Archives for 2018

Karnataka Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah was caught on camera, distributing money to supporters. He is on a tour of Mysuru, along with his son.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president, Amit Shah is touring several areas in Karnataka, including Mysuru. Interestingly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too is camping in Mysuru from 30th March to April 2nd, and will take part in the campaign activities there. Siddaramaiah has already announced his intentions to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru district. Siddaramaiah hit out at Shah for calling him AHindu (anti-Hindu) leader.

Rumours of the death of former Prime Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee were being circulated on WhatsApp and social media platforms on Thursday. While the internet was abuzz with obituaries to the 93-year-old two-time Prime Minister, there were others who tried to find out the truth and attempted to counter the messages by saying that they were rumours. There was, however, no official clarification issued by the BJP to counter the messages.

According to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, such reports have been triggered even before. In 2015, a school professor in Balasore district in Odisha had claimed that Vajpayee was dead. Following the rumours, a bereavement meet was organised and the school was ordered to remain closed. When the district collector was informed that the news was fake, the said principal was dismissed. On December 24, 2016, a school paid tributes to “late” Vajpayee and lit candles and offered flowers to Vajpayee’s photograph.

The IT department noted that Mr Sidhu had failed to provide documentary evidence in support of his claim during the course of assessment proceedings.

The Income Tax (IT) department on Thursday seized two bank accounts of Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for non-payment of taxes.

While the former cricketer’s tax dues stand at Rs. 52 lakh, payments to be made were towards dress expenses (Rs. 28,38,405), tour and traveling expenses (Rs. 38,24,282), salary expense (Rs. 47,11,400) and petrol and diesel expenses (Rs. 17,80,358).

The IT department noted that the Congress leader had failed to provide documentary evidence, such as bills or invoices in support of his claim during the course of assessment proceedings. Since the authenticity of the transactions could not be established, 30 percent of the total expenses were disallowed in order to prevent leakage of revenue.

“The assessee had gone in to appeal against the order on January 17 last year, but the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) or CIT (A) passed the order favouring the revenue and not provided any relief to the assessee, as he had failed to provide any documentary evidence in support of his claim,” an official statement noted.

Sharad Yadav, the rebel JD(U) leader said the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka in May, resembled a semi-final to the next Lok Sabha elections and it was his party’s objective to vanquish the BJP at any cost.

Addressing a press meet on Friday Yadav said “The entire nation is watching the Karnataka elections. We should make India BJP free. I have come to Karnataka for this” He included that JD(U) had not chose to back either the Congress or JD(S).

“I am here for two days. I will address party leaders and let you know,” he included.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today took a dig at BJP president Amit Shah for calling him ‘AHINDU’ (anti-Hindu), saying that the latter is a Jain and he should first clarify whether he is AHINDU.

Shah had said at a press conference at Davangere two days ago that Siddaramaiah is not an ‘AHINDA’ leader (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) but ‘AHINDU’ leader (anti-Hindu).

Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru that Shah should first clarify his position whether he is “AHINDU or not.”
“Amit Shah is a Jain. He needs to clarify first whether he is AHINDU. Jain is a separate religion. How can he talk about me like that,” Siddaramaiah said.
He said Shah was scared of him due to which he was making all “baseless” allegations against him.

Days after embarrassing BJP by calling his own party chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa corrupt, BJP national president on Friday delivered the denouement saying that though he made a mistake, the people of Karnataka will not.

Shah during his visit to Mysuru on March 30, said tat though in a slip of tongue he said that Yeddyurappa government is corrupt instead of Siddaramaih’s, but the people of Karnataka will not make such mistake while voting in the election.

It may be recalled that addressing a press conference Shah made a blooper and said “If ever there is a competition on the most corrupt, then Yeddyurappa government will be awarded number one,”

Soon after the faux pas, the Congress was quick to taunt the BJP for ‘speaking the truth.’ “The Truth can never be suppressed. Even Amit Shah agrees that Yeddyurappa led the Most Corrupt Government ever,” tweeted the Karnataka Congress.

Another BJP leader Prahlad Joshi who translated Amit Shah’s address, on the same day publicly said that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, will not do anything for the downtrodden like Dalits, poor, and backward classes and Modi will harm the nation.

The series of goof ups happened on the day Election Commission announced the dates of much-awaited Assembly polls. Karnataka will vote on May 12 and the counting and announcement of results will be held on May 15.

Lingayat support to the BJP surged in 1990, when Congress leader and former premier Rajiv Gandhi abruptly removed a Lingayat leader as Chief Minister

For nearly three decades, the Lingayats, a powerful upper caste group in Karnataka, have voted for the BJP, whose presumptive Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa is the most statured leader of the community. The prosperous Lingayats were believed till recently to form 17% percentage of the state’s population and are governed by a cluster of about 1,000 mathas or religious seminaries, each with its own spiritual head.

Two days ago, it was one of these leaders that presented BJP chief Amit Shah with a letter that is being interpreted as a new couple alert – a pairing of the Lingayats with the Congress, which just a week back said that the Lingayats should be recognized as a religious minority – like the Jains or Sikhs or Buddhists. The BJP says the Congress is trying to skim political support with a move that will divide Hindus.

But Lingayats have long held that they are not to be mixed with Hindus. “Those who believe this decision threatens the Hindu religion are exaggerating. It’s too vast and rooted to be in any danger,” said the Siddalinga Swami of a prominent Lingayat seminary in North Karnataka. “We are not anti-Hindu, but we don’t subscribe to some tenets of Hinduism. This can pose a problem only to those people who speak in favour of an undivided Hindu society, but never act against the ills that plague it. They want to maintain status quo, we are challenging it.”

Unexpectedly, the Lingayats are now the central flash point between the Congress and the BJP. Rahul Gandhi visited a large Lingayat math in February. Amit Shah tweeted that he visited another today.

The Lingayats were formed as a sect in the 12th century by the social reformer Basavanna who rejected the caste system and championed gender equality. Their support to the BJP surged in 1990, when Congress leader and former premier Rajiv Gandhi abruptly removed a Lingayat leader as Chief Minister. When the BJP won Karnataka in 2008, marking its first government in the south, the Lingayats were a large part of its success. The community influences the results of at least 100 of the 224 constituencies in the state.

On May 12, Karnataka will vote for its next government. The incumbent Congress administration, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, congregates the support of Hindu minorities, backward classes and Dalits, collectively acronym-ed “AHINDA”.

Word play on that was offered earlier this week by Amit Shah when he said the Chief Minister is “not AHINDA but A-Hindu or anti-Hindu.” His speech was made at a rally in Central Karnataka. He urged Lingayat spiritual leaders to keep the community united in support of the BJP.