Karnataka becoming safe haven for communal elements, criminals: Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar
New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar claimed on Wednesday that Karnataka is becoming a "safe haven" for communal elements and criminals as he hit out at the Congress government in the southern state over the killing of a Jain monk in Belagavi district.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka also claimed that the state police swung into action in the matter only after repeated protests by the BJP.
"It is shocking that Karnataka under Rahul Gandhi's Congress government has in a few months become a safe haven for communal elements and criminals. The brutal murder of the Jain monk is shocking," Chandrasekhar said.
Claiming that the state police swung into action only after repeated protests staged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said it is shocking and questions should be asked as to what is happening in Karnataka where law and order was restored under the previous government of the saffron party.
Citing several recent incidents of crime, Chandrasekhar said it is like "rampant unleashing of vested interests because they must be feeling that Karnataka is a safe haven as long as the target are these people who are associated with a particular religion or faith".
It is sad to see that the state is becoming a "centre of such brutal and violent crimes", he alleged.
Jain monk Acharya Sri Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj, who was heading a monastery at Hirekodi in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi, was chopped into pieces and his dismembered body parts were dumped in a defunct borewell.
Two men -- Narayana Basappa Madi and Hassan Dalayath -- have been arrested in the case. Police suspect that money-related matters were behind the killing.
Opposition BJP legislators staged a sit-in on Wednesday near the Gandhi statue in the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the Karnataka legislature in Bengaluru, against the brutal killing of the Jain monk.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
