Apr 24: Karnataka crosses 13 lakh COVID-19 cases with 29,438 fresh infections, 208 deaths
Dakshina Kannada records 517 positive Covid-19 cases, two deaths
Bengaluru, Apr 24: Karnataka on Saturday crossed the 13 lakh infection mark since the outbreak of COVID with the highest single-day spike of 29,438 infections, while 208 deaths took the total fatalities to 14,283, the health department said.
The highest single-day infection was on Friday with 26,962 fresh cases.
The state has now 2,34,483 active cases including 1,280 in the ICU.
According to the health bulletin, 10,55,612 people were discharged cumulatively including 9,058 today in the state.
Bengaluru urban district accounted for 17,342 infections, 149 deaths and 1,62,171 active cases. As many as 4,646 patients were discharged on Saturday.
Tumakuru reported 1,559 infections and three fatalities,while 823 cases were recorded in Hassan, 791 in Kalaburagi, 731 in Ballari, 688 in Mandya, 684 in Bengaluru Rural, 536 in Mysuru, 517 in Dakshina Kannada, 506 in Chikkaballapura and 497 in Raichur.
Cases were also reported in Bagalkote, Belagavi, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Davangere, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kodagu, Kolar, Koppal, Ramanagar, Shivamogga, Udupi, Yadgir, Vijayapura and Uttara Kannada.
The department said eight fatalities were reported in Kalaburagi, six in Kolar, five in Dharwad, four in Mysuru, three each in Ballari, Bengaluru Rural, Haveri, Mandya and Shivamogga, two each in Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Hassan, Kodagu, Raichur, Uttara Kannada and Vijayapura.
Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapura and Chikkamagaluru reported one fatality each.
Following rising COVID cases, the state increased RT-PCR testing as well.
There were 1,89,613 tests done on Saturday including 1,73,400 using RT PCR and other methods taking the total tests done to 2.45 crore, the department added.
Cumulatively, the state has done 85,63,208 inoculations.
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Today's Media Bulletin 24/04/2021
— K'taka Health Dept (@DHFWKA) April 24, 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.
