Bengaluru: With Chief Minister Siddaramaiah courting one controversy after the other, the latest being his son, Dr Yathindra’s involvement in a hospital diagnostic lab row and the son’s friend allegedly acquiring prime property in Bengaluru, KPCC president and Home Minister, Dr G. Parameshwar's visit to New Delhi on Friday assumes significance.
Sources said the Congress top brass had sought complete details of the alleged scams from Dr Parameshawar, who had gone to New Delhi to attend the first meeting of the National Athletic Federation, of which he is the vice-president. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader observed that even though many leaders are busy with elections in five states, they are worried over Mr Siddarmaiah wading from one controversy to the other, which they feel, does not augur well for the Congress party at the national level. “With many leaders touring poll-bound states, they would be better prepared to defend the party if they had the details to counter media queries,” the source explained.
Apart from this, the party is worried over Mr Siddarmaiah's ambitious plan to release the Caste census data in May. “Several senior leaders including S.M. Krishna, M.V. Rajashekharan and Mallikarjun Kharge have raised serious concerns over the outcome of the caste census, so it has become imperative for the party at the national level to know what would be the impact if the data is released,” the source said.
Honour killings make govt wake up, law may be amended:
Expressing deep anguish over alleged ‘honour killing’ in some districts, the home department has decided to review these incidents case by case soon to put an end to the barbaric act. “We can't imagine that such things can happen in Karnataka where Basavanna, a Brahmin by birth, advocated inter-caste marriages 800 years ago. I will consult non-governmental organisations, women's groups and legal experts to find whether we need a new legislation or we can change the existing law to prevent such incidents in future”, Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwar told Deccan Chronicle on Friday.
Commenting on recent honour killings in Mysuru and Mandya, he said, “We have to find out whether they were really honour killings. Nothing can be stopped by force, it needs to be dealt with separately. One of the options is mass awareness campaigns in districts where it has happened. Educating people to change their mindset is a top priority”, he added. Not ready to accept that Karnataka was going the way of north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where honour killings take place when youth belonging to upper castes and lower castes fall in love, Dr Parameshwar said Karnataka had recorded inter-caste marriages in the 12th century thanks to Basavanna. Such things should not have taken place in a state considered progressive. “It sends a bad message across the nation,” he said.
It may be mentioned here that Karnataka has witnessed 10-15 honour killings in the last one year, the recent cases being reported in Mandya and Mysuru where parents allegedly killed their daughters for falling in love with boys belonging to lower castes. Karnataka State Women Commission too has taken note of these killings and has taken up suo motu cases.
