Karnataka govt curtailed legislature session for Amit Shah's visit: Siddaramaiah
Belagavi (PTI): Accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of curtailing the legislature session by a day for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Thursday said, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai lacks guts to ask him not to come during the session.
He said the move to curtail the session is "against the state", and demanded that it be extended for another week to discuss public issues.
"The stance of the BJP government in Karnataka to cancel the proceedings of the House tomorrow in order to attend the Union Home Minister Amit Shah' programme is against the state. I demand that the session be extended for one more week and to provide an opportunity to discuss public issues," Siddaramaiah tweeted.
Stating that even 15 days won't be enough to discuss many issues, he said, "Keeping all that aside curtailing the session for bending the knee before Amit Shah, shows the indifference of the Karnataka BJP government towards the people."
The 10-day long winter session of Karnataka legislature which began in this border district on December 19 was to end on 30 December. However, Assembly Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri on Wednesday said that Thursday will be the last day.
Amit Shah will be arriving in Bengaluru tonight to attend various events and party meetings on December 30 and 31 in Mandya, Devanahalli and Bengaluru.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, the Congress leader said, the time was not sufficient to raise several issues of public importance in the House, and the government is curtailing the session, instead of extending.
"Amit Shah will come and go, just because Amit Shah is coming can the session be adjourned? Let whoever wants to go (for Amit Shah event) go and let the assembly continue its functioning on its part, the Speaker won't go any way. He (Bommai) should have told Amit Shah that I'm Chief Minister, don't come during the session, come later. He doesn't have that guts," he said.
When pointed out that Congress too is holding a convention "Krishna Yojana Samavesha" in Vijayapura on Friday, which he and other party leaders will be attending, Siddaramaiah said, "We have scheduled it at 4 PM, as the session will be half-a-day on Friday, we had planned to take a chopper to attend it after the assembly proceedings."
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NIA agrees to let Engineer Rashid take oath as MP, court to give order tomorrow
New Delhi (PTI): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday gave its consent for jailed Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, to take oath as MP on July 25. Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh will pass an order on the plea on Tuesday.
Rashid, an Independent MP from Baramulla who has been arrested in a 2017 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case, had moved the court seeking interim bail, or custody parole in the alternative, to take oath and perform his parliamentary functions. On June 22, a special court here had adjourned the matter and asked the NIA to file its response.
On Monday, the NIA's counsel said Rashid's oath taking be subject to some conditions like not speaking to the media. He also said Rashid, who is in Tihar Jail, must complete everything within a day.
Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after he was charged by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in a terror funding case.
The former MLA's name cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, arrested by the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Kashmir valley.
The NIA had filed a chargesheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin in the case. Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
