Karnataka BJP MPs betrayed people of the state, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit out at the BJP MPs from Karnataka for not raising their voice against the injustice to the state in tax devolution.
He appealed to people to rise against the 'injustice' to the state.
Addressing reporters, Siddaramaiah said the state has received Rs 6,498 crore while Uttar Pradesh got Rs 31,987 crore, marking a huge difference in the tax devolution between the two states.
"People need to raise their voice against the injustice to Karnataka. The BJP leaders supporting the Centre are betraying the people of the state, be it Pralhad Joshi or anyone else," he said.
"So many MPs have gone from Karnataka. They need to raise their voice, which they have not done."
According to the CM, the state has incurred a loss of Rs 60,000 crore in tax devolution in five years.
Asked about the next move of the government on this, Siddaramaiah said he would discuss it with his cabinet colleagues.
In a statement on this issue on Saturday, Siddaramaiah questioned, "Uttar Pradesh, infamous for its poor governance, has been allocated Rs 31,962 crore; Bihar, Rs 17,921 crore; Madhya Pradesh, Rs 13,987 crore; and Rajasthan, Rs 10,737 crore. Why should the sweat and toil of Karnataka fuel the growth of states that have lagged behind due to maladministration?"
On the cabinet's decision to grant clemency to Hubballi rioters belonging to minority community, Siddaramaiah said several RSS leaders were also released when the BJP was in power.
The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday decided to withdraw a criminal case registered against a mob which had attacked policemen with stones on April 16, 2022 in Hubballi town.
This is one of the 43 cases the state Cabinet decided to withdraw at its meeting on Thursday following a petition by the Anjuman-e-Islam to the Home Minister G Parameshwara, official sources said.
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Haryana-resident arrested for Baba Siddique's murder has criminal background: Police
Chandigarh (PTI): Haryana-resident Gurmail Baljit Singh, accused of being one of the shooters who killed NCP leader Baba Siddique, has a prior criminal history, including a murder case against him, police said on Sunday.
Twenty-three-year-old Singh's family said they disowned him 11 years ago and have called for exemplary punishment for his actions.
Mumbai Police has arrested two of the alleged assailants -- Singh from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh-native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap. The third accused, Shiv Kumar, is on the run and efforts are on to trace him, police said.
The trio have been booked under relevant Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including for murder and under provisions of the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act, they said.
Giving details of Singh's criminal record, Kaithal Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kalia told PTI that the accused was arrested in a murder case in 2019, in which he got bail later.
Another case was registered against him after a mobile phone was recovered from him in jail in 2022, the Haryana Police officer said. He had been booked in another case of beating a youth, he said.
Singh's grandmother Phuli Devi told reporters in Kaithal that the family disowned him 11 years ago. "His parents have passed away. The family has disowned him since past eleven years. He is nothing to us now," she told reporters at her residence in her Narar village.
Asked about what work Singh did, his grandmother said, "He did nothing. He came out of jail on bail. He was in jail for four years."
She said he should be given exemplary punishment as per law for his deeds.
Mumbai Police has launched a probe into the killing of the former Maharashtra minister from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said on Sunday.
They were also verifying a social media post in which an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has taken responsibility for the murder, police said.
Baba Siddique (66) was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot at on Saturday night. He was taken to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai where he was declared dead.
