Siddaramaiah mocks BJP over Sowjanya issue
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday ridiculed the BJP's assurance to the mother of Sowjanya, a rape-murder victim, that it will bear the expenses if the family moved the Supreme Court over the matter.
Replying to a query on BJP’s promise, Siddaramaiah sought to know, under whose control was the CBI.
"During whose tenure the judgment came. What is the meaning in bearing the expenses now in the Supreme Court after acquitting the accused," he asked.
He said Sowjanya’s mother has to decide whether it is a fit case for appeal or not.
Mocking the BJP's campaign, which alleged that the SIT probe was aimed at defaming Dharmasthala and the temple management, Siddaramaiah said, It was "Politics Chalo" and not "Dharmasthala Chalo."
On September 1, the BJP state president B Y Vijayendra met Sowjanya's mother as part of his party’s "Dharmasthala Chalo" campaign and assured her that he and the party would stand with her to take up the matter in the Supreme Court.
Sowjanya was kidnapped, raped and murdered in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district in 2012. The CBI investigated the case. The accused in the case was later acquitted for want of evidence.
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Karnataka govt to strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy, after HC directive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has said that the government will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy across all sectors at the earliest, following the High Court directive.
The High Court of Karnataka had recently directed the state government to "strictly and faithfully" implement the menstrual leave policy, pending formal enactment of the proposed legislation.
"I welcome the directive issued by the Karnataka High Court in support of our state government's ambitious menstrual leave policy," Lad said.
The state government has taken firm steps to implement the menstrual leave policy comprehensively, and as a model to the country, he said in a post on 'X' on Thursday.
"In line with the court's opinion that menstrual leave is a matter of women's dignity, justice, and humane recognition of their lived realities, we will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy--equivalent to one day per month, or 12 days per year--across all sectors at the earliest," he added.
The court had said that in the interregnum, it shall be incumbent upon the state to ensure effective operationalisation of the policy through the issuance of suitable guidelines, circulars, and administrative instructions, as may be necessary to secure its uniform, consistent, and rigorous implementation across all sectors.
The court issued the directive while hearing on a petition filed by 41-year-old Chandravva Hanumant Gokavi, who works in a hotel in Mudalgi of Gokak taluk in Belagavi district, before the Dharwad bench, seeking implementation of the November 20, 2025, order of the government providing one-day menstrual leave for all working women.
