1. Report sought on police action against SIR protest in Bengaluru, there will be no double standards: D.K. Shivakumar
Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar said he had taken note of police action against protesters and members of the media on Monday (October 12, 2026), and had sought a full report on the circumstances that led to the police action. “If there has been any unnecessary use of force or excess, accountability will follow,” he said.
This comes a day after Bengaluru police detained over a 100 persons for trying to march to the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka to protest against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Police manhandled journalists and photographers, apart from protesters, on a day when Mr. Shivakumar was participating in a protest rally against SIR in New Delhi, drawing much ire.
“The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy. We cannot demand that right for ourselves in Delhi and deny it to others in Bengaluru. Karnataka must hold itself to the democratic standards that we expect from the rest of the country. There will be no double standards,” the chief minister said in a statement issued on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).
2. Karnataka to explore legal options to challenge High Court verdict striking down reservation enhancement
With the Karnataka High Court striking down the enhancement of reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in the State, Congress leaders said the government is exploring legal options to challenge the order and safeguard ongoing recruitment and education admissions. Leaders have also questioned the Central government’s reluctance to include the law in the Ninth Schedule.
Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara said that if a situation arises in which the overall reservation percentage has to be reduced, the percentages under internal reservation may also have to be revised proportionately. While mathematically, such a revision may not be difficult, the more serious concern is that it could reduce the opportunities available to different communities, he said.
3. Karnataka sugarcane farmers block Pune-Bengaluru NH demanding better prices, resignation of Union Minister
Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka began a protest for higher prices by blocking the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway at Hirebagevadi and Hattaragi in Belagavi district on October 13. Their demands include revising Minimum Support Price for sugar to ₹60 per kg, increasing Fair and Remunerative Price to ₹5,500 per tonne of sugarcane, increased buying of ethanol produced in Karnataka from sugarcane and maize, and differential pricing of sugar for domestic and industrial consumers.
Their other demands include a law that mandates public, co-operative, and private sugar factories treating farmers as shareholders, and sharing profits obtained by factories by selling sugar, molasses, ethanol, co-generated power, oxygen, bio-fertiliser, press mud, and other by-products, government supervised establishment and monitoring of computerised weighing scales, and a statewide sugarcane cutting and transport calendar, enforced by the district administration.
4. Dasara 2026: Bengaluru airport showcases Karnataka’s art and heritage through performances and installations
Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is celebrating Karnataka’s iconic Dasara festivities by showcasing the State’s art, traditions, and heritage through live performances, installations, festive experiences and interactive moments across the airport. The cultural celebrations will be on till October 17.
A key highlight will be the Dasara Gombe at the T2 arrival forecourt, curated by Padma Shri awardee and puppeteer Anupama Hoskere. Karnataka’s puppetry traditions will also come alive through Togalu Gombeyatta, presented by ninth-generation puppeteer Gunduraju and his team on October 16, from 6 p.m. 8 p.m. at the T2 arrival forecourt.
5. IAS officer booked for assault on police at bar and restaurant in Bengaluru
Vikas Marmat, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, and three others have been booked by the Cubbon Park police on October 10 for allegedly assaulting a police inspector and other police personnel, abusing them, and obstructing them from discharging their duty during a late-night inspection at a pub in Bengaluru.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred between 1 a.m. and 1.30 a.m. on October 10 at Cavore, a bar and restaurant on Residency Road. Police Inspector Arun Salunke, who is the complainant, stated that he and his team were checking ID cards of customers to verify their age as part of an inspection, when four men allegedly picked a quarrel with them and abused them.