Apr 23: Karnataka logs 26,962 COVID-19 infections and 190 deaths
Bengaluru, Apr 23: Karnataka's COVID-19 fatalities on Friday crossed the 14,000 mark with 190 deaths, while the single-day highest of 26,962 fresh cases took the caseload to 12,74,959, the health department said.
While the total fatalities were 14,075, the active cases in the state too crossed the two lakh mark -- 2,14,311, including 1,128 in the ICU.
The state had reported the single-day highest mark on Thursday with 25,795 cases.
According to the health bulletin, 10,46,554 people were discharged cumulatively, including 8,697 on Friday, in the state.
The department said 1,77,466 tests were done today, including 1,59,681 using the RT PCR and other methods, taking the total tests done so far to 2.44 crore.
Bengaluru urban district accounted for 16,662 fresh infections and 124 deaths today.The city has so far reported 6,15,581 infections and 5,574 deaths.
There are 1,49,624 active cases.
According to the health bulletin, 1,004 infections were reported in Tumakuru, 742 in Kalaburagi, 695 in Ballari, 645 in Mysuru, 588 in Bengaluru Rural, 519 in Mandya, 504 in Kolar, 485 in Dakshina Kannada, 472 in Dharwad, 471 in Chikkaballapura, 429 in Vijayapura, 428 in Raichur and 416 in Bidar.
Cases were also reported in Bagalkote, Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Davangere, Gadag, Haveri, Kodagu, Koppal, Ramanagar and Shivamogga.
Other than Bengaluru, eight fatalities have been reported in Hassan, seven in Kalaburagi, six in Ballari, five each in Dharwad, Kolar and Tumakuru, four each in Bengaluru Rural, Haveri, Mandya and Mysuru, two each in Belagavi, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapura and Vijayapura.
One death each has been reported in Chikkamagaluru, Ramanagara, Shivamogga and Yadgir.
The state has inoculated 83,80,736 people as of Friday.
To view today's health bulletin: CLICK HERE
Today's Media Bulletin 23/04/2021
— K'taka Health Dept (@DHFWKA) April 23, 2021
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
