Bengaluru, Nov 11: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Monday sought an apology from Union Minister Pralhad Joshi for his alleged statement calling Justice Michael D'Cunha as "an agent".
Rao and Gowda submitted a complaint to the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot demanding a legal action against Joshi for his alleged statement.
Union Minister's alleged statement came at a time, when the commission of enquiry led by Justice D'Cunha, probing the COVID scam charges against the erstwhile BJP government in the state, recommended in its preliminary report to prosecute former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and former health minister B Sriramulu.
The commission is probing the alleged irregularities in purchasing of medicines and equipment during the COVID19 pandemic, when BJP was in power.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Guv asks Advocate General to take action on plaint against minister Zameer Ahmed Khan
Explaining about his demand to probe Prahalad Joshi, Minister Gundu Rao told reporters that Justice Michael D'Cunha, a retired judge of high court, acted with integrity and Joshi being in a responsible position made an irresponsible statement for which he should apologise.
"Pralhad Joshi's recent statements were full of arrogance. What does it mean to call a retired judge as a Congress agent? Let Joshi speak about us politicians or fight a legal battle but attacking a judge is not right," he said.
The Minister alleged that Joshi was trying to put pressure on D'Cunha before the commission submits its final report. Calling D'Cunha 'a Congress agent' is part of the 'pressure tactic', he said.
The Karnataka government on October 11 decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a Cabinet sub-committee to take further action on the D' Cunha commission report. In the 'partial' report submitted on August 31 in 11 volumes, the Commission examined the expenditure to the tune of Rs 7,223.64 crore.
The Commission has recommended to prosecute the former CM B S Yediyurappa and former Health Minister B Sriramulu.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.
According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.
The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.
The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.
The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.
The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.
More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.
Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.
The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.
Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.
The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.
It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”
The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.
They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.
The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.
