Karwar: Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs from Uttara Kannada district may get disqualified if they fail to furnish details of their poll expenditure within the given time.
Shivaram Hebbar and Dinakar Shetty along with four other BJP aspirants shared the stage with Prime Minister Modi on May 3 during an election campaign in Ankola whose total expenditure was Rs 1.10 crore, according to the calculations of the district expenditure observation committee. The cost had to be divided equally among all, resulting in each candidate’s poll expenditure to be Rs 18.33 lakh.
Additionally, around 800 buses, including 150 buses from Goa, were used to ferry people. The organisers of the public event have been charged with Rs. 1.35 crore by the Karnataka Road Transport Corporations. Reportedly, the Goa public transport is ‘reluctant’ to provide data of the expenses. If this amount is added to the poll expenditure of the six candidates, then it will cross the maximum limit of Rs 40 lakh set for each candidate in assembly polls by the election commission.
Sources in the district administrations have asserted that apart from the Modi event, the candidates have also spent money on publicity materials, rallies, pamphlets, among others. Few of them also shared a stage with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath at a public rally.
District Expenditure Observer Satish G Pawar told Deccan Herald that if all these factors are taken in consideration then the total expenditure will cross the Rs 40 lakh mark. He added that the candidates have challenged the expenditure calculated by the officials. Furthermore, all the six candidates have claimed that they did not hire buses. Dinakar Shetty stated that Modi fans had hired buses, jeeps, and taxis to attend the event. He claimed that his total poll expenditure was Rs 37 lakh.
Deputy Commissioner Prabhuling Kavalikatti mentioned that the officials have seeked information from the government of Goa regarding people who have hired Kadamba buses. A report will be sent to Election Commission based on the data collected from district administration for further action, he added.
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Kozhikode: There are strong indications that Nimisha Priya’s death sentence in Yemen may be revoked following significant progress in recent mediation talks. According to mediators, the family of the deceased Yemeni national Talal, who was killed, has agreed in principle to pardon Nimisha.
A press release from the office of Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar stated that some crucial decisions have been taken in the case. The developments follow high-level negotiations involving a delegation of Yemeni scholars appointed by Habib Umar bin Hafiz, a prominent scholar from Tarim, along with officials from northern Yemen and international diplomatic representatives.
Further discussions with Talal’s family are expected to finalise the terms, especially concerning compensation and legal formalities.
It may be recalled that Nimisha was scheduled to be executed on July 16. However, following the intervention of Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, the execution was temporarily postponed on July 15.