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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Vadodara, Jan 12: An associate professor of a university in Gujarat's Vadodara has been arrested for allegedly stalking and intimidating a woman student, police said on Sunday.

Mohammed Azhar Dheriwala, an associate professor of Hindi at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU), allegedly harassed the student and threatened to end her career, an official from Sayajigunj police station said.

Dheriwala, who has been associated with MSU for 23 years, was arrested on Saturday night.

Police inspector Z N Dhasura said the accused was earlier suspended based on the recommendation of the University's internal complaints committee (ICC) of the women's grievance redressal cell (WGRC) after another student accused him of sexual harassment.

The complainant, a second-year Master of Arts student, has alleged that Dheriwala approached her on the afternoon of January 4 and asked her to accompany him to his house.

When she refused, he allegedly threatened to end her career and even followed her to her residence, she stated in her complaint.

Dhasura said a case was registered under sections 78 (stalking), 352 (intentionally insulting someone to provoke a breach of peace) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).