Udupi: Udupi-Chikmagalur MP and Senior BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje on Monday submitted a complaint to the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh against the Karnataka Government and Karnataka Home Minister M B Patil for their ‘vindictive action’ targeting BJP workers in the state.

In the two page complaint, a copy of which she shared on her official twitter handle, Shobha stated that the coalition government in Karnataka ‘is indulging inwitch hunt against BJP sympathisers soon after  Lok Sabha polls’.

Her complaint comes in the wake of arrests of two persons Mahesh Vikram Hegde and Hemanth Kumar, both of whom Karandlaje claims to be BJP sympathisers for allegedly forging a letter of Home Minister M B Patil and spreading it ahead of the second phase of LS Election in the state.

The alleged forged letter was addressed to Sonia Gandhi wherein Patil had explained her the strategy to divide Lingayat votes by labelling it under a separate religious tag. The letter was published in Kannada leading daily Vijayawani days before 2nd phase of LS polls, Shobha added in her complaint.

“M. B Patil who went livid over the leakage of the letter to media and claimed the letter is a forged one and claimed he had never written any letter to Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Police who were under pressure to act on the Home Minister’s complaint, arrested Mahesh Vikram Hegde, Postcard Site owner” Shobha wrote in her complaint.

She also stated about the arrest of Journalist Hemanth Kumar, who was arrested in the case for forging and forwarding the letter. Shobha then mentioned arrests of several BJP supporters and activists to make her point.

The Udupi-Chikmagalur MP then added that a delegation of senior BJP leaders met Karnataka DGP Neelamani Raju, who she alleged was working under the directives of Home Minister. “Neelamani Raju struggled to give convincing reply to the BJP delegation and it was evident that police is acting under directives of Home Minister” Shobha wrote.

“BJP delegation met senior CID officials who are investigating the alleged fake letter case. They failed to provide convincing reply to our charge that police is targeting BJP workers and its sympathisers under orders from Home Minister” she further wrote in the complaint.

Shobha also mentioned several instances when the Congress leaders used foul language against the Prime Minister including the speech of Belur Gopalkrishna alleging that he openly instigated people to shoot down the prime minister. She added that complaints were filed on all the occasions but the police have failed to act against the Congress leaders.

“The police instead of finding the real culprit of the alleged fake letter written by M B Patil or to find out the authenticity of the letter they are going after innocent journalist Hemath Kumar who has no role in to or involved in any conspiracy. He is being falsely framed in the case by the police to please the minister” Shobha stated while requesting intervention of Union Home Minister in the matter to direct Karnataka DGP to stop “vindictive reprisal against BJP workers” and according to constitution of the country.

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Bengaluru: Private hospitals must provide immediate life-saving treatment to victims of snake bites and dog bites without demanding any advance payment, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao said on Friday, stressing that the directive is mandatory and has already been issued as an official order.

The Minister was speaking after inaugurating the Snake Bites Prevention and Control and Rabies-Free Karnataka State Action Plan, organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, at Vikasa Soudha.

Stating that the government aims to reduce rabies deaths in the state to zero by 2030, Gundurao said the action plan focuses on strengthening rabies prevention mechanisms.Anti-rabies vaccines and rabies immunoglobulin have been supplied to all primary health centres, community health centres, taluk hospitals and district hospitals across the state, and maintaining adequate stock has been made mandatory.

He added that private hospitals also have vaccines available and must begin treatment immediately without insisting on advance payment.

"To ensure strict implementation, state-level and district-level joint committees have been constituted to monitor compliance," Gundurao added.

The Minister said the initiative is being implemented with the coordination of various government departments, with non-governmental organisations also extending support.

Gundurao also stated that, “in line with Central Government guidelines, the Karnataka government included all snakebite cases under the list of notifiable diseases in 2024. The guidelines have been prepared in collaboration with NGOs, civil society organisations and multiple departments, focusing on prevention, availability of medicines, training of healthcare personnel and public awareness. The primary objective is to eliminate disability and mortality caused by snake bites.”

Reiterating the government’s stand, the Health Minister said that while free treatment for snakebite victims is being provided in government facilities, private hospitals are also responsible to offer immediate treatment without demanding advance payment.