‘Telangana model’ fight if North Karnataka is neglected: MLA Sriramulu
Ballary, July 27: If the JDS-Congress coalition government has done injustice to North Karnataka, a fight for separate North Karnataka state would be launched on the line of ‘Telangana model’ fight, said Molakalmuru MLA B Sriramulu.
Speaking to reporters at his house here on Friday, Sriramulu said that the North Karnataka was completely neglected in the Budget. How far it was right to speak lightly about North Karnataka? If the same ill-treatment continued to North Karnataka, there might be a revolution, he warned.
“Politics is not important for me. My people are important to me. I have not stuck to power. I would not hesitate to resign from the MLA position and plunge into the protest against the injustice and fight for separate north Karnataka state. It is our objective to protect Karnataka as a whole. But if the North Karnataka is meted with injustice oftenly, we will not keep quite. Should we tolerate the irresponsible statements of the Chief Minister on loan waiver, Mahadayi movement and farmers of North Karnataka”, he asked.
A Chief Minister should treat all parts of the state equally. It was not right to speak against the North Karnataka people who have not voted him. Kumaraswamy had become a chief minister for a few districts instead of the entire state, he ridiculed.
PWD Minister HD Revanna was not going to other districts instead of Hassan, Mandya and Ramanagar. Though Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts faced rain fury, he did not visit those places. Even though Krishna River overflowed, he had never visited the place, he said.
Kumaraswamy had promised of good governance. But after two months of forming the government, he had never appointed district ministers. Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha have become the haven of middlemen and agents according to the Chief Minister. Let him control those who are waiting near the houses of the Chief Minister and some Ministers with suitcases for transfer business, he demanded.
Total 16 districts do not have JDS MLAs and the JDS has lost its deposits in 100 constituencies. Even then, Kumaraswamy has become the chief minister of the state. Instead of treating all constituencies equally, he was discriminating in sanctioning funds to the constituencies which do not have JDS MLAs. The loan waiver order was not yet implemented. It was an inactive government. It has limited itself for transfer business, he alleged.
“By restricting the media people from entering the Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been trying to administration like Hitler. It is regrettable that former chief minister Siddaramaiah who won from the North Karnataka did not raise his voice against the injustice to the North Karnataka in the Budget”.
- Sriramulu, BJP MLA
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Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?".
The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.
"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.
After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of the nations had ballot paper voting or used electronic voting.
The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and India should follow suit.
"Why you don't want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench.
There was corruption and this year (2024) in June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.
"But how does that make your relief which you are claiming here relevant?" asked the bench, adding "if you shift back to physical ballot, will there be no corruption?".
Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could be tampered with and added TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.
"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with," noted the bench.
When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed in elections, the bench remarked, "We never received any money for any elections."
The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns and ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.
The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness and importance of informed decision making.
"Today, 32 per cent educated people are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If democracy will be dying like this and we will not be able to do anything then what will happen in the years to come in future," the petitioner said.
