bangalore news times

The Karnataka police booked a suo moto case against a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former minister Pramod Madhwaraj for allegedly making casteist remarks against the Dalit community. The case was booked on Saturday, March 22, after Madhwaraj reportedly justified an assault on a 43-year-old Dalit woman by five fishermen at the Malpe fishing harbour in Udupi district who accused the woman of stealing fish. The assault took place on March 18. The following day, a case was filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and BNS 130 (Assault) against the fishermen. They have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. Also Read Dalit family faces social boycott in Karnataka’s Mysuru In response to the arrest, protests were held demanding the five fishermen be released immediately and warned of intensified agitation if their demands were not met. Participating in the protest, the BJP leader Madhwaraj addressed a gathering where he defended the Dal...

A 24-year-old man died and four others were injured when a 150-feet chariot collapsed during the Madduramma temple festival in Rayasandra, Parappana Agrahara, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The incident occurred on Saturday, March 23 as devotees pulled the chariot toward the temple when strong winds and heavy rain reportedly caused it to lose balance and crash. Panic ensued as hundreds of devotees scrambled for safety. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Siasat Daily (@siasatdaily) Videos of the collapse circulated widely on social media, prompting criticism of festival organizers and local authorities. Many questioned the chariot’s structural integrity and why preventive measures weren’t taken despite the previous year’s mishap. Also Read Video: 120-ft-tall chariot collapses during festival in Bengaluru This marks the second consecutive year a chariot has toppled at the festival. Last year’s incident damaged sev...

Bengaluru: Eighteen BJP MLAs were suspended for six months from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Friday for “disrespecting” Speaker U T Khader. The suspension resolution, moved by state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, was adopted by the Assembly. The incident occurred on the last day of the Assembly’s budget session when the opposition BJP MLAs staged a massive protest. The legislators climbed onto the podium where Speaker Khader’s chair was situated and threw papers at him. The protest was sparked by Opposition anger over the allocation of a four percent reservation to Muslims in public contracts. Earlier, the BJP members had protested from the well of the house, accusing the government of attempting to “honey trap” a minister and demanding a judicial probe into the matter, even as the Chief Minister addressed the budget discussion. Those who were suspended are the BJP chief whip Doddanna Gouda Patil, C N Ashwath Narayan, S R Vishwanath, B A Basavaraju, M...

Bengaluru : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced that there is no question of protecting anyone in connection with the honey trap row. The Chief Minister’s response came after Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly R. Ashoka, former Home Minister and BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra, MLA V. Sunil Kumar, and Minister K. N. Rajanna raised the issue of the honey trap and sought his statement. They demanded that those responsible for the case be dismissed, and a judicial inquiry should be ordered. Minister Rajanna, who also represents the Scheduled Castes, made honey trap allegations, to which state Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced that he would conduct a high-level probe into it. Also Read Siddaramaiah expresses gratitude to Karnataka people before presenting budget “The government is responsible for ensuring that justice is served and those guilty under the law are punished. If Minister Rajanna files a complaint, a high-level investigation will be co...

Bengaluru : The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), a statutory body, increased electricity prices by 36 paise per unit on Thursday, sparking a heated debate between the Congress-led government and the opposition BJP in the state. The BJP has accused the Congress of focusing solely on appeasement while neglecting the concerns about inflation. In response, the Congress has stated that the electricity price hike will not impact 85 per cent of the population, as they receive free power for up to 200 units under the Gruha Jyothi scheme. BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra remarked, “Ever since the cursed Congress-led government came to power, its only contribution to the people has been inflation. That is the only guarantee they have implemented. We have been discussing this issue for a long time. Inflation has severely affected the poor, and women are suffering the most.” “To cover up their failures, they keep claiming that the Central government is mistreating the s...

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday passed several bills, including the one that gives legal support for electronic signatures, and enables payment of stamp duty by electronic means. The Karnataka Stamp (Amendment) Bill, 2025, piloted by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda amends the Act of 1957, bringing digital e-stamping within the ambit of “duly stamped”. The Registration (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, to compulsorily register power-of-attorney authorizing transfer of immovable property with or without consideration, also piloted by the Minister, was passed by the Assembly. It also aims at compulsorily registering of documents relating to any grant of immovable property by the Government, and prove any power-of-attorney by producing it. The bill also proposes to send the documents electronically to the registering officers by the government officers, or certain public functionaries, as notified under Section 88. The Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition (Amendmen...

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth leader who is also an aspirant for the upcoming district panchayat election in Karnataka has been accused of raping a seven-year-old child. The incident reportedly occurred in a village of Siruguppa taluk, Bellary district. According to local reports, the BJP youth leader Devu Nayak allegedly blindfolded the child while she was playing, gagged her, took her to an isolated place and then committed the crime. It is also reported that a woman aided Devu Nayak in the act. Also Read BJP leader detained in connection with minor’s rape in MP’s Tikamgarh The child’s family has lodged a complaint against Devu Nayak who has been taken into custody. The child, meanwhile has undergone a medical examination. Further investigations are on. Devu Nayak is vying for a BJP ticket for the upcoming Bellary elections. He also handles the party’s social media presence. His social media accounts have photographs of him with several prominent BJP leaders. Get t...