Bengaluru court issues summons to CM Siddaramaiah, DCM DK Shivakumar in connection with 2022 protest
Bengaluru, Aug 8: A Bengaluru court on Thursday issued summons to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar asking them to appear personally before it on August 29 in a case related to their participation in a protest against the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) repeatedly questioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case more than two years ago.
The protest was organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee in June 2022 against ‘unnecessary harassment’ of Rahul Gandhi by the ED in connection with the case.
Defying restrictive orders, the Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, had staged the demonstration.
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A case was subsequently registered at the Wilson Garden Police Station, alleging that the protest disrupted public peace and was conducted without required permission from authorities.
A similar case filed at the Shivajinagar Police Station was quashed by the Karnataka High Court later.
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Voting begins for Assam's 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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