After LS poll, north K'taka to be separate State; PM mulling over it, says Minister Umesh Katti
Belagavi, Jun 23: A Karnataka Minister has said there will be 50 States in the country after the 2024 general Lok Sabha election and north Karnataka will be one among the new ones.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to form 50 States in the country after the 2024 elections. I came to know that he is mulling over it, Umesh Katti, who holds the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, told reporters here.
He said the idea of splitting the State is good because the burden of population has increased over the years.
Such thought is good because population is increasing, and that region (north Karnataka) should also see development. North Karnataka should become a State and develop. We will remain as Kannadigas but there is no harm if the State (Karnataka) is divided, Katti said on the sidelines of an event.
Stating that the idea of forming 50 States was good given the increase in population, Katti said it has increased from two crore to 6.5 crore in the last 60 years.
Two States should be carved out of Karnataka, four in Uttar Pradesh, three in Maharashtra, and so on, the Minister said.
Reacting to Katti's statement, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said there was no proposal at the government level for separate Statehood to north Karnataka.
"This is not the first time Umesh Katti has spoken about it. He has been saying it for many years. He himself should reply to this question," the Chief Minister told reporters in New Delhi.
Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka said Katti's statement is not an issue at all.
Katti has been saying this. This is not the first time that he has spoken about separate statehood to north Karnataka. He has said it more than 100 times till now. Karnataka is one. Many Kannadigas have struggled to form a united Karnataka, Ashoka said in Bengaluru.
He added that Bommai would discuss with Katti on this issue.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
