Former BJP MLA suspended for insulting Prophet wants Muslim traders thrown away from Murdeshwar
Says beef-eaters are impuring historic temples, lauds CM Bommai for "raising Hijab row"
Murudeshwar (Karnataka): Former BJP MLA Raja Singh who was suspended from the party for insulting Prophet Mohammed, has once again courted controversy after one of his videos from Murudeshwara is being widely shared on local social media platforms.
In the video, the former MLA from Telangana is seen standing at the Murudeshwara beach, calling on Karnataka CM and right-wing fringe groups to vacate Muslim vendors and traders near the beach as their presence near the Murudeshwar Temple impures the historic temple.
“During my two-day stay here, where followers of Lord Shiv come from various parts of the country, near the beachside, non-Hindus have encroached the area and have set up sheds for their businesses. These are encroached sheds.
“Totally around 3-4 thousand families have come and encroached here who oppose Lord Shiv, who don’t believe in Hindu religion and eat beef. You know which religion I am talking about. This is not the case only in Murdeshwar, these people are encroaching on all the areas where our historic temples are located and they are impuring our temples.” He said in the video.
He further lauded Karnataka CM for "raising the Hijab row" and called on him to pay attention to issues like this and vacate Muslim traders near temples.
“I request the Chief Minister of Karnataka and other Hindutva organizations to take note of this and throw these people away from these sites.” He added.
Contrary to the claims by the former MLA that the traders had encroached on the beachside, one of the traders who has a stall near Murudeshwar Beach and the temple, confirmed to Vartha Bharati that the shops and stalls set up at the beach are not illegal and are set up with the permission of district administration.
“We have not set anything up illegally. We have had our businesses here for several years, we pay rent, and we have valid permission from the district administration for setting up these stalls.” The trader who did not wish to be named said.
Raja Singh was a member of the Telangana Legislative Assembly representing the Goshamahal assembly constituency in Hyderabad. He is a former member of Telugu Desam Partyuntil he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was part of the BJP until 23 August 2022 when he was suspended over allegations of insulting Prophet Mohammed. Raja served as the party whip for Telangana when he was in Bharatiya Janata Party.
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Karnataka procured 16 lakh expired RT-PCR kits during Covid wave: D’Cunha commission
Bengaluru: Justice John Michael D’Cunha’s committee has uncovered significant irregularities in the procurement of medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing that more than 16 lakh RT-PCR test kits purchased by Karnataka in 2022 under the BJP-led government were either expired or close to their expiry dates.
After irregularities in PPE kit purchases, ventilators have also come under the scanner, with the report highlighting discrepancies amounting to Rs 173.26 crore in purchases made by the Medical Education Department.
The commission has also found that the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd. (KSMSCL) that cancelled a supply order for one lakh Rapid Antigen (RAT) kits placed with a Singapore-based company in March 2020 — for delay in supplying — has not recovered the Rs 6.99 crore paid to the company towards the order, as reported by The Hindu on Thursday.
According to the 279-page report on procurements made by the KSMSCL that is compiled in part IV of the report, a payment of Rs 148.84 crore was made by KSMSCL to various suppliers and firms towards procurement of RT-PCR kits from 2020 to 2022.
The Commission’s report, as cited by the publication, stated that there were records indicating procurement of RT-PCR kits, RNA extraction kits and Viral transport media (VTM) of a total value of Rs 106.25 crore during the pandemic in Karnataka. However, according to the report, this procurement was made without administrative approval.
“Since the KSMSCL has failed to discharge its obligation and responsibility, the loss caused to the State exchequer to this extent is required to be replenished by the erring officers and/or officials of the KSMSCL as well as the officers and/or officials of the consignee designated laboratories who received the consignment,” the report said, pegging the losses due to expired kits supplied by companies at Rs 3.11 crore.
In response to the report’s findings, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao criticised the saffron party for profiting from the pandemic. He promised accountability for the irregularities involving PPE kits and ventilators, stating that those responsible would face punishment.
