Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: ‘Slip of the tongue,’ says Vokkaliga seer on disenfranchising Indian Muslims, and more

A day after calling for disenfranchising Muslims in India, the seer of Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Mutt Sri Kumara Chandrashekarnath Swamy on November 27, 2024 tendered apology for his remarks. “Muslims are citizens of India and they have voting rights. I apologise to my Muslim brothers for my statement, which was a slip of the tongue. I also request not to continue conversation on the statement,” the seer said in a statement issued here.

In what has kicked up a controversy over his communal remarks, the seer had called for disenfranchising Muslims in India to end vote bank politics of the parties. “For the the country to have a good name and opinion about it, and if a law could be framed so that the Muslim community does not have voting rights, then the politicians should do it,” the seer had said at a protest organised by Bharatiya Kisan Sangha, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), at Freedom Park here.

MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has said that the fight launched by BJP leaders was against the Waqf Act, 1995, and not against any individual. After intercating with farmers at Kongandi village of Shahapur taluk in Yadgir district on November 27, Mr. Yatnal said that they (BJP leaders) were against mutation entries in the name of Waqf Board in the land records (RTC) of farmers.

The farmers complained that their lands were acquired for the railway line project. But compensation was withheld as the land records were in the name of Waqf Board. Mr. Yatnal said that the problem would be solved only after removing the Board’s name from RTC and abolishing the Waqf Tribunal. He urged the Union government to immediately amend the Act in this regard.

Bharti Airtel on November 27, 2024, said its new AI-based Airtel Spam Fighting Network has identified 682 million suspected spam calls and 46 million spam SMS in its Karnataka network in the 63 days since its launch. Airtel Karnataka CEO Rajnish Verma said a team of about 50 engineers spent over 10,000 man hours in the last year to find out ways to protect customers from spammers.

Mr. Verma said the AI-powered solution developed in-house by Airtel data scientists uses a proprietary algorithm to identify and classify calls and SMSes as ‘suspected spam.’ This is done within 2 milliseconds when the call or the SMS passes through the Airtel network using about 250 parameters for filtering.

A group of students from a school in Belagavi and their teachers had a narrow escape after the bus they were travelling in Mysuru toppled after hitting the median on the road connecting Fountain Circle and Tipu Circle in the city on November 26 night.