Karnataka: BJP's 'Janotsava' postponed to Sep 11, third postponement of public rally
Bengaluru, Sep 7: Karnataka BJP's 'Janotsava' rally to mark the completion of the party being in power for three years and the Basavaraj Bommai-led government's one year in office, in Doddaballapura scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed to September 11 following the death of senior leader and Minister Umesh Katti.
This is the third such postponement of the event, which was to be attended by BJP national president J P Nadda.
"Due to the untimely demise of Minister Umesh Katti, the Janotsava that was scheduled to be held on September 8 at Doddaballapura has been postponed to September 11," BJP's Karnataka unit vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana said.
The rally was originally planned on July 28 (the date marking Bommai's one year in office) at Doddaballapura, but the Chief Minister was forced to cancel it following outrage over BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettar's murder in Dakshina Kannada district on July 26.
It was then scheduled to be held on August 28, but was postponed to September 8, as the date is too close to the Gowri-Ganesha festival on August 30-31 and there were concerns about participation of people.
The party plans to hold six 'Janotsava' rallies in different parts of the state spread out this month and in October.
The event will be seen as a show of strength by the ruling party in the run-up to 2023 state assembly polls.
The BJP has been under pressure by its own leaders from different parts of the state to hold large-scale events, following senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah's massive 75th birthday bash at Davangere last month and the opposition party's mega 'Freedom March' in Bengaluru to commemorate 75 years of independence on August 15.
The assembly polls are likely to be held in March or April next year.
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Lakhimpur Kheri violence case: SC expresses disappointment over non-production of witnesses in trial
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday expressed disappointment over the non-production of witnesses in the ongoing trial against Ashish Mishra, son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, and others in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the status report filed before it by the Uttar Pradesh government has not assigned any reason whatsoever for the non-production of witnesses.
It noted that no witnesses have been examined in the trial for the last two months.
"We direct the presiding judge to take lawful measures to secure the presence of witnesses," the bench said.
It asked the trial judge to make an endeavour to conclude the trial in a time-bound manner, and also to file a status report before it.
The trials in two cases related to the incident are going on before a court in Uttar Pradesh.
The bench noted that in the first case, out of 131 witnesses to be examined, 44 have been examined, 15 have been discharged and 72 are still to be produced.
In the second FIR, out of 35 witnesses, 26 have been examined and nine were left, it said.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Ashish Mishra, said that as per the latest status report filed by Uttar Pradesh, 44 witnesses have been examined so far in the first FIR.
"No witnesses have been examined in the last two months," Dave said.
He argued that the last status report filed by the state in March also said that 44 witnesses had been examined.
"What have you done from March till today?" the bench asked the counsel appearing for Uttar Pradesh.
The state's counsel said that 3-4 witnesses were summoned for the recording of their deposition during the trial.
The bench said at least 7-8 witnesses should be summoned instead of three or four for a day, so that even if some of them do not turn up, the trial court could proceed with the recording of statements of those appearing before it.
The top court also wondered how official witnesses can remain absent during the trial.
"We are disappointed to note that the so-called status report does not assign any reason whatsoever for non-production of witnesses...," the bench said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the relatives of the farmers who were allegedly mowed down in the incident, said the apex court will have to do something regarding the manner in which the trial was going on.
The bench noted that besides the two FIRs, another FIR was registered in October last year concerning alleged witness intimidation.
It said that, as per the state's status report, the chargesheet was filed against the main accused in that case.
The bench noted that the status report reveals that, as far as Ashish Mishra is concerned, his alleged role in the third case is still being investigated.
The top court directed the investigating officer of the third case to conclude the pending probe and ensure that the appropriate report is filed before the concerned court within four weeks.
The bench posted the next hearing in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case for July.
On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district during a protest by farmers against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.
Four farmers were mowed down by a sports utility vehicle. A driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
In one of the cases, the trial court in December 2023 framed charges against Mishra and 12 others for alleged murder, criminal conspiracy and under other penal laws in the case of the farmers' deaths, paving the way for the trial.
