EC files FIR against Yeddyurappa over speech made on 'caste lines'
Bengaluru: Ahead of the crucial Karnataka bypolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said two first information reports (FIR) have been registered against Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa over his speeches soliciting votes in the name of caste.
"Alleged speech made by B.S. Yeddyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka on caste lines in Gokak and Shiruppi village in Kagwad Assembly constituency on November 23 have been inquired into," Additional Chief Electoral Officer (expenditure monitoring), Priyanka Mary Francis said in a statement, adding that two FIRs have been registered against the CM.
The ECI also charged six check post officials and suspended two of them for not checking the vehicle of Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai at Hanakere check post on November 20.
"An FIR has been registered in Maddur police station against the driver of vehicle trailing the Home Minister's vehicle for not cooperating with the check post officials," said Francis.
The entire team at the check post has been replaced.
Similarly, the ECI suspended four officials of its static surveillance team for not properly checking the vehicle of Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Raghavendra, a member of parliament, on November 25 at Varaha check post.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday filed a complaint with the ECI against former state chief minister Siddaramaiah for allegedly luring people to vote in favour of the Congress party.
The By-elections for 15 out of 17 seats in the state are slated to be held on December 5. The poll body has withheld the elections for two seats -- Maski and Rajarajeshwari -- as petitions against these Assembly constituencies are pending in the Karnataka High Court.
With winning a majority of seats being crucial for the government's survival, the BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators who joined the party as its candidates from their respective constituencies.
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Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj to meet Kejriwal in Tihar Jail
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj will meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The Delhi chief minister who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case on March 21 has not stepped down and the Aam Aadmi Party has asserted that he will continue to run the government from jail.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP's national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak met Kejriwal in Tihar Jail on April 15.
After the meeting, Pathak told reporters that Kejriwal will meet two ministers each week and review the progress of work under their respective departments.
After his arrest, Kejriwal had sent messages to his ministers to address issues such as water supply and availability of medicines in government hospitals. He also asked party MLAs to visit their constituencies and offer help to the people there.
