BJP stages ‘Khaali Chambu’ protest against CM Siddaramaiah’s 17th budget
Bengaluru (PTI): The opposition BJP in Karnataka on Friday staged ‘Khaali Chambu’ protest saying that the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is an empty vessel, which has nothing to offer to people.
Holding ‘Khaali Chambu’ (empty vessel), the party legislators, including the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, MLC N Ravikumar, MLAs Arvind Bellad and V Sunil Kumar, took out a march on the Vidhana Soudha premises.
Condemning the budget, the protesters raised slogans like "Siddaramaiah’s budget is Khaali Chambu" and "Reproof to the Khaali Chambu government".
Addressing reporters here, Ashoka said the Congress government in the state believes in the philosophy of leading a lavish life on borrowed money.
"This budget is bland. It has no new projects. The only new project is more and more borrowing," he said.
In the last three years, the state added a loan of Rs 4.39 lakh crore on the people of the state, Ashoka claimed. The next governments will not be in a position to pay the interest, let alone the principal amount and the fiscal deficit has reached Rs 97,000 crore, the BJP leader said.
"If Siddaramaiah continues as chief minister for the next two years, our borrowings will reach Rs 10 lakh crore. His government’s borrowing is 10 times more compared to all the chief ministers in the past," Ashoka charged.
He added that there is no reference to new irrigation projects, potholes and garbage crisis in Bengaluru.
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Mangaluru police flag fake ‘sea breeze marathon’ Instagram campaign, urge public caution
Mangaluru: Police have flagged a fake marathon campaign being widely circulated on Instagram under the name “Sea Breeze Marathon” and warned the public against falling prey to a suspected cyber fraud network.
The purported post, which began circulating on April 3, claims to offer prize money of Rs 2.51 lakh for a 5 km race, Rs 3.5 lakh for a 10 km race, and Rs 5 lakh for a 21 km race. It also urges participants to register in advance. However, officials have clarified that no such marathon has been organised in Mangaluru.
The poster also promises to provide participants with free sports shoes, goodies bags and refreshments, in order to lure people.
Police suspect that the poster is part of a cyber fraud attempt designed to lure users into registering through fraudulent links.
Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy cautioned that registering through such links could lead to mobile phone hacking and financial loss.
The campaign is also being amplified through a viral video featuring songs from popular movies, along with visuals of people participating in marathons, allegedly sourced from existing footage, giving the content a sense of authenticity and misleading people.
When Vartha Bharati conducted a reverse image search, the video was traced back to marathons held in Mumbai, further confirming that the circulating content is not related to any event in Mangaluru.
Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Commissioner Reddy confirmed that the campaign is fake and that no organisation has approached authorities seeking permission for conducting a marathon, including traffic or road clearances.
“So far, no complaint has been lodged, and no victim of the campaign has been reported,” he said.
