<p>Mangaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday dismissed speculation of a power tussle within the ruling Congress. “There is no tussle for the Chief Minister's chair,” he said.</p><p>Reacting to a query on BJP's social media post claiming that the fight for the Chief Minister's chair in the Congress will once again begin after Sankranti, he asked, "Where is the fight? Unnecessarily you ask such questions. There is no issue. All of this is a creation of the media.”</p><p>On BJP planning to meet the Governor over the Hate Speech bill, the CM said, "Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill 2025 has not been rejected by the Governor. The Bill was unanimously passed in the legislature. The Governor has neither returned, rejected, nor given assent to it. “We will give an explanation on the Bill, when he calls for it,” he said.</p><p>To a query on BJP planning march condemning Ballari violence, Siddaramaiah said, “Let them do, who said they should not ”. </p>.Tourism boost in coastal districts will help Karnataka top among all states in GST collection: Siddaramaiah.<p>“In the past, we undertook a march with a specific purpose behind it. Then Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde had given a report which said that Ballari has been converted into 'Republic of Ballari' and illegal mining is rampant there. When I raised it in the assembly, the Reddy brothers and Yediyurappa (then CM) objected, so I had led a padayatre to Ballari," he said.</p>. <p>Stating that removal of the banner was an instigation for the Ballari incident, the CM questioned the necessity of removing the banner mounted for the unveiling of the Maharshi Valmiki statue in Ballari.</p><p>“Removing the banner instigated the incident. Former Ministers Janardhan Reddy and Sriramulu are acting out of jealousy because they lost their positions in Ballari,” he said. </p>
<p>Mangaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday dismissed speculation of a power tussle within the ruling Congress. “There is no tussle for the Chief Minister's chair,” he said.</p><p>Reacting to a query on BJP's social media post claiming that the fight for the Chief Minister's chair in the Congress will once again begin after Sankranti, he asked, "Where is the fight? Unnecessarily you ask such questions. There is no issue. All of this is a creation of the media.”</p><p>On BJP planning to meet the Governor over the Hate Speech bill, the CM said, "Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill 2025 has not been rejected by the Governor. The Bill was unanimously passed in the legislature. The Governor has neither returned, rejected, nor given assent to it. “We will give an explanation on the Bill, when he calls for it,” he said.</p><p>To a query on BJP planning march condemning Ballari violence, Siddaramaiah said, “Let them do, who said they should not ”. </p>.Tourism boost in coastal districts will help Karnataka top among all states in GST collection: Siddaramaiah.<p>“In the past, we undertook a march with a specific purpose behind it. Then Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde had given a report which said that Ballari has been converted into 'Republic of Ballari' and illegal mining is rampant there. When I raised it in the assembly, the Reddy brothers and Yediyurappa (then CM) objected, so I had led a padayatre to Ballari," he said.</p>. <p>Stating that removal of the banner was an instigation for the Ballari incident, the CM questioned the necessity of removing the banner mounted for the unveiling of the Maharshi Valmiki statue in Ballari.</p><p>“Removing the banner instigated the incident. Former Ministers Janardhan Reddy and Sriramulu are acting out of jealousy because they lost their positions in Ballari,” he said. </p>