1. Cash-for-Resignation Taunts: BJP Files Plaint Against Congress
The state unit of the BJP filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Thursday, accusing former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah of “luring people” to vote for the Congress.
In its complaint, the BJP said Siddaramaiah had asked voters to take money from BC Patil, the BJP candidate in Hirekerur seat, but vote for the Congress candidate.
Addressing a rally in Ratihalli, Hirekerur, on Wednesday night, Siddaramaiah reportedly said: “Its yedbiti duddu being distributed by BC Patil. You take the money and vote for our candidate.” Hitting back at Siddaramaiah, Patil, a police-officerturned-actor-turned-politician, said: “How many crores did Siddaramaiah take from the Congress high command when he left JD(S) and joined Congress?”
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Bengaluru Civic Body Slaps Rs 1 lakh Fine on Flipkart Subsidiary for Burning Garbage
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner, Anil Kumar, put out a tweet on Thursday, showing that the civic body fined Instakart, a subsidiary of Flipkart, headquartered in Bellandur, Bengaluru. According to the Commissioner, the company was burning garbage on their property and were caught on camera. The company issued a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the BBMP.
“The fine is high, but we believe that it should serve as a deterrent,” Anil Kumar said. This is not the first time that the BBMP has cracked down on commercial establishments polluting the city. In an instance earlier this month, the BBMP fined a chicken meat shop for dumping feathers near Varthur, a suburban area in the city. According to the challan issued by the BBMP, the shop was fined for ‘dumping chicken waste’ in the Varthur lake buffer zone area.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. Siddaramaiah, HDK Booked for Sedition, Defamation
The Bengaluru City police have booked former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy, senior leaders of the Congress and the JD(S), and a few IPS officers on charges of sedition, defamation and under 23 other Sections of IPC for protesting against the income tax raids during Lok Sabha elections between 27-28 March, this year.
The Commercial Street police filed an FIR following a complaint filed by an activist A Mallikarjun, a native of Gubbi taluk in Tumakuru. The activist had filed a private complaint before the 82nd City Civil and Sessions court. The complainant has alleged that then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy ad leaked the information to the media about I-T raids on the premises of the JD(S) and the Congress leaders even before the taxmen conducted the raids.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
4. ‘Improve Women’s Safety Before Introducing Night Shift’: B’luru Garment Workers Demand
The Garment Labour Union organised a protest on Wednesday evening at the Town Hall, to ask for better work conditions and pay, before the government makes a move towards ‘gender equality’ by introducing night shifts for female workers.
The Karnataka government amended the labour laws this month, to allow for women to start working night shifts in the garment industry.
The workers demand however, that the government consult with the stakeholders before they make changes that will affect lakhs of women workers in the city. They demand better safety measures, pay, and work conditions. Women wake up at 6 am, feed and dress their children as they go to school, and do all the housework. After all that, they barely have time for breakfast before they rush off to work.
(Source: The News Minute)
5. 65-year-old Newlywed Murdered
Two miscreants barged into the house of a newlywed 65-year-old farmer in Nelamangala on Wednesday night and strangled him to death. Most valuables in the house, including gold ornaments, are intact, indicating it could be murder for rivalry, police said.
Mohammed Shafiulla, a resident of Renuka Layout, lived with his second wife, whom he married two months ago, and a daughter from his first spouse. Shafiulla owned nearly two acres of land on the outskirts of Nelamangala. “His major income was from agricultural produce grown in the land,” a police officer said.
“Around 9 pm, two men came looking for Shafiulla at his house. With their faces covered, they barged in and locked up his wife and daughter in a room. They strangled the farmer to death and fled,” the officer said.
(Source: The Times of India)