Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution on the border row with Maharashtra, resolving to protect the state's interests and not to cede an inch of land to its neighbour. The resolution which also condemned the border dispute "created" by Maharashtra and moved by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, was adopted by a voice vote.
Even as the grand old party seeks to promote opposition unity ahead of the hustings next year, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however, would be conspicuous by her absence at the event at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
The decades-old boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over Belagavi has again flared up as both the State governments are readying for a legal battle.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday met Governor H R Bharadwaj at the Raj Bhavan reportedly to put an end to the bitter feud between them. A war of words had ensued between the CM and the governor after the latter asked Yeddyurappa to take a second floor test to prove his majority in the assembly. He had also pulled up the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government for not taking any action against its allegedly corrupt ministers.
Both the eight-time MLA Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have made no secret of their ambition to become CM and had been involved in a game of political one upmanship in the past.
All eyes are set on the Karnataka cabinet meeting on Friday where a decision will be taken on implementing the five guarantees promised by the ruling Congress during the assembly elections in May.
Amid the simmering border dispute, Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai on Wednesday said if Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai does not stop making irresponsible statements, Maharashtra will have to rethink about water supply from its dams to the neighbouring state.
Overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST) structure, including possible changes in the tax slabs, may now be taken up only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given the number of states that are going to the polls in its run-up. "No major overhaul of tax rates is expected in GST until the end of next fiscal year. One major reason for this is that some members of the group of ministers (GoM) - mandated to look at rate rationalisation by the GST Council - are from poll-bound states. Later, this may lead to reconstitution of the panel," a senior government official told Business Standard. Besides, both the Centre and states are not in favour of frequent changes in the tax rates amid inflationary uncertainties; they believe any major change should be brought in after extensive deliberations, according to the official.
Internal fight within the Congress for chief ministership gained full speed Thursday as contenders sought to vigorously push their claim in behind-the-scene action, with Siddaramaiah and M Mallikarjuna Kharge still seen as front-runners.
The bomb blast near the state Bharatiya Janata Party city office that left at least 16 people injured indicated the hand of terrorists and state police has set up a special team to investigate the attack, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday.
Stung by the internal revolt within the party against his style of functioning, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday vowed to 'work together' in the future for the development of the people and the state. "You will see a different Yeddyurappa from tomorrow," he told reporters at midnight at his residence, on arrival from New Delhi, where the Bharatiya Janata Party evolved an 'amicable settlement' to end the two-week long stalemate following the revolt.
In this interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Kharge says that he is not an aspirant to the chair of the chief minister, but also adds that the final decision would be with the party high command.
It is now certain that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will continue as chief minister of Karnataka. The party high command headed by Rajnath Singh and L K Advani have made it clear that Yeddyurappa will continue as the chief minister of Karnataka.
The rift between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his mine-owning ministerial colleagues continued as they stepped up their campaign against a new cess imposed on lorries transporting iron ore.Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, himself a mine owner in the ore-rich Bellary district, took the lead by holding parleys with fellow miners to mobilise support against the Rs 1,000 cess on each lorry load of iron ore.
"There is no threat to the government. On February 8, I am going to present the budget. Nothing to worry about," he told reporters after Governor H R Bhardwaj's address to the joint state legislature session in Bengaluru.
The 79-year old leader, who served as the chief minister of Kerala twice, breathed his last in a private hospital in Bengaluru at 4.25 am. His end came while undergoing treatment for cancer, party sources said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who is visiting Karnataka, on Sunday appreciated the people for voting out a 'fascist' Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, but also cautioned people about the recent developments in Delhi, saying it was a wake-up call for everyone as it can happen anywhere in the country.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Monday met Union Minister S M Krishna in New Delhi amid demands by Karnataka leaders for a review of Cauvery River Authority's decision asking the state to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
According to sources in the Congress, eight legislators are likely to be sworn in as ministers along with them.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday urged Christian missionaries not to go for forcible conversion saying there is no room for such actions in a democracy. "There is no room for forcible conversion in democracy. No one should indulge in it," he said.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday visited the family of Siddalingappa Choori, who was killed in police firing at Haveri on Tuesday.Yeddyurappa handed over a cheque of Rs two lakh to the farmer's family. The Chief Minister said that he was shocked and deeply hurt by the incident.Accompanied by Public Works Minister C M Udasi and Medium and Major Irrigation Minister Basavaraja Bommai, the CM assured the family all help and offered a job to a family member.
We will do whatever we can for the justice of the Marathi-speaking population in Karnataka, said Fadnavis.
Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, appointed for coordinating the state's border dispute with Karnataka, are unlikely to visit Belagavi on Tuesday as both have various meetings scheduled in Maharashtra during the day.
Raut said that he did not need anyone's 'permission' regarding the issue.
Former Kerala high court chief justice S R Bannurmath has decided to quit the post of Lokayukta in Karnataka. Karnataka Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda said that the judge had sent a letter to him, requesting the state government not to pursue the matter with Governor H R Bharadwaj. Justice Bannurmath backed out after Bharadwaj rejected the government's recommendation to appoint him as Lokayukta, citing a land row among other reasons.
'No village in Maharashtra will go to Karnataka! The state government will fight strongly in the Supreme Court to get Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka including Belgaum-Karwar-Nipani!' said Fadnavis.
Lok Sabha member D V Sadananda Gowda was on Thursday sworn-in as chief minister of Karnataka, succeeding B S Yeddyurappa, who quit in the wake of the Lokayukta report on illegal mining that indicted him.
Attacking Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in the wake of the Lokayukta indicting him on the illegal mining issue, Left parties on Thursday demanded his resignation, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leader has no moral authority to continue in his office.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Executive of JD(S) held at the residence of former prime minister and party chief H D Deve Gowda in New Delhi on Monday.
A day after his teenaged son Nikhil landed himself in a controversy over a brawl in a hotel in Bangalore, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday sought to play down the incident, saying, "Sometimes these things happen."
The hotel has also complained against the CM's son.
Rajkumar's fans were not responsible for the violence, Kumaraswamy asserted at a press conference in Bangalore
This motion is in keeping with a directive by Governor T N Chaturvedi to him on January 28, to prove his majority within eight days of assuming office.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yediyurappa took the oath as Deputy Chief Minister.
The announcement came following Singh's meeting with with Governor T N Chaturvedi on Saturday.
The meeting between the two leaders, which was also attended by Bihar's deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, was described as 'positive'.
'People will teach a lesson to those who are compromising it for the sake of power and money.'
If the exit polls in Karnataka are to be believed, the Congress will manage to scrape through and get a thin majority in the state assembly when the votes are counted on Wednesday. But the party may have a tough time in selecting a chief minister as senior leaders Dr G Parameshwar and Siddaramaiah are both eyeing the coveted post.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's announcement -- that his government may grant second capital status to Belgaum -- has evoked sharp reactions from political parties in Maharashtra. Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi speaking areas of Karnataka, including Belgaum, be merged with the state. Leaders of Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP flayed the statement. Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan said Yeddyurappa had spoken out of turn.
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