to 17 to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday celebrations.

The party plans to enrol at least 250 members from each booth, with manual registration options available in rural areas with limited internet access. A district-level workshop will be held later to review the membership enrolments.