Karnataka reports no COVID-19 deaths for second consecutive day
Bengaluru(PTI): No fresh COVID-19 death was registered in Karnataka for the second consecutive day on Saturday, while 34 new cases took the cumulative tally in the state to 39,45,514.
The COVID related fatalities remained 40,054 for the past two days, the health department said.
Of the total infections reported on Saturday, Bengaluru urban district alone contributed 31 infections while Mysuru recorded the remaining three infections.
No fresh infections or fatalities were detected in 29 districts of the state.
In its daily COVID-19 bulletin, the health department said 72 people were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 39,03,998. Active cases stood at 1,516.
The positivity rate for the day was 0.19 per cent.
As many as 17,417 tests were conducted including 14,927 RT-PCR tests, taking the cumulative so far to 6.56 crore.
There were 10,696 inoculations done taking the total vaccinations so far to 10.41 crore, the department added.
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Excise scam allegation: Bhajans, sloganeering mark Opposition's overnight protest in Assembly
Bengaluru (PTI): Bhajans, religious chants, and sloganeering dominated the overnight agitation carried out by Opposition BJP and JD(S) MLAs inside the Karnataka Assembly premises.
The BJP and JD(S) MLAs have been staging protests, demanding Excise Minister R B Timmapur's resignation, since Tuesday night.
The Opposition has alleged widespread corruption in the Excise Department, saying that bribe is being demanded for issuing liquor licences.
Opposition leader R Ashoka alleged that there was a scam to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore in the department.
He also alleged that the money was being used by the ruling Congress to fund the party in the poll-bound states.
The recent trigger was the arrest of Excise Deputy Commissioner of the Bengaluru Urban District Jagadeesh Naik and two other officials by the Lokayukta sleuths, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh on January 16.
According to Lokayukta officials, they were accused of demanding Rs 80 lakh to issue CL-7 (Hotels & Boarding Houses) and micro brewery licence.
While replying to the Opposition’s charges, the minister said that he had taken steps to reduce corruption in his department. He also said that "corruption is not a new phenomenon in my department".
Timmapur has also declined the BJP's demand for his resignation, saying no ministers during the BJP government had ever stepped down.
The BJP leaders held a demonstration on the steps outside the Assembly hall, and they later slept inside the Assembly.
Playing tambourines, the MLAs raised slogans demanding Timmapur's resignation.
They also sang devotional chants like 'Sri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram'.
The opposition MLAs also held a meeting to draw their next course of action.
In the morning, some MLAs, including BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura Assembly constituency, did exercises and went for a walk on the Vidhana Soudha premises.
The BJP MLAs have said they will continue their agitation inside the Assembly until Timmapur resigns.
