BJP's MK Pranesh elected Karnataka Legislative Council's Deputy Chairman
Belagavi (K'taka), Dec 23: BJP MLC M K Pranesh was on Friday elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council.
This is the second term for Pranesh as Deputy Chairman.
He won by securing 39 votes against Congress' Arun Kumar Arali, who got 26 votes.
The JD(S), which has eight MLCs, remained neutral.
There was some heated exchange between Congress and JD(S) at the beginning of the election process.
JD(S) MLC Bhoje Gowda accused the Congress of not fielding a candidate against Council chairman Basavaraj Horatti (from BJP), during the election to the Chairman post held on Wednesday, as the latter belonged to an upper caste.
Horatti was elected unopposed as the chairman of Legislative Council, with no candidates in the fray from Congress and JD(S).
Leader of the Opposition B K Hariprasad, from the Congress, hit back stating that his party did not field a candidate against Horatti, considering his seniority and not his caste.
Horatti too said, "Don't paint a caste colour on me. Many in this House don't know what caste I belong to," said the leader who belongs to the Lingayat community.
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Karnataka Governor gives assent to legislation against ‘honour killing’ in inter-caste marriages
Bengaluru: The government has brought into force the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of honour and tradition (Eva Nammava Eva Nammava) Act, 2026, intended to restrict ‘honour killings’ in inter-caste marriages.
According to The Indian Express, the legislation received assent from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on April 9 and was officially notified in the state gazette on April 10. The law had been passed unanimously by the state legislature last month.
The Bill was proposed by the Congress government in the wake of caste-linked ‘honour killings’ in the state, including the December 21, 2025, murder near Hubli of a 20-year-old Lingayat woman by her father for marrying a man from another caste.
The phrase ‘Eva Nammava Eva Nammava’ in the title is in reference to the message of universal humanity that the Lingayat saint Basavanna espoused. Basavanna, who rebelled against the caste system to lay the foundation of the Lingayat faith system, an amalgamation of all castes, used the words meaning ‘he is a part of me’ to say all people are one.
Under the new law, crimes committed in the name of ‘honour’, including murder, assault, threats, and social boycott, are specifically addressed with stringent punishments. ‘Honour killing’ offences carry a minimum imprisonment of five years, while serious assaults attract at least three years in jail.
The new law defines the social boycott of inter-caste couples as forcible eviction to remote corners of villages, refusal to provide services, refusal to provide work, refusal to conduct business, denial of loans and admissions to schools, and makes it punishable.
In the case of ‘honour killings’ per se, the new law prescribes a minimum imprisonment of five years, and in the case of assaults, a prison term that is not less than three years for serious injury and two years for minor injuries.
The offences under the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, which means police can carry out arrests without court permissions after taking up a case.
The legislation follows several reported inter-caste relationship-related killings in Karnataka in 2025, including cases in Raichur and another involving 18-year-old Kavita.
The law to protect the freedom of choice in marriages is among several social bills that the Congress government has brought out in line with its policies for the backward and downtrodden communities in the state.
