D K Shivakumar rubbishes reports of pressure on Govt to favour actor Darshan in murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday rubbished reports that the government is under pressure from "influential people" to favour Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who has been arrested in connection with a murder case.
He also refuted BJP's allegations against the Congress government of indulging in "hate politics", following the arrest warrant against its leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in a POCSO case.
"There is no pressure from anyone.....neither our Home Minister or anyone else is involved (interfering) in it (investigation), we are not recommending anything, we don't know anything," Shivakumar said in response to a question that some influential people are exerting pressure on the government in the Darshan case.
His statement comes in the wake of some reports about a state minister's alleged efforts to "shield" Darshan.
Regarding allegations that "royal treatment" was being given to Darshan at the police station where he is held and pandals were erected there to maintain "secrecy", Shivakumar said: "I inquired with the police. There are 13 accused there (at the police station), as you (media) stand with your cameras there from morning till evening, they (police) need an opportunity to work freely, so they have put (erected a pandal) there."
Darshan, popularly known as "Challenging Star", and his associates were arrested on Tuesday for the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor.
Renukaswamy, a resident of district headquarters town of Chitradurga, allegedly commented on the social media account of Pavithra Gowda, a friend of Darshan and small-time actress, accusing her of creating a rift between the actor and his wife. He also allegedly used "indecent language" and posted offensive messages, according to police sources.
On BJP alleging "hate politics", with respect to a case and arrest warrant against Yediyurappa, Shivakumar questioned about the saffron party's case against its leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with which he had to appear before a court here recently.
"I have not gone into details about it (case). The Congress party doesn't hate anyone. If I speak about hate politics it will go somewhere else, so I don't want to speak...I feel pity (for Yediyurappa), because I too have suffered from it. I know the pain," he said.
Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.
"Case against Rahul Gandhi (filed by BJP) is what kind of politics" he asked. " It is the BJP that is doing hate politics. Did Rahul Gandhi give the advertisement? Is Rahul Gandhi AICC or KPCC President? He did not give any advertisement. It was given by our KPCC, based on Yatnal (BJP MLA) statement which appeared in newspapers. Didn't the BJP file a case against us? Didn't we go to court? What is it called? Didn't Vijayendra (state BJP chief) have commonsense for filing a case?".
Rahul Gandhi had appeared before a special court here on June 7 in connection with a defamation case filed by the Karnataka BJP for issuing "defamatory" advertisements in mainstream newspapers.
The advertisement ahead of Assembly polls last year had accused the then BJP government in the state of indulging in large-scale corruption during its 2019-2023 rule.
On June one, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar too had appeared before the court, in connection with the case.
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.
Uttarakhand Assembly passes censure motion against opposition over women's reservation bill
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a censure motion against the Congress and other opposition parties on Tuesday for allegedly blocking the passage of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, in Parliament.
The motion, which expressed the House's formal disapproval of the opposition's conduct, triggered a massive uproar by Congress members, leading to the adjournment of the House sine die.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal moved the censure motion, citing the "uncooperative attitude" of opposition parties toward the bill seeking 33 per cent reservation for women in legislative bodies.
Addressing a special daylong session convened specifically to discuss "Nari Samman -- Rights in Democracy", Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the bill's passage would have benefitted every political party.
Dhami noted that after delimitation, the number of Assembly seats in the hill state would have gone up to 105, with 35 reserved for women. He added that the number of Lok Sabha seats from Uttarakhand would have risen from five to seven or eight.
"The opposition fears that if women from ordinary households enter politics, the shops of dynastic politics run by certain parties will shut down," the chief minister claimed.
He compared the opposition's conduct in Parliament to the assembly in Mahabharat where Draupadi was insulted. Dhami further likened the opposition's behaviour to the "arrogance of Ravan".
The chief minister highlighted his government's initiatives, asserting that Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to protect women's rights. He said the UCC freed Muslim women from practices like "halala", "iddat", polygamy and child marriage.
Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya questioned the technical feasibility of the bill, calling the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) claims of providing reservation by 2029 "misleading".
He argued that the bill is linked to census and delimitation processes. The Congress leader said the 2026 census would conclude by 2027 and the final data publication would take two more years.
"The delimitation process will take another six years. The actual implementation of this bill is not possible before 2034," Arya said, describing the move as a strategy to protect the BJP's "political ground".
The session also saw high drama outside the Assembly gates, where Congress MLA Virendra Jati staged a protest, demanding the payment of "outstanding" dues to farmers by sugar mills.
Jati arrived at the Assembly's main gate with a tractor-trolley loaded with sugarcane and dumped it on the road. The move brought the traffic to a halt, prompting traffic and security personnel to intervene and clear the area.
Women Congress workers also staged a demonstration against the "anti-people policies" of the state government.
