Didn’t Yeddyurappa know I am Lingayat leader?: MLA BC Patil
Bengaluru, May 21: “Did BS Yeddyurappa, who did not sanction funds to Hirekerur constituency when he was the chief minister, was unaware that I am a Lingayat leader”, asked MLA BC Patil.
In a tweet, Patil said that the BJP has made futile attempt to poach many MLAs including himself of the Congress keeping the Lingayat card. Didn’t Yeddyurappa know that he was a Lingayat leader from North Karnataka, Patil asked?
While speaking at the Vidhana Soudha during the floor test, Yeddyurappa admitted that he has contacted some of the Congress MLAs including himself. It was true that Yeddyurappa, Muralidhar Rao and Sri Ramulu have spoken to him and their voice is clear in those audio clips. “Before entering the politics, I was a police officer and I am elected from Hirekerur constituency for the third time. As I am the only Congress MLA from Haveri district, I am expecting a ministerial berth in the JDS-Congress combine”, he tweeted.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
