Padayatra: Another FIR against 40 Cong leaders including D K Shivakumar for COVID rules violation
Ramanagara(PTI): As the Congress' 'padayatra' demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, entered its third day on Tuesday, another FIR has been registered against 40 party leaders including its state President D K Shivakumar and others for taking out the march defying COVID-19 curbs.
The FIR has been registered at the Sathanoor police station for defying restrictions on Monday, during which Congress leaders and a large number of party workers had marched a distance of about 15 km from Shivakumar's native Doddalahalli to Kanakapura.
Shivakumar's brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh, former Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda, H Anjaneya, and party leaders like- Narayanaswamy, Motamma, P T Parameshwara Naik, Dhruvanarayana, are among those mentioned in the FIR.
They have been booked for violation of guidelines, gathering in huge numbers, without wearing masks and maintaining social distance, under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act and sections of IPC, the FIR said.
This even as the Congress' 10-day long padayatra demanding for implementation of Mekedatu project, to which neighbouring Tamil Nadu is opposed to, continued for the third day today for a distance of about 14.3 km from Kanakapura to Chikkenahalli, with participation of hundreds of party workers and supporters.
The first FIR filed at the same Sathanoor police station for defying restrictions on Sunday, had named 30 people including Shivakumar, Suresh, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Siddaramaiah, former Union Minister Veerappa Moily, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former Deputy CM G Parameshwara, among others.
The padayatra spanning a distance of nearly 139 km is scheduled to conclude at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru on January 19.
Alleging that the BJP government was making frustrated attempts to scuttle the padayatra, fearing political gain for the Congress party, Siddaramaiah earlier today asserted that they will go ahead with it as planned.
"They (govt) have booked cases against 30 of us and they may book more cases. We will not fear cases, if they feel they can scare us by filing cases, we can call this BJP government a foolish government...we will fight it legally," he said.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
