Bengaluru, June 8 (PTI): A day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the government will examine the proposal to shift the cricket stadium outside Bengaluru city, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday said he has sought for the file and the cabinet has to decide in this regard.
He also said that the lease amount that is being paid by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to the government is very less.
Responding to a question on the demand to shift the cricket stadium outside Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Sunday said, "we will examine it....place has to be identified."
The demand for shifting the stadium has gained momentum following the June 4 stampede in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium in which 11 people died.
"It's ours (department's) we have given it for lease. The cabinet has to decide about it," Jarkijoli said in response to a question by reporters, on any proposal by his department regarding shifting the stadium.
Asked if the PWD department will give land if the proposal comes for it to be moved outside the city, he said, "there is no need for us to give land, they (KSCA) have enough money, they can purchase a hundred acres. Earlier there was some need, hence the land was given (on lease to KSCA). Now if they want, they will have to purchase land."
Noting that the lease amount is very less, the Minister said, the lease has been renewed twice -- thirty years each.
"After the issue was raised recently, I have sought for the file, will look into it. Will check when the lease period ends. As far as I know the annual lease amount is very less," he added.
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Nagpur (PTI): The Vishva Hindu Parishad on Monday slammed Karnataka Congress minister Priyank Kharge for linking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to money laundering and asserted such statements were part of a strategy to insult patriotic organisations and defame patriots.
Kharge, while speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Sunday, cited the RSS' "network of more than 2,500 organisations, they are from America, England" to allege "these people are into money laundering".
Addressing a press conference here, VHP national organisational secretary Milind Parande said such statements will reduce the acceptance in society of those making them.
"They are trying to increase their credibility and trying to indulge in appeasement (with such remarks), both of which will not succeed. There are many forces and persons in India who have a problem with the awakening of Hindutva. They are coming up with such nonsense. Using such words and insulting patriotic organisations shows their intellectual bankruptcy," he said.
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"It will reduce their acceptance in society. What he (Kharge) said is absolutely false and even they know it. But they do it as a strategy to defame patriots. The people of Karnataka must think whether such people should be brought back to power. Hence, the VHP always asserts those who believe in the interests of Hindus must be in power at the Centre and in the states," Parande added.
Asked about the BNP winning polls in Bangladesh and whether it will improve the conditions of the Hindus there, Parande said it is expected that the community is protected irrespective of who is in power. So far, people there have been incapable of protecting Hindus, he said in reference to attacks on the community since the Sheikh Hasina government fell following an uprising in August 2024.
Asserting that most of the violence has been sponsored by political parties, Parande said, "The Hindu community is in a very dangerous situation in Bangladesh."
He also refused to comment on the face-off between the Uttar Pradesh government and Swami Avimukteshwaranand during Magh Mela festivities in Prayagraj. A controversy erupted on Mauni Amavasya morning at the Sangam Nose when police, citing heavy crowd pressure, allegedly stopped the seer from proceeding to the Sangam in a palanquin along with a large number of supporters.
The VHP as a practice does not give a statement on disputes between saints as it would not be appropriate, Parande said.
Without taking the name of Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, the VHP leader said it was surprising anyone from the state can make such a remark about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Congress leader has courted controversy by equating 18th Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan with the founder of the Maratha Empire.
On some persons sprinkling cow urine to purify a temple in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar following the visit of Muslim Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar in Sillod on Mahashivratri on Sunday, Parande said places of worship must be visited by those who have faith.
Without genuine sentiment, it becomes a mere political stunt, he said.
"Religion should never be exploited for political gain, as that insults faith," Parande said while not commenting on the 'purification' episode linked to the incident.
