Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar says CM will respond to Yathindra's leadership remarks

Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, who is also the son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, stated earlier that the CM would continue in office for the full five-year term.

"The Chief Minister will respond to him," Shivakumar said on Thursday while speaking to reporters at the Circuit House and Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi, where the winter session of the state legislature is underway.

Turning to the controversy over the Hate Speech Prevention Bill, which the state government is preparing to introduce, Shivakumar strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for opposing the proposal.

"BJP is the founding father of hate speech, and it has been sowing seeds of hatred between castes and religions," he alleged.

The Deputy CM added that the government had no choice but to act in accordance with constitutional values. "There won't be any need for the Bill if there were no hate speech. We have taken this step to protect the Constitution," he said.

Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent accusation that Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were involved in "vote theft," Shivakumar dismissed the claim and questioned its basis.

"Amit Shah must have basic common sense. Ballot papers were used during their period. How is vote theft possible in such a paper system?" he asked.

On the appeal submitted by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) President Venkatesh Prasad following the recent stampede-like incident during ticket sales for a cricket match in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the matter would be placed before the Cabinet.

"We will discuss that in the Cabinet meeting. The stampede was an unfortunate incident. Many wrongs have happened, and they need to be corrected," he said. Emphasising that he is open to considering the request, he added, "I am open-minded about the request. We will place it before the Cabinet meets as we need to protect the reputation of the state." (ANI)