CM Siddaramaiah slams BJP for 'peddling lies' on Jal Jeevan Mission
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday slammed BJP alleging that it "betrayed Karnataka" with regard to the Jal Jeevan Mission by not releasing the funds it had announced for the state.
The Chief Minister specially targeted Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna charging that he was "peddling lies".
Media reports stated that Somanna told Lok Sabha that the state spent Rs 11,760 crore against the allocation of Rs 28,623 crore to Karnataka under the JJM.
"Union Minister Somanna is peddling lies to cover up the Union Government's deliberate sabotage of Jal Jeevan Mission in Karnataka!" Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
Siddaramaiah further said that the total allocation for JJM (in the state) was Rs 49,262 crore and in which the Centre's share was Rs 26,119 crore and the state's share was Rs 23,142 crore.
The total funds released was Ra 32,202 crore comprising central share of Rs 11,760 crore (that constitutes just 45 percent of its commitment) and the state's share Rs 20,442 (which constitutes "whopping 88.3 percent" of its commitment) crore and the total amount spent by the state was Rs 29,413 crore, he said in his post.
"Every rupee released by the Centre has been fully utilized by Karnataka. But the Modi Govt continues to block funds and deny Karnataka its rightful share." the Chief Minister alleged.
He further charged that the Centre's neglect continued in the financial year 2024-25.
"The Centre allocated Rs 3,804 crore but released a meager Rs 570 crore. Despite writing multiple letters no further funds have been released. Karnataka on the other hand has released Rs 4,977 crore from its own budget against an allocation of Rs 7,652 crore," Siddaramaiah said.
"This is not just Karnataka -- BJP's failure is national!" He added.
According to him the budget estimates for JJM during 2024-25 was Rs 70,163 crore. Revised estimates slashed to just Rs 22,694 crore, he alleged.
"The Narendra Modi government is systematically killing JJM while BJP leaders like Somanna shamelessly spread misinformation," he said.
Instead of misleading people, Somanna should question Prime Minister Narendra Modi on why Karnataka is being deprived of its due funds, Siddaramaiah said.
"The Congress Govt in Karnataka is delivering results despite BJP's sabotage. We are committed to ensuring safe drinking water for every household while the BJP-led Centre continues its step-motherly treatment of our state," he alleged.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
