Complete failure of law and order machinery: Congress on Bengaluru violence
Bengaluru: The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP government in Karnataka over the violence in Bengaluru in which three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage irked over a social media post, and said it was a "complete failure of law and order machinery".
Scores, including around 50 policemen, were injured in the violence that erupted on Tuesday night and continued till the wee hours of Wednesday, apparently triggered by the online post.
Bengaluru violence, riots and arson are "reprehensible, condemnable and unacceptable", Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"It is complete failure of law and order machinery and rule of law. Was Yediyurappa government sleeping or waiting for violence to happen?" Surjewala said in a tweet. "Why did police not act in time? Who is responsible for 3 deaths?" he asked.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation, K C Venugopal, said the violence in Bengaluru is "unfortunate and condemnable".
"Strict action should be taken against those behind the derogatory post and those who indulged in rioting," he said on Twitter. "Taking law into their hands and destroying public property shouldn't be tolerated. Let peace prevail and let law take its course," Venugopal said.
Three people were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in a Bengaluru locality irked over a social media post allegedly put out by a Congress legislator's relative.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
