CM Siddaramaiah raising hand left me shocked, family disturbed: ASP Baramani stands by VRS request
Bengaluru: Additional Superintendent of Police Narayan Baramani has reportedly clarified that his request for voluntary retirement from service (VRS) still stands and is currently under review by the Home Department, following a controversial incident involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during a Congress protest rally in Belagavi.
“I have not withdrawn my request. If the government approves it, I will proceed with voluntary retirement. If it is rejected, I will decide on my future course of action,” Deccan Herald quoted Baramani as saying.
Baramani had submitted his VRS request about a month ago, citing humiliation and mental distress following a public confrontation with the Chief Minister on April 28, when he was on duty in Belagavi after being deputed from Dharwad.
In a detailed three-page letter addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Home Affairs (Police Services), Baramani recounted that during the rally, a group of women had shown black flags and raised slogans while CM Siddaramaiah was speaking. The Chief Minister reportedly stopped mid-speech, pointed at Baramani and shouted, “Hey! Who’s the SP here? Come here!” When Baramani went up the stage, Siddaramaiah allegedly raised his hand in a sudden gesture but withdrew it immediately.
“My entire family has been mentally disturbed ever since. Despite this, neither the chief minister nor any other government official on his behalf, nor even senior officials from our own department, made any effort to console or address the issue. Even my colleagues did not condemn the insult I faced,” he said.
“I have been publicly humiliated and blamed for something I did not do. Left with no other option, I am submitting this request for voluntary retirement. I humbly request that it be accepted,” the letter, cited by DH, reads.
Following his VRS submission, both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara summoned Baramani to Bengaluru, urging him to reconsider his decision and requesting him not to proceed with the VRS.
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SC slams WhatsApp, Meta over privacy policy, says will pass interim order on Feb 9
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp while hearing their appeals against a Competition Commission of India order imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over the privacy policy, saying tech giants cannot “play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing”.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said that it will pass an interim order on February 9. The top court ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be made a party to the petitions.
It was hearing appeals filed by Meta and WhatsApp against a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) judgment that upheld the CCI’s findings of abuse of dominance, while granting limited relief on advertising-related data sharing.
"You can't play with the right of privacy of this country in the name of data sharing. We will not allow you to share a single word of the data, either you give an undertaking...you cannot violate the right of privacy of citizens,” the CJI said.
The bench said the right to privacy is zealously guarded in the country and noted that the privacy terms are “so cleverly crafted” that a common person cannot understand them.
“This is a decent way of committing theft of private information, we will not allow you to do that... You have to give an undertaking otherwise, we have to pass an order,” the CJI said.
