Court restricts media from using 'Kundapura' in Hindutva activist Chaitra fraud case coverage
Bengaluru: The Additional City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru has issued an order restraining the media from using the name 'Kundapura' while reporting on the case of Hindutva activist Chaitra, who has been arrested on charges of fraud amounting to Rs 5 crore for allegedly promising a businessman an election ticket from BJP.
The court's directive came in response to a suit filed by Ganesh Shetty, the owner of a coffee shop hotel in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, and a resident of Kundapur. Shetty sought a ban on media outlets and social media platforms from mentioning the name of Kundapur in connection with the Chaitra case.
The court order temporarily prohibits the use of 'Kundapur' in news reports, media coverage, and panel discussions until further notice.
Chaitra and six other individuals were arrested by the police on fraud charges, and Chaitra also hails from Kundapur. However, the media has been referring to Kundapura while reporting on this fraud case, a practice that has raised concerns about tarnishing the reputation and dignity of Kundapur town.
The suit argues that this derogatory use of Kundapur's name by the media is harming the town's image and that media outlets are exploiting it for increased TRP ratings, likes, and views.
Ganesh Shetty, who has been running his coffee shop in Basanagudi for the past 23 years, has voiced concerns that the incident involving Chaitra may unfairly stigmatize Kundapur and affect future generations in the town.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
