BJP stages protest against JSW land sale, financial fraud
Bengaluru, Jun 13: The BJP Thursday took out a protest rally in the city accusing the state government of being lenient towards financial fraudsters and selling precious land to JSW Steel at a throwaway price.
Holding placards and waving party flags, hundreds of BJP workers thronged the Maurya Circle and staged a demonstration.
They raised slogans against the state government accusing it of being insensitive to people's problems.
Leading the protest, former deputy chief minister R Ashok referred to the IMA Jewellers' case.
The firm's owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan is reportedly absconding following emergence of an audio clip, purportedly of him, in which he is heard threatening to commit suicide.
"They (fraudsters) decamped with the money of 30,000 Muslims... the owner of the firm has escaped," Ashok said, addressing the gathering.
Seven directors of the firm at the centre of an alleged financial fraud that left thousands of investors in the lurch have been apprehended.
The state government has formed an 11-member special investigation team to probe the case.
BJP MLC N Ravi Kumar said "...broad daylight robbery is happening here. Muslim brethren are being exploited right under the nose of the Congress-JDS coalition government by one after another fraudster companies."
The protesters also raised the JSW Steel land sale issue.
They accused the government of being hand in glove with JSW Steel as it allotted the land to the company at a "throwaway price."
While welcoming the government's decision to review the land sale, they said the government should make sure that every inch of the land is recovered.
Caught in a bind over the controversial land deal, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Tuesday said the government's decision on sale of 3,667 acres to JSW Steel will be reconsidered and placed before the cabinet once again for discussion.
After the protest rally, the BJP leaders and workers proceeded to stage a sit-in at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat complex, when they were arrested.
Later, they were released, police said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
