1. With 14 constituencies in Karnataka, mostly in North Karnataka, going into elections on May 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is here to address four rallies in four cities. He will address rallies in Belagavi at 11 a.m., followed by Sirsi, Davanagere and Ballari in succession. Tomorrow he addresses one rally in Bagalkot.
2. The State government on April 27 announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an alleged sex scandal involving incumbent Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. He is the NDA candidate from Hassan in the Lok Sabha elections too. It has kicked up a political storm, with G.T. Deve Gowda of the party addressing a press meet today on the issue. Police sources, meanwhile, say that the MP has fled the country. Days ahead of polling in Hassan on April 26, several pen drives with a dump of these videos, allegedly including two rape videos, were circulated widely in Hassan. Many pen drives were thrown in prominent public places like parks, bus stops and a stadium, sources said.
3. The Congress has decided to stage a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the State Secretariat in Bengaluru today opposing “injustice” meted out to the State in the drought relief amount given by the Centre. The government has argued that as per the NDRF norms, the Union government was supposed to release ₹18,172 crore to the State to take up drought relief measures. However, Centre has released only ₹ 3,454 crore after Karnataka moved the Supreme Court.
