Opposition BJP stages protest demanding CBI probe into Jain monk murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): Opposition BJP legislators on Wednesday staged a sit-in demonstration near Gandhi statue in Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the Karnataka legislature, here against the brutal murder of Jain monk Acharya Sri Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj in Belagavi.
Led by former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, the legislators sat near the statue and raised slogans against the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.
The BJP said ever since the Congress came to power in May, another round of murders of Hindu figures have started and the killing of the Jain monk was a glaring example.
The opposition party has demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder case saying it required an impartial investigation.
The Jain monk heading a monastery at Hirekodi in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi district was chopped into pieces and his dismembered body parts were dumped in a defunct borewell.
Two people, Narayana Basappa Madi and Hassan Dalayath, have been arrested in the case. Police suspect money-related matters were behind the murder.
Former ministers R Ashoka, V Sunil Kumar Dr C N ashwath Narayan and many others joined the protest.
Later, they took out a march towards Raj Bhavan to submit a memorandum to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
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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.
