Karnataka govt proclaims 2025 as 'Gandhi Bharat Year' to mark centenary of Congress' Belgaum session
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has proclaimed 2025 as "Gandhi Bharat Year" to commemorate the Congress' 1924 session under Mahatma Gandhi's leadership.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The 39th session of the Indian National Congress was held in 1924 in the border district headquarter town of Belagavi (earlier called Belgaum) in north Karnataka.
"The chief minister has given instructions to start preparations for organising meaningful programmes in the name of 'Gandhi Bharat' throughout the year as part of the centenary celebrations," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement.
The programmes will be launched on December 26 and 27 as part of the session's centenary celebrations.
A decision was also taken to hold a Congress Working Committee meeting in Belagavi on December 26 and a public meeting on December 27.
Siddaramaiah also directed officials to illuminate the major 32-kilometre stretch of roads and 30 intersections of Belagavi city in line with Mysuru Dasara.
The location where the Congress' 1924 session was held will be developed as a Veera Soudha. A library will be built and a Gandhi statue installed at the site.
It was also decided to construct a temporary Virupaksha Gopuram as a centenary memorial on the 2.1-kilometre Congress Road in Belagavi and relief sculptures along the railway barrier.
Memorial pillars will be built at 120 places in the state that Gandhi visited at different times, according to the statement.
It was also decided to dub "Gandhi", the 1982 film produced and directed by Richard Attenborough, in Kannada.
A photo gallery reflecting the Congress session and the freedom movement will come up in the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.
A special postal stamp will be released to commemorate the centenary of the session, the statement said.
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Pune journalist booked on voyeurism charge for filming woman at lodge
Pune (PTI): Police have registered a case of voyeurism against a television journalist in Pune for allegedly filming a woman in an objectionable position without her consent at a lodge in the city, officials said on Saturday.
The FIR was filed against Rohan Kadam under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 77 (voyeurism) and 3(5) (common intention) at the Vishrambaug police station here, while the complaint mentions that he was accompanied by three other journalists, they said.
The incident took place on April 8 when the accused had checked into a room at a lodge in Budhwar Peth, which houses a red light area.
In her complaint, the woman said that while she was wearing her saree after establishing "physical relations with a customer", she realised that an unidentified person was filming her through a net above the partition wall between the rooms.
She opened the door of her room and knocked on the adjacent door, asking the person to come out, the FIR said.
"The woman sought clarification from Kadam, who gave vague answers and refused to show his phone. When the lodge operator, the woman and others questioned him, he claimed that they were a group of four journalists conducting a sting operation," it said.
Police said Kadam was assaulted when he allegedly tried to flee from the spot.
The woman later approached the Vishrambaug police station and lodged a complaint.
"We have registered a case in this regard and further probe is on," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) has written a letter to city Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, seeking action against the journalist for the alleged act.
In the letter, the journalists' body said there were murmurs that some journalists and others were trying to ensure that no offence is registered in the matter.
"We do not agree with this and clarify that PUWJ will not come in the way of the probe," the letter stated.
