BJP walks out of Karnataka Assembly over state govt ad criticising Centre’s VB-G RAM G Act
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday witnessed uproar over a state government advertisement published in newspapers opposing the Centre’s VB-G RAM G Act, with the opposition BJP accusing the Siddaramaiah-led government of misusing taxpayers’ money for "false propaganda".
The House was briefly adjourned amid loud protests, even as the government defended the advertisement.
BJP members also staged a walkout, objecting to the state government’s criticism of the Centre and its decision to repeal the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act.
The opposition further accused the government of "disrespecting" Mahatma Gandhi, alleging that the advertisement issued by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department featured caricatures of Gandhi in conversation with a man named Sangappa—depicted wearing a white shirt and khaki trousers, which the BJP claimed resembled an RSS uniform—highlighting alleged shortcomings of the Centre’s scheme compared to the earlier legislation.
Raising the issue in the Assembly, senior BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said, "There is a front-page advertisement in all newspapers. The government functions using taxpayers’ money."
"If the Congress party had issued an advertisement against the central government’s Act, that would have been acceptable. But such an advertisement issued by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department against the VB-G RAM G Act is not right," he added.
"This is a clear loot of taxpayers’ money by the government for false propaganda and vendetta politics," he alleged.
Defending the advertisement, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge said the BJP appeared to suggest that the state government should accept everything the central government says "with folded hands and remain silent."
He maintained that the advertisement did not violate any law. "Let the BJP point out which law has been violated," Priyank said.
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BJP writes to EC about 'non-deployment' of central forces to avert clash
Kolkata (PTI): The BJP on Sunday wrote to the Election Commission alleging that its workers were not given security and came under attack while travelling to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground on March 14 and sought action over the alleged non-deployment of central forces by police.
In a letter to the poll panel, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria claimed that buses carrying party workers to the rally were targeted with bricks in the Girish Park area of north Kolkata, leaving several activists injured, some of whom were hospitalised.
Trouble broke out in the area when BJP activists objected to the putting up of flexes which read 'Boycott BJP', before the house of state minister Shashi Panja and tore down the flexes. Heavy brick batting followed as both sides regrouped along Central Avenue, and the window panes on the ground-floor room of Panja's residence were damaged in stone pelting.
The minister claimed she and several of her party members were injured in the brickbatting by rally-bound BJP supporters.
In the letter, the BJP alleged that despite a substantial deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) ahead of the elections, the forces were not present at the site of the disturbance to ensure the safety of its workers and leaders.
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Putting the onus on TMC for the violence, the letter said, "A large number of buses bringing BJP 'karyakartas' to attend the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Brigade Parade Ground were subjected to large-scale brick-batting and violence, resulting in several BJP leaders sustaining injuries, many of whom had to be hospitalised."
Attaching purported photos and videos of the clash to back up their claims of TMC instigation, the letter said: "What was particularly of grave concern was that despite a big deployment of CAPF well before the polls, their complete absence at the spot during the disturbance, or in any part of the city of Kolkata."
"We would like to put on record that the presence of Kolkata Police at the spot of disturbance establishes the fact that they had an advance intelligence report of possible violence and yet kept the CAPF out," the BJP leader said in the letter to the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
"Given the seriousness of the incident and the injuries sustained by several of our karyakarta, it raises concerns among citizens regarding the effective deployment of CAPF for preventing violence, and ensuring a free and fair electoral environment," the letter said.
"We request your good office to kindly take the strongest possible action against those who were responsible for this non-deployment of CAPF, resulting in this incident and ensure that in future deployment is carried out in a manner that truly serves its intended purpose of area domination, confidence building, and timely intervention wherever law and order situations arises from now till the elections are over," the letter said.
The BJP also reminded the commission that a party delegation had earlier met the full bench of the poll body on March 9 and raised concerns that CAPF personnel were being deployed for route marches in peaceful areas and highways instead of in locations requiring voter confidence-building measures.
At least eight persons, including a police officer, were injured in brickbatting, which broke out half an hour before the arrival of the Prime Minister at the Brigade Rally. The clash continued for about an hour as both sides fought a pitched battle on the road and nearby by-lanes before reinforcements brought the situation under control.
