BJP forms 'fact finding committee' over Bengaluru eviction
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday constituted a "fact finding committee" to look into the demolition of illegally constructed houses as part of a drive to clear encroachment of government land, and to submit a detailed report.
The demolition drive has escalated into a major political row, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and politicians from that state too wading into the issue.
The BJP has been critical of the government's decision to rehabilitate "genuine" homeless among those, whose illegally constructed houses were demolished, terming the move as "appeasement politics".
The seven member committee consists of BJP legislators and leaders, including MLAs S R Vishwanath and S Muniraju.
The "fact finding committee" has been constituted to find the facts behind the demolition of houses in Fakir Colony and Wasim Layout near Kogilu in Yelahanka in the northern part of the city, Vijayendra said in a statement.
The committee has been directed to visit the spot, inquire and submit a detailed report in a week's time.
The demolition drive on December 20 was carried out by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited to clear encroachments for a proposed solid waste processing unit, officials have said claiming that the houses were constructed without any official permission. Most of the occupants were migrants from other states.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday accused the Congress government of creating 'mini Bangladesh' in the state due to its alleged appeasement politics, as he hit out at the administration over its decision to allot houses to those, whose unauthorised houses were demolished.
He said the government by doing so was encouraging large-scale encroachment and illegal settlements.
BJP leaders have accused the state government of indulging in "Muslim appeasement politics", as most of the demolished illegal houses, reportedly belonged to members from the community. They have also questioned the swiftness with which the government moved to rehabilitate those, who had indulged in illegal encroachment.
They pointed out that the rehabilitation announcement from the government came after the demolition of 167 illegal houses or sheds triggered a political row, after Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan termed the razing of houses as "brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj".
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, who is also from Kerala, had immediately intervened after's Vijayan's statement, and had conveyed the AICC's serious concern to CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, stating that such actions (demolition) should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the centre.
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Expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil gets bail in sexual assault case
Pathanamthitta(Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday granted bail to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in the third sexual assault case against him, in which he was arrested earlier this month.
The bail was granted by the Pathanamthitta District Sessions Court, which was considering an appeal filed by the MLA against a judicial magistrate's court that had denied him relief, stating that the allegations against him were serious and that he had "similar antecedents".
The third sexual assault case was registered against the Palakkad MLA under Sections 376 (rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint lodged by a woman from Kottayam district on 8 January. He was arrested in the case on January 11 in Palakkad.
The Kerala High Court and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had earlier protected the MLA from arrest in the first two sexual assault cases, which were registered based on complaints from two different women.
