CM Siddaramaiah urges Centre to eliminate terrorists, ensure Pahalgam like incidents don't repeat
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday paid respects to Bharath Bhushan, who was shot dead in the terrorist attack at Pahalgam in Jammu-Kashmir, and urged the central government to eliminate terrorists and ensure that such incidents don't repeat.
Asserting that everyone is with the Centre in its action against the terrorists, he, however, reiterated intelligence failure in stopping the attack from happening.
Bodies of two tourists from Karnataka who were killed by the terrorists in the Pahalgam terror attack were brought to the Kempegowda International Airport here in the early hours on Thursday.
Manjunath Rao and Bharath Bushan were among the 26 people killed in front of their families after confirming their religious identity in Pahalgam on Tuesday. Most of those killed by terrorists were tourists.
While Rao's body was taken to his hometown Shivamogga, Bushan's body was brought to his residence in Bengaluru. The last rites are likely to take place later in the day.
"On behalf of the government and seven crore Kannadigas, I pay my respects to Bharath Bhushan. Still young age, he was 41 years old and a BE, MBA graduate. An untoward incident has happened. This is an inhuman act. I strongly condemn it," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here after paying respects to Bhushan, he said that eliminating terrorists is the responsibility of the government. Terrorism and terrorist activities should have no place in the country.
"For no reason the government (central) should show any discount towards this. We are all with the central government. I urge the Centre to eliminate all terrorists. Our full support is there for this" he added.
Pointing out that innocent people who had gone to Kashmir as tourists were killed in front of their wives and children, the CM said, there cannot be another heinous and inhuman act than this. He further said that he strongly condemned it.
Citing the Pulwama terror incident in which around 40 soldiers were killed, he said, "Now this incident has happened. It should be ensured that such incidents don't repeat. The terrorists should be traced and they should be eliminated from the country. I urge the central government to take such measures. I somewhere feel that there was intelligence failure."
Noting that two people from the state have died and another person from Andhra who was a resident of Bengaluru was also killed and his body has been taken to his home state, Siddaramaiah said, Minister Madhu Bangarappa will be paying respect to Manjunath Rao in Shivamogga, on behalf of the government.
The government has announced Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the deceased, and will always be with them, he said.
A team of officers and Minister Santosh Lad rushed to Jammu and Kashmir to get back bodies to the state, and to ensure the return of Kannadigas who had gone there as tourists. 177 Kannadigas are being brought back. "It is the responsibility of the government," the CM said.
Bharath Bhushan was shot dead by the terrorists while his wife Sujatha and their three-year-old son were spared. While Manjunath Rao, a realtor, was also killed in the presence of his wife and son.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
