BJP has no moral right to talk about 'Brand Bengaluru': CM Siddaramaiah
Belagavi(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit out at the opposition BJP questioning the contribution of the party in taking up development works in Bengaluru when its government was in power for four years in the state.
His comments came in response to the BJP's accusation that no development work was taking place in Bengaluru, the state capital.
"We came just six months ago. Before that, the BJP was in power for four years. Did they make 'Brand Bengaluru'? What did they do in four years," Siddaramaiah asked while talking to reporters here. 'Brand Bengaluru' is an initiative of the Congress government aimed at developing Bengaluru into a global city.
"They (BJP) couldn't even fill potholes. People (Judges) in the High Court were scolding them and passing strictures and comments as well. What moral right do they (BJP) have to talk about Bengaluru," the Chief Minister said.
Regarding the BJP's allegations that the governance has taken a beating as "all the ministers have camped" in Telangana (for election-related work of the Congress), Siddaramaiah clarified that only a few, and not all, have gone there.
"Some have gone. After all, we have to do politics as well. People there (in Telangana) had called them (Karnataka ministers)," the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah said the Food and Civil Supplies Minister Muniyappa and Energy Minister K J George have returned, while Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan are still in Telangana, where the Congress won the Assembly elections.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
