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Karnataka Today newsletter: CM issues stern warning to those disturbing communal harmony, and more

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah used the occasion of Independence Day to issue a stern warning to those disturbing communal and social harmony in the State. Sending out a strong political message, he warned that his government would not tolerate spreading false news on social media, disturbing social harmony, and acts in the name of moral policing and communal goondaism in Karnataka. 

Delivering the I-Day address at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground in Bengaluru on August 15, the Chief Minister appealed to people of Karnataka, especially the youth, not to yield to provocation by vested interests, and to uphold the principle of harmonious life. “We follow what Jnanpith awardee Kuvempu propagated in his poetry — Sarva Janangada Shantiya Thota (peaceful garden of all faiths),” he said. 

Karnataka government is considering a proposal to create Gokak and Chikkodi districts by carving up Belagavi district, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is also the district in-charge, said in Belagavi on August 15. The demand was put forth by several legislators during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent meeting with MLAs from northern Karnataka.

The demand was first raised in 1997 when some new districts were created. The J.H. Patel government announced the division but did not implement it owing to opposition by local Kannada groups. Belagavi taluk, which has three Assembly seats and a population of around 12 lakh, may also be divided, but no concrete decision has been taken on that yet.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the eagerly anticipated inauguration of the extended Purple Line of Namma Metro in Bengaluru — from Challaghatta to Kadugodi (Whitefield) — will become operational in September 2023.

The Nagasandra-Madavara extension on the Green Line and the new line between R.V. Road and Bommanahalli are expected to be operational by December 2023. By 2026, Namma Metro will have a 175.55-km network in Bengaluru. Today, the metro network in Bengaluru stands second in India, Mr. Siddaramaiah informed.

Observing that the precious life of a 35-year-old man, who belonged to the LGBT community, was lost owing to remarks of his sexual orientation, the High Court of Karnataka refused to quash a criminal case registered against three of his colleagues for alleged abetment of suicide.