Bengaluru, May 27: The BJP has called for ‘voluntary Karnataka bandh’ excluding Bengaluru tomorrow against the JDS-Congress coalition government alleging that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has failed to keep his words on waiving off the farmers loan even after 24 hours of taking charge as the CM.

But the farmers and pro-Kannada organizations have not extended their support to this bandh called by the BJP. Hotel owners, businessmen, petrol bunk owners, lorry owners, auto drivers and others have clarified that they would not participate in the bandh. There is no holiday for schools and colleges. KSRTC and BMTC buses would ply as usual,. Auto Rickshaw and taxi service would also be there in the city. As per the court direction, there is no provision for bandh, police officers said.  

In view of this, except Bengaluru, the Karnataka bandh in Coastal region, Hubballi, Dharwad, Bellary, Belagavi and other cities would be a symbolic one.

BJP leader Ravi Kumar said that Kumaraswamy has cheated the farmers without fulfilling his promise. So, the people should observe bandh voluntarily. Believing the promises made in the election manifesto, the people have believed the JDS and given more seats than expected. Now, Kumaraswamy is telling that he could not waive off the farmers loans which is not acceptable, he said.

Condemning Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s anti-farmers stand, the BJP has called for Karnataka bandh. Thousands of party workers and himself would participate in the bandh. They would not hesitate to conduct the bandh even if the government caned them or put them before bars, said MLA B Sriramulu.

Meanwhile, leaders of state sugarcane growers association, Chamber of Kannada Films, farmers association and private vehicles owners association have denied their support to the bandh called by BJP. They said that they would not support this unilateral decision taken without discussing with the Chief Minister.

  • No holiday for schools and colleges
  • Cinemas and petrol bunks would function as usual
  • KSRTC and other government transport system would function as usual

 



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Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.

Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.

"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.

The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.

"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.

A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.

While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.

According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.