1. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rules out vendetta politics in arrest of kar sevak in Hubballi
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has justified the arrest of Srikanth Poojari, a kar sevak (volunteer) who was allegedly involved in violence after the Babri masjid demolition in 1992, in Hubballi. He said that wrongdoers cannot be spared, and the action did not stem from political vendetta.
On January 1, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok had accused the Congress government of arresting workers of Hindutva organisations at a time when the Ram temple in Ayodhya is being inaugurated, and warned of protests by BJP against such arrests. Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar has said that the arrest of Mr. Poojari in connection with a case of violence in Hubballi on December 5, 1992, is part of a routine process to trace accused persons in long-pending cases.
