Congress' candidates for about 60 seats in Karnataka unsuitable, party will lose badly: CM Bommai
Shivamogga (K'taka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday commented that the Congress didn't have suitable candidates in about 60 seats and the party would lose badly in the May 10 Assembly polls, performing worse than last time.
He said the Congress lacked not only candidates, but a base in the State as well as clarity on its policies.
"As per my understanding, Congress doesn't have suitable candidates in about 60 seats, so they are trying to get people from here and there," Bommai said in response to a question. "As I had said earlier, D K Shivakumar while preparing Congress' second list contacted almost all our MLAs saying, 'seats have been reserved for you, will you join?'" .
Speaking to reporters here, he said that the Congress and Shivakumar speak with valour, but the reality inside was different.
"They (Congress) will lose badly than last time, there is no doubt on that, because they neither have candidates, nor base nor clarity on policies -- whether it is on reservation or on development. They feel that by speaking with carelessness they can win the election. It is not possible," he added.
Bommai had recently accused Shivakumar of making phone calls to BJP MLAs and offering them tickets in constituencies where the Congress was yet to announce candidates.
The KPCC chief on his part had hit back at this, pointing at saffron party leaders' "knocking at the doors" of Congress MLAs and ensuring that they jumped ship to the BJP to bring the party to power in 2019.
Congress has announced candidates for 166 of the total 224 seats, and is yet to finalise the list for the remaining 58 seats.
Responding to a question regarding Shivakumar's statement that the Congress, on coming to power, would cancel the reservation-related decisions of the BJP government, the CM said, "Let him do, let's see...it is not possible."
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Pune journalist booked on voyeurism charge for filming woman at lodge
Pune (PTI): Police have registered a case of voyeurism against a television journalist in Pune for allegedly filming a woman in an objectionable position without her consent at a lodge in the city, officials said on Saturday.
The FIR was filed against Rohan Kadam under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 77 (voyeurism) and 3(5) (common intention) at the Vishrambaug police station here, while the complaint mentions that he was accompanied by three other journalists, they said.
The incident took place on April 8 when the accused had checked into a room at a lodge in Budhwar Peth, which houses a red light area.
In her complaint, the woman said that while she was wearing her saree after establishing "physical relations with a customer", she realised that an unidentified person was filming her through a net above the partition wall between the rooms.
She opened the door of her room and knocked on the adjacent door, asking the person to come out, the FIR said.
"The woman sought clarification from Kadam, who gave vague answers and refused to show his phone. When the lodge operator, the woman and others questioned him, he claimed that they were a group of four journalists conducting a sting operation," it said.
Police said Kadam was assaulted when he allegedly tried to flee from the spot.
The woman later approached the Vishrambaug police station and lodged a complaint.
"We have registered a case in this regard and further probe is on," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) has written a letter to city Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, seeking action against the journalist for the alleged act.
In the letter, the journalists' body said there were murmurs that some journalists and others were trying to ensure that no offence is registered in the matter.
"We do not agree with this and clarify that PUWJ will not come in the way of the probe," the letter stated.
