Bihar: BJP expels six leaders, including MLA, for 'anti-party activities'
Bhagalpur (Bihar) (PTI): The Bihar unit of the BJP expelled six party leaders, including Kahalgaon MLA Pawan Yadav, for indulging in "anti-party activities".
According to a party statement issued on Sunday evening, the expelled leaders, including the MLA, have also been suspended from the party's primary membership.
"The party took disciplinary action against them after it found that all six leaders were indulging in anti-party activities against the NDA nominees during the ongoing assembly elections in the state. The sitting MLA of the outgoing assembly, Pawan Yadav, who was denied a ticket by the party this time, is contesting against the NDA nominee from Kahalgaon seat as an Independent candidate," it said.
Others expelled from the party were Sunny Yadav, Shravan Kushwaha, Uttam Choudhary, Maruti Nandan Maruti and Pawan Choudhary.
Reacting to the development, a senior BJP leader said, "These expelled leaders were working against the officially declared candidates of the NDA nominee, and against the ideology of the party."
The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.
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Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa laid to rest with full state honours
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran Congress leader Shamanuru Shivashankarappa was laid to rest with full state honours on Monday.
The 94-year-old former minister, who passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday, was cremated at the Kalleshwara Mill premises, following Veerashaiva-Lingayat traditions.
Earlier in the day, Shivashankarappa's mortal remains were brought to his native Davanagere, where they were kept at the high school grounds for the public, his followers, and well-wishers to pay their last respects.
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Expressing deep sorrow over his demise, the Karnataka government ordered that his last rites be performed with full state honours.
Both the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council also mourned his passing, adjourning their sessions for the day after paying tributes.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, several ministers, opposition leaders, legislators, and political figures paid their respects.
A number of seers from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community also attended the last rites.
Shivashankarappa represented the Davanagere South Assembly constituency. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for some time before succumbing to age-related ailments.
The senior-most legislator in Karnataka, Shivashankarappa, was also one of the longest-serving lawmakers in the country, sources said.
He is survived by three sons, including S S Mallikarjun, the Karnataka Minister for Mines, Geology, and Horticulture, and four daughters. His daughter-in-law, Prabha Mallikarjun, is the Member of Parliament from Davanagere.
A six-time MLA, Shivashankarappa also served as a minister and an MP.
He was a prominent educationist, establishing several educational institutions, and was an industrialist.
Additionally, he served as the treasurer of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for decades and was the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of the influential Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
