Siddaramaiah govt most unpopular in Karnataka's history, says state BJP chief BY Vijayendra
Bengaluru, Feb 5: Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra criticised the Congress government on Monday over the allegedly worsening financial situation in the state and accused the Siddaramaiah administration of shirking its responsibility while "unnecessarily" blaming the BJP-led Centre for its woes.
Vijayendra raised two issues in particular, one to do with an incentive scheme for farmers and the other over the development funds of MLAs.
He said the government has stopped an incentive scheme for dairy farmers launched by the earlier BJP dispensation headed by B S Yediyurappa. Speaking to reporters here, he said the milk producers are owed a total of Rs 700 crore, the payment of which has been pending for the past few months.
ALSO READ: Cong govt's protest in Delhi against "injustice" to State, not against BJP: CM Siddaramaiah
Citing the drought in the state, Vijayendra demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds charge of the finance ministry, immediately release the dues to the distressed dairy farmers. "Otherwise farmers along with cattle...will come to the streets and protest against the state's Congress government," he warned.
"Is it not the responsibility of the state government to come to the rescue of the farmers during drought," he asked, slamming the Congress leaders for "trying to escape" from their responsibility by "unnecessarily blaming the Central government and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji on every occasion".
On the issue of MLAs' development funds, he alleged that not a single rupee has been released by the government. "The financial position...of the state is worsening day by day," he claimed, remarking that "this is the most unpopular state government in the history of Karnataka."
Vijayendra also alleged that Dalits in the state are in distress as the government has diverted the "entire funds of Rs 11,600 crore", meant for their welfare, to other programmes. "And today the Congress is blaming BJP and Modiji. It's the utter failure of the chief minister and Congress government," he alleged.
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Delhi riots 2020: HC to hear Umar Khalid's bail plea in UAPA case on Monday
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal riots here in February 2020.
The bail pleas by other co-accused in the case -- student activist Sharjeel Imam and Gulfisha Fatima, 'United Against Hate' founder Khalid Saifi and others -- are also listed for fresh hearing before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur.
The cases were earlier before a bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait but the judge was recently transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court as its Chief Justice.
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence had erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.
Umar Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020, has assailed a trial court order of May 28, which refused to grant him bail in the case. Notice on his appeal was issued by the high court in July.
The pleas of Imam, Saifi and other accused were filed in 2022 and have been listed before different benches from time to time since then.
Sharjeel Imam, in his appeal filed in 2022, has assailed a trial court order of April 11, 2022 which refused to grant him bail. The police had arrested Imam in the present case on August 25, 2020.
On May 28, the trial court had rejected Umar Khalid's plea seeking regular bail for the second time, saying its previous order dismissing his first bail application had attained finality.
"When the Delhi High Court has already dismissed the criminal appeal of the applicant (Khalid) vide order dated October 18, 2022, and thereafter, the applicant approached the Supreme Court and withdrew his petition, the order of this court as passed on March 24, 2022 (on the first bail plea), has attained finality and now, in no stretch of imagination this court can make analysis of the facts of the case as desired by the applicant and consider the relief as prayed by him," the trial court had said.
On October 18, 2022, the high court had upheld the dismissal of the first bail plea and said the city police's allegations against Umar Khalid are prima facie true.
The high court had said that admittedly, the anti-CAA protests "metamorphosed into violent riots", which "prima facie seemed to be orchestrated at the conspiratorial meetings" and the statements of the witnesses indicate Khalid's "active involvement" in the protests.
