Former minister in Karnataka and Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni is contesting the upcoming state assembly election from the Dharwad constituency. Being accused and out on bail in connection with the murder of Zila Panchayat member Yogeesh Gowda, Vinay Kulkarni is barred from entering his constituency as per a Supreme Court order. However, media outlets like The Hindu have ignored the crime and lauded his virtual campaigning for the elections using Augmented Reality.
Vinay Kulkarni was detained on November 5, 2020, and while he was later given bail, a Supreme Court ruling presently prevents him from going to Dharwad. He had been identified by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the primary accused in the case. The apex court’s restrictions are still in place.
Murder accused Congress candidate debarred from campaigning in the constituency due to court ruling. The Hindu makes it to technological innovation story. And actually does not mention the murder case. https://t.co/sWgmGXbiPb
— Prasanna Viswanathan (@prasannavishy) April 30, 2023
Vinay Kulkarni was formerly the Minister for Mines and Geology in the Congress government. On April 6, the party unveiled its second list of 42 candidates. The murder-accused Vinay Kulkarni was the candidate from Dharwad in that list.
While detailing the election campaign methods deployed by the Congress leader in its report, all that The Hindu has said about the case is that “he was barred by the courts from entering the district in connection with a case.” The Hindu has completely ignored the murder case and focussed its report on the Augmented Reality tools used by the Congress leader, its reach, and 3-D models used for campaigning.
The 16th Karnataka state assembly election polling would be held on 10th May 2023. The results of the election will be declared on 13th May 2023. The 224-member assembly of the Karnataka state will complete its fifteenth term on 24th May 2023. At present, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a total of 119 seats, while the Congress has a total of 75 and its ally JD(S) has a total of 28 seats.
Vinay Kulkarni is accused in Yogesh Gowda murder case
BJP worker Yogesh Gowda was hacked to death on June 15, 2016. Vinay Kulkarni, a Minister in the Siddaramaiah Congress cabinet, is alleged to have gotten Yogesh Gowda murdered for political reasons. Under the Siddaramaiah government, the Police had claimed that the murder was due to personal rivalry motivated by a land dispute.
When the BJP came to power in Karnataka, a party delegation met Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder. Yediyurappa agreed and handed the case over to the CBI.
Before the CBI could investigate the case, Vinay Kulkarni got a stay on the investigation in the Dharwad bench of the High Court. The CBI then appealed against the order in the Supreme Court. The apex court lifted the stay paving the way for the CBI to resume the investigation into the murder. The court has also prohibited him from going to Dharwad.
