Focus on government, Congress President Kharge tells ministers demanding 3 DCM posts
Kalaburagi, Jan 9: Amid demands by some ministers that three deputy chief ministers should be appointed in Karnataka, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said such demands should not arise when elections are around the corner.
Denying that he has received any such demand yet, Kharge said the party leaders should focus on addressing people's woes.
When asked about the demand for three deputy chief ministers in the state, Kharge said, "Ask Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar."
Stating that the matter should first come to him for consideration, the Congress president said it has not yet been brought to him.
In a rebuke of the leaders raising the demand, Kharge said, "Such speculations should not be brought during elections. We should focus on the functioning of the government, people's problems and the implementation of the guarantees."
ALSO READ: Party high command to decide on demand for three Deputy CMs in Karnataka: D K Shivakumar
He said Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been working towards achieving these goals.
"Till we achieve our goals, we should not talk about such things," Kharge added.
Recently Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna raised the demand for appointing three deputy chief ministers in the state saying it would help the Congress win maximum seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
He even cited the example of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where there is more than one deputy chief minister.
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.
Chhattisgarh: Three detained in connection with Bijapur journalist's murder
Bijapur (PTI): Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder of a 33-year-old journalist whose body was found in a septic tank on a local contractor's property in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Saturday.
Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance journalist, went missing on January 1, and his body was found on Friday in the septic tank on a property owned by contractor Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town.
"Three persons have been detained in connection with the murder and are being interrogated," an official here said.
The police, however, did not disclose their names and said the details would be revealed later in the day.
Mukesh worked as a freelance journalist for news channels, including NDTV, and ran a YouTube channel, 'Bastar Junction', which has some 1.59 lakh subscribers. He had played a crucial role in the release of a CoBRA commando, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, from Maoists' captivity in April 2021 following the Takalguda Naxal ambush in Bijapur, wherein 22 security personnel were martyred.
He went missing on Wednesday evening, and his elder brother Yukesh Chandrakar lodged a complaint with the police the next day, a senior police official said.
Tracking Mukesh's mobile number, police reached the property owned by Suresh Chandrakar and found the body in a septic tank, which was freshly cast with concrete slab, he said.
Police suspect the murder is linked to a recent report of irregularities in road construction work in the district the victim had covered. Suresh Chandrakar is said to be involved in the work.
Journalists held a symbolic road blockade at Hospital Chowk on National Highway 36 in the city in the morning, demanding that the contractor's properties in Bastar division, including Bijapur, be attached and a case be registered against him.
They also demanded a death sentence for the contractor and others involved in the murder, removal of security detail for him, and sealing of his bank accounts, among other demands.
The protesting journalists also sought the suspension or transfer of the Bijapur superintendent of police.
Protestors have warned of an indefinite road blockade from Sunday if their demands are not met.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday assured that the culprits would be arrested at the earliest.
Meanwhile, members of the Raipur Press Club on Friday gathered at Jai Stambh Chowk and demanded action against the killers and sought that the state government constitute a special investigation team to probe the murder.
