Violation of MCC: More illegal cash, vehicles seized across the state
Bengaluru: Surveillance teams of the Election Commission (EC) seized unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 4.60 lakh, vehicles valued at Rs 42.75 lakh and unspecified quantity of rice worth Rs 3.45 lakh during the last 24 hours in poll-bound Karnataka, an official said on Wednesday.
"With the latest crackdown on offenders, our teams have cumulatively seized Rs 1.63 crore in cash and vehicles and other items valued at about Rs 3.5 crore so far for violation of the model code of conduct," said the state Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar in a statement here.
The poll code has been in force since March 27 for the May 12 Assembly election in the state.
"An FIR (First Information Report) has been lodged for misuse of government vehicle, and five others for inducements to voters in the last 24 hours," the statement said.
The Excise Department has seized over 250 litres of liquor in the past 24 hours.
Since the enforcement of the code of conduct, 3,433 litres of liquor was seized and 218 heinous cases were lodged. The Department so far seized liquor and vehicles valued at Rs 1.32 crore.
A total of 1,156 squads and 1,255 surveillance teams have been put in place to ensure the code of conduct is followed in the state.
As the code also bans carrying of licensed firearms, as many as 46,235 arms from across the state have been deposited with officials so far.
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21 Congress MLAs leave for foreign tour ahead of budget; leaders say trip is personal
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 21 Congress legislators in Karnataka left for a foreign tour ahead of the state budget on Wednesday, as a power tussle continues within the ruling party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to present a record 17th budget on March 6, soon after the legislative session begins. The session will continue until March 27.
It is learnt that the MLAs travelling abroad are considered loyal to the CM.
According to Congress sources, 11 MLAs flew out on Tuesday, while 10 others are scheduled to leave for various foreign destinations with their families.
Sources said C Puttaranga Shetty, B Devendrappa, H D Thammaiah, Hampanagouda Badarli, B M Nagaraj, A Vasanth Kumar, D Thimmaiah and Sharanagouda Patil Bayyapur are among those travelling abroad.
The legislators are touring Australia and New Zealand. They will first fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then continue their journey to Australia and New Zealand, sources added.
The MLAs clarified that the trip is personal and has nothing to do with the party or the government.
"We are going on a private tour. It’s just my family and me," Thammaiah told reporters at the Kempegowda International Airport here.
The Chikkamagaluru MLA said the decision had been taken during the Belagavi legislative session.
"Those interested in the tour are travelling. We often go abroad, but this is the first time it has made news," Thammaiah said.
Badarli sought to clarify that all the MLAs were funding the tour themselves and that it had nothing to do with politics.
"We travel abroad two or three times. Earlier, we visited Muscat, European countries and the United States," he said.
Puttaranga Shetty said the MLAs would return on March 2 or 3.
Responding to suggestions that those travelling belonged to Siddaramaiah’s camp, Shetty said, "The CM is not aware of our trip. Why drag his name into this unnecessarily?"
MLAs considered close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said there was nothing unusual about "common friends travelling abroad together."
"We too have travelled abroad. What is wrong with that? I was not invited. Our team is different from theirs, but it is not factionalism," MLA H C Balakrishna said.
MLA Ravi Ganiga said no one could remove the incumbent or change the government merely because of a foreign tour, adding that the Congress high command takes appropriate decisions at the right time.
