The Karnataka Assembly has passed two significant bills aimed at social reform and heritage preservation: the Karnataka Freedom of Choice in Marriage and Prevention and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2026, and the Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitisation Bill, 2026.
The Karnataka Assembly has passed two significant bills aimed at social reform and heritage preservation: the Karnataka Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Unity, Freedom, Dignity and Tradition in Marriage Bill, 2026, and the Karnataka Jnana Bhandar Manuscripts and Digitisation Act, 2026.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget, focusing on investments and growth. The speech was marked by its business-like approach and lack of cultural references, while opposition members raised concerns about regional representation.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his vote theft allegations and criticized the Election Commission for demanding an affidavit to support his claims. He alleged collusion between the EC and BJP to steal the Lok Sabha election and called for investigation into election irregularities.
Shivanand Kanavi remembers his father, the eminent Kannada poet Nadoja Chennaveera Kanavi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP for claiming to protect the Constitution while citing V D Savarkar's remarks that there was nothing Indian about it. He also drew parallels to the story of 'Eklavya' to illustrate the BJP's alleged economic policies hurting small businesses and farmers. He further supported the removal of the 50 percent cap on reservations and advocated for a caste census.
The ruling BJP in Karnataka, where Assembly elections are due in April-May next year, considers Lingayats as its key vote-base.
As Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra travels across Maharashtra, Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com captures scenes from the walkathon to spread kindness and harmony from Nanded.
The Congress in its poll manifesto had promised to undo the changes made to school textbooks when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, and had also promised to scrap National Education Policy.
He said, the fresh budget of the new Congress government, which he will be presenting on July 7, is likely to be of the size Rs 3,35,000 crore.
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the revision of Kannada and Social Science textbooks of Classes 6 to 10 in the state for this academic year by removing the chapters on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder K B Hedgewar and Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar among others.
Kannada actor Ramesh Aravind talks about what it meant to play a historical character for the first time
'Why should Khargeji work against the Gandhis for the sake of proving his independence?'
Glimpses of Lord Shiva being worshipped on Mahashivratri.
Responding to a question on speculation on a leadership change in the state, the former Chief Minister, who was replaced by Bommai said, according to him there will be no such changes.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told British parliamentarians in London on Monday that functioning microphones in the Lok Sabha are often silenced against the Opposition.
'A democracy cannot mean the rule of just two people,' said one audience member, who recalled that he too had chanted 'Modi, Modi' when the PM had visited the USA. Many of those gathered admitted to having been Modi supporters. What had changed them was the growing concentration of power. Jyoti Punwani reports from New York.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
Lingayats are said to constitute about 17 per cent of Karnataka's population, and the community has dominance in as many as 100 out of total 224 constituencies, majority of these seats being in north Karnataka region.
The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
'In today's India very few would, of course, stand Basavanna's test. This led Professor Kalburgi to not only take on casteist and conservative forces in general, but also some powerful conservatives among Lingayats.' 'Conservatives found him polarising and some researchers disagreed with his speculations while admiring his scholarship, but he posited that culture studies and historians have to perforce join the dots, speculate, interpret, interpolate, extrapolate and take leaps to make progress even if some of them later turn out to be wrong.' Shivanand Kanavi salutes Professor M M Kalburgi, the scholar who was assassinated in Dharwad on Sunday, August 30.
Though largely seen as an official visit, with less than a year for elections, Shah during this trip is likely to meet senior party leaders including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, veteran leader B S Yediyurappa among others
Strongly defending the move to revise school textbooks, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh on Monday alleged that confusion is unnecessarily being created among the people and students, along with attempts to create communal hatred by spreading falsehood.
The prime minister spoke about women's empowerment, equality and good governance.
Rahul Gandhi also predicts a NDA collapse 'not seen in many years'
PM started 'Make in India' but every product in market is Make in China: Rahul
"Modi ji stop giving speeches and start working, because you don't have much time," he said.
Rahul Gandhi aslos asked the JD-S to clarify whether it was with the BJP and the Sangh Pariwar.
Rahul said Modi cannot speak on corruption as the party's chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa faced graft allegations.
The Congress president spoke of how Modi had hosted Xi in his home state Gujarat and the Chinese troops made an incursion into Indian territory.
Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats are those who believed in the philosphy of Basaveshwara, 12th century social reformer
He said RSS men were planted in each ministry.
He accused the BJP of creating friction between communities and 'igniting' fire and ramped up his attack on the PM.
'Gauri was a woman of great integrity and few people know how modestly she lived, generously sharing the little she had.' 'Her only asset was the home her mother built.' 'But she had even bigger riches -- her capacious heart,' remembers former husband and close friend, Chidanand Rajghatta.
'Hindu voters in coastal Karnataka lean more towards Hindutva than Hinduism which explains why the Siddaramaiah government's perception as anti-Hindu worked wonders for the BJP in coastal Karnataka.'
