Shobha Karandlaje booked for MCC violation
Bengaluru, Mar 21: In the first case of model code violation booked against a key political figure ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Election commission on Thursday filed an FIR against Union Minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje over her recent remarks on the people of Tamil Nadu, officials here said.
The move comes a day after the EC directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK's complaint regarding the violation by Karandlaje, who is BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from the Bangalore North constituency. The poll panel also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.
DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, had sought action against Karandlaje for alleging that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1. In its complaint, the DMK said that the minister's statement generalised the people of Tamil Nadu as "extremists".
According to the CEO, the Bangalore District Election Officer filed an FIR against Karandlaje under sections 123 (3A), 125 and 123 (3) of the RP (Representation of the People ) Act at the Cottonpet police station here.
During a protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Karandlaje had said that law and order in Karnataka has "deteriorated". People who come from Tamil Nadu plant bombs here, those from Delhi chant "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans and some who come from Kerala were involved in "acid attacks", she claimed.
She later apologised for her remarks and said she was retracting her comments.
The Madurai police has also booked her for "promoting enmity" between different groups, while her remarks have drawn sharp criticism from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and other DMK leaders.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
