HM Parameshwara congratulates CM Siddaramaiah on matching Devaraj Urs’ tenure record
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Thursday congratulated Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for completing 2,792 days in office, equalling the tenure of former chief minister D. Devaraj Urs.
Speaking to reporters at the Home Office in Sadashivanagar, Parameshwara said the achievement was possible because of the opportunity given by the Congress leadership. He also congratulated Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, K. C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Parameshwara said such long tenures were possible only in the Congress party. He noted that similar opportunities were earlier given to Devaraj Urs and are now being given to Siddaramaiah. He said the party’s ideology and long-term commitment to the poor and development had made this possible.
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On the Ballari incident, the Home Minister said political leaders should speak responsibly after verifying facts, as statements can have wider social consequences. He said doctors had clearly stated that the deceased had not undergone a post-mortem examination twice. Parameshwara said he trusted the doctors’ clarification and questioned claims suggesting otherwise.
Responding to remarks by Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, Parameshwara said he was serving his third term as Home Minister and had 38 years of political experience. He said he understood when and how decisions should be taken to maintain law and order in the state, and that he had taken firm decisions whenever required.
He added that Kumaraswamy, as a Union Minister, had access to information from across the country, but a single incident should not be used to judge the entire system. Parameshwara said the police take decisions at their level to maintain law and order, and the government issues directions when necessary in such situations.
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Goa Cong MP says he got ECI notice asking him to prove identity to retain name in electoral rolls
Panaji (PTI): Congress' Lok Sabha MP from South Goa Viriato Fernandes has alleged that he received a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI), in which he was asked to appear before it with documents to prove his identity in order to retain his name in the electoral rolls.
Fernandes, a former Navy officer, said that subjecting an MP to this kind of scrutiny confirms concerns raised by the Opposition that the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was aimed at deleting the names of legitimate voters to prevent them from participating in the voting process.
The Chief Electoral Office (CEO) in Goa, however, later issued a clarification, saying the MP's enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category and a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to him as mandatory details were not filled in.
In a social media post, Fernandes said, "Received notice from the ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain his name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024, including me, with the highest level of scrutiny before clearing name for contesting the elections."
"Incidentally, I have been voting since 1989 after becoming eligible, thanks to late PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji's initiative of giving voting rights for 18 year olds," he said.
He said he has travelled to Goa multiple times "from far off places of military posting" during his 26 years of service in the Indian Navy just to cast his vote, be it for Lok Sabha, assembly or zilla panchayat election.
"If a Member of Parliament can be subjected to this scrutiny, wonder the state of a common man, confirming concerns raised (by) Opposition parties and NGOs/Citizens about SIR being carried out by ECI to delete names of legitimate voters and prevent (them) from participating in the democratic process of voting," he added.
In the clarification issued later, the Goa CEO said, "During the course of the SIR, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Part No. 19 collected the enumeration form pertaining to the Hon'ble Member of Parliament, Captain Viriato Hipolito Mendonca Fernandes."
It was observed that the enumeration form did not contain mandatory details of the last SIR, including the assembly constituency number, part number and serial number in the electoral roll. As these essential particulars were not filled in, the BLO application could not automatically link the form with the existing electoral roll record, it said.
Accordingly, in the present case, the enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category by the system, and a hearing notice was generated and issued automatically as per the prescribed procedure, the CEO said, adding that the matter was under inquiry.
Received notice from ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain my name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024 including me with the highest level of… pic.twitter.com/BMWrzw26yC
— Capt. Viriato Fernandes (@ViriatoFern) January 7, 2026
