CM Yediyurappa directs ministers to take measures to contain COVID-19 in districts
Bengaluru, Apr 20: Amid raging COVID-19 cases in Karantaka, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday directed all his cabinet colleagues to work more proactively in districts they are in charge of to check the spread of the deadly disease.
The direction comes a day after opposition leaders, at an all party meeting, criticised the government over its handling of COVID crisis.
In a letter to the ministers, the Chief Minister said the second wave of coronavirus is taking the entire nation into its grip and all the districts need to take measures to contain it.
"Against this backdrop, you need to swing into action to prevent the spread of the disease in your district concerned, get in touch with the district authorities continuously and create awareness among people on controlling the spread of the virus," Yediyurappa stated.
The state government has issued guidelines aimed at controlling the spread of COVID, effective from tonight to May 4, according to which night curfew will be imposed in the entire state from 9 pm to 6 am and there shall be weekend curfew from Friday 9 pm to Monday 6 am.
It has also ordered closure of theatres, malls, bars and dine-in services at hotels to keep people from venturing out.
The CM also asked the ministers to ensure medical treatment is provided to those who have contracted the disease, so that situation does not go out of hand.
Karnataka on Tuesday had reported its biggest single day spike of 21,794 new cases of COVID-19, and 149 related fatalities, taking the total infection count to 11.98 lakh and the toll to 13,646.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
