Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday indicated that the state Congress may initiate disciplinary proceedings against Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan for referring to Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as “Kaalia” (dark-skinned), which the NDA had slammed as a "racist" slur.
Several Congress office-bearers have been pushing the party to crack the whip against Khan, a lawmaker from Chamarajpet, accusing him of causing damage and embarrassment to the party.
"Our state Congress President (D K Shivakumar), after the by-polls, has said that his (Khan's) statement had its impact on the election. There is a disciplinary committee in the party under (K) Rahman Khan (former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha). If the party president refers the matter to the disciplinary committee, they may call Khan and inquire him," Parameshwara said to a question on the impact of the Minister's statement on by-polls
Speaking to reporters here, he said: "if the matter is serious in nature the committee may recommend action against him."
Many Congress leaders and those in the political circles believe that Khan's statement had an adverse impact on the party's prospects in the Channapatna Assembly segment, which went for by-polls along with Shiggaon and Sandur seats on November 13. The results will be declared on November 23.
Khan had made those comments, during the campaigning in Channapatna, where Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy is the joint candidate of BJP-JD(S) alliance.
He had also claimed that the Muslim community had enough strength to raise funds to “buy” Kumaraswamy’s family.
Former PM and veteran politician H D Deve Gowda is Kumaraswamy's father.
Khan's comments had also come under intense criticism from the Vokkaliga community to which the Gowda family belongs to.
Channapatna Congress candidate C P Yogeeshwara too, after the voting, had lamented that Khan's controversial statements might have had an adverse impact on his high-stakes battle in the Vokkaliga dominated constituency.
With his comments becoming a major controversy, Khan last week tendered an apology.
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Khargone (MP) (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on Friday confirmed that a young woman from Madhya Pradesh who became famous due to her viral videos during the 2025 Maha Kumbh has been found to be a minor after an inquiry.
Citing the findings of an inquiry panel set up by the commission, local BJP leaders alleged that her interfaith marriage in Kerala last month was a case of "love Jihad", and sought legal action.
While the panel had submitted its report in March, ST commission chairman Antar Singh Arya confirmed its findings to the PTI on Friday.
A case for alleged kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has already been registered against her husband, a Muslim man, at Maheshwar on the basis of the inquiry findings, police said.
The girl gained national fame after her videos while selling garlands and rudraksha at the Maha Kumbh went viral on social media and also earned her a role in a film.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes set up an inquiry panel after receiving a complaint on March 17 from Pratham Dubey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, that she was a minor and was being exploited.
Maheshwar BJP MLA Rajkumar Mev and BJP mandal president Vikram Patel, armed with documents, told reporters on Friday that her marriage in Kerala was a case of "love Jihad" and she should be brought back home.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
Police said an investigation is underway, and further action would be taken accordingly.
The girl, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community, got married at a temple in Kerala in March. The interfaith marriage drew angry reactions from rightwing Hindu groups.
Her family members and film director Sanoj Mishra -- who had offered her a film role after she became famous -- too alleged that it was 'love Jihad'.
As per the inquiry conducted by the ST commission, records at the Maheshwar government hospital showed the woman's date of birth as December 30, 2009 which meant she was 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage, said Dubey, the complainant.
On a complaint filed by her father, police registered a case against the girl's husband at Maheshwar police station on March 25 for alleged kidnapping and under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police sources said that a separate case was also registered on March 24 under section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (taking a minor from lawful custody of guardian without their consent) based on the the commission's findings.
