Siddaramaiah rejects allegations of his govt funding Cong for Bihar polls
Mangaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday rejected opposition BJP's allegation that the Congress government in the state was funding its party, in the upcoming Bihar polls.
Also, defending his government's decision making "prior permission" mandatory for private organisations to use public premises for their activities, the chief minister rejected that the move was only aimed at restricting RSS activities, and asserted that it was continuation of the decision taken by the earlier BJP regime.
He also clarified that the government's order mandating prior permission, does not mean that the permission has to be given, and that any such decision will depend on the law and order situation locally.
"We have not given even a 5 paise to any state election from Karnataka, we are not giving to Bihar also," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, in response to a question on BJP's allegations, he said, "They (BJP) were doing it, now they are accusing us of it."
He was reacting to BJP MPs B Y Raghavanedra and Jagadish Shettar's allegation that the Siddaramaiah-led government was involved in fundraising for the Congress party for the Bihar elections, a practice they claimed has led to increase in corruption in the state.
Bihar polls will be held over two phases on November 6 and 11. The votes will be counted on November 14.
"In 2013, the BJP government, when Jagadish Shettar was the CM, had issued an order through the education department, why did they do it? We have continued what they have done," he said.
To a question on BJP's circular not making any reference to any organisation such as RSS, Siddaramaiah said, "We too have not mentioned the name of any organisation (in our order). It is applicable to any organisation. We have not mentioned the RSS name."
The state government on Saturday had issued an order making "prior permission" mandatory for any private organisations, associations or a group of persons to use government property or premises for their activities.
While the government order does not specifically name RSS, the provisions of the order are said to be aimed at impacting the activities of the Hindu right wing organisation, including its route marches.
The order is based on a Cabinet decision on Thursday, prompted by Panchayat Raj and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge's letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking a ban on RSS' activities in public places.
The Congress government is citing the 2013 circular by the education department, issued under the then BJP administration-led by Shettar, restricting the use of school premises and attached playgrounds for educational purposes only, to defend its order.
The circular was issued in response to a permission sought to organise a private event on the premises of the Fort High School at Chamarajpet in Bengaluru.
To a question on permission not being granted by authorities, despite seeking permissions as per the government order, the CM said, "the order says that prior permission has to be taken. There is nothing that the permission has to be given. It will depend upon the law and order situation."
Authorities in Chittapur, the home constituency of Minister Priyank Kharge, had denied permission for the RSS route march on Sunday, citing the possibility of disruption of peace and law and order.
The Tahsildar of Chittapur had cited that the Bhim Army organisation has also informed, through a letter, that they too will conduct a route march on the same route on October 19.
The Karnataka High Court on Sunday hearing RSS petition asked its representatives to file a fresh application seeking permission to hold its route march in Chittapur on November 2.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
