Fighting against Joshi's divisive tactics, oppression of Veerashaiva-Lingayats: Dingaleshwar Swami
Hubballi: Fakira Dingaleshwara Swami, the pontiff of the Shirahatti Mutt, who recently withdrew his nomination as an Independent candidate from the Dharwad constituency, has renewed his criticism of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, accusing him of employing divisive tactics and oppressing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.
Addressing reporters in Hubballi on Saturday, the pontiff asserted his intention to challenge the BJP candidate, Joshi, whom he accuses of hindering the progress of Lingayats and Veerashaivas. Dingaleshwara Swami alleged that Joshi had thwarted the development of Dharwad despite representing the constituency for two decades. He questioned Joshi's track record in facilitating Central government appointments for locals and in allocating funds for Dharwad's development.
Accusing Joshi of pursuing a policy of divide-and-rule, Dingaleshwara Swami claimed that the BJP candidate regularly met with senior pontiffs to exert pressure on him. The pontiff warned Joshi against attempting to divide the mentor-disciple relationship between himself and the Shirahatti Mutt's senior pontiff, suggesting that such actions could lead to Joshi's marital separation. He also claimed to possess video evidence of Joshi's meetings with various pontiffs during the election period.
Critiquing Joshi's focus on the recent tragic incident involving Neha Hiremath in Hubballi, Dingaleshwara Swami accused him of exploiting the situation for political gain. The pontiff emphasized Joshi's alleged neglect of the backward classes and Lingayats throughout his tenure as MP.
Dingaleshwara Swami affirmed his desire for Joshi's defeat, citing significant cultural and social changes in Dharwad since Joshi assumed office. He also highlighted the alleged absence of government grants to mutts in the Dharwad constituency over the past 15 years.
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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.
