Bengaluru: Minister in the outgoing BJP government K Sudhakar on Wednesday questioned former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah whether he can deny the fact that he had no role, ''implicitly or explicitly'', in the move by Congress MLAs to quit the party when the coalition government was in office in 2019.

He raised the issue at a time when Siddaramaiah is in a stiff competition with state Congress president D K Shivakumar to become the CM, after Congress won the Assembly polls by securing 135 seats In a series of tweets, Sudhakar accused the Congress leader of assuring the MLAs that he won't allow the then H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government to continue even for a single day after 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sudhakar was earlier with Congress. He was one among the 17 Congress-JD(S) legislators who quit and defected to BJP that led to the collapse of the coalition government and paved the way for BJP to come to power.

''During the JDS-Congress coalition govt in 2018, whenever MLAs (Congress)went to the then Coordination Committe Chairman Siddaramaiah with their concerns, he used to express his helplessness and say that he has no say in the govt and his constituency/district works itself are stalled,'' Sudhakar claimed..

Further, Siddaramaiah used to assure MLAs to wait till 2019 Lok Sabha polls and come what may he won't allow the then coalition government to continue even for a single day after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Ultimately, some MLAs including him had to inevitably quit Congress and go back to the people in bypolls, to protect the 'karyakartas' and supporters in their constituencies, he said, and asked ''Can Shri Siddaramaiah deny the fact that he had no role, implicitly or explicitly, in this move by Congress MLAs?'' Sudhakar, after defecting to BJP, contested the bypolls on the party ticket and won, and also went on to become Health Minister in the government.

He lost the May 10 Assembly polls from Chikkaballapura seat.

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Kolkata, Nov 30: Two more Hindu priests were arrested in Bangladesh, ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das claimed on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, Radharamn said, "I have received information that two more ISKCON monks have been arrested by police in Bangladesh."

In a post on X on Friday night, Radharamn said, "In the meantime, bad news has come: two devotees who went with prasad for Chinmaya Prabhu were arrested on their way back to the temple, and Chinmaya prabhu's secretary is also missing. Please pray for them."

Earlier on Friday, Radharamn had posted, "Another Brahmachari, Sri Shyam Das Prabhu, was arrested by Chattogram Police today."

"Does he look like a terrorist? #FreeISKCONMonks Bangladesh. The arrest of innocent #ISKCON brahmacharis are deeply shocking & disturbing," Radharamn posted on X on Saturday. His comments comes comes in the backdrop of unconfirmed reports of arrest of three more ISKCON monks, days after the arrest of spiritual leader Chinmay Das.

Chinmay Das, who also served as a spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday while en route to Chattogram to attend a rally. He was denied bail and sent to jail on Tuesday by the Chattogram Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

Historically, Hindus made up approximately 22 per cent of Bangladesh's population during the 1971 Liberation War.

The Hindu population, once a substantial demographic in Bangladesh, has experienced a significant decline in recent decades, with the minority community now comprising only around 8 per cent of the country's total population.

This drop is largely attributed to a combination of socio-political marginalisation, exodus and sporadic violence over the years.