In its Karnataka assembly poll manifesto, which was released on May 2, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the PFI "spreading hatred" among communities on the grounds of caste and religion.
Police have made tight security arrangements for the swearing-in ceremony. Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh and the party's senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu will be present
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Sunday found support from rivals Communist party of India - Marxist, Janata Dal - Secular and Lok Janshakti Party for his suggestion for the re-introduction of ballot papers in place of Electronic Voting Machines.Advani has not cast any doubts on the results of the Lok Sabha elections but feels the country should revert to ballot papers, starting with the Maharashtra assembly elections in October and some more states later.
Kumaraswamy has with him, 46 of the 58 MLAs and has broken away from the faction that remains loyal to his father, H D Deve Gowda.
"I am firm on starting my agitation demanding CBI probe into the so-called 53-page charge sheet published by BJP against the Deve Gowda family. I set a one-week deadline to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to respond to my demand for ordering a probe. But the chief minister has surrendered to silence," he said.
Taking the fight to the Janata Dal-Secular camp, a combative Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released what it called the "charge-sheet" against the opposition party, alleging that the estimated worth of the known assets of the family of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda alone was over Rs 1,500 crore.
Besides the four Left parties, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party, Biju Janata Dal, Janata Dal-Secular and Indian National Lok Dal "have decided to call for a country-wide hartal on July five", a joint statement by top leaders of CPI-M, CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Forward Bloc said in New Delhi.
Siddaramaiah even said that he would retire from politics if even one instance is presented with proof that he had made money by transferring officials.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka headed by B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday won a confidence vote in the assembly 119-0 amid a walkout by the Congress and Independents and a boycott by the Janata Dal - Secular. Law Minister S Suresh Kumar pressed for division of votes, as Congress members trooped out with Independents following suit. The JD-S had earlier announced its decision to boycott the ten-day session.
Seeking clarification, Karnataka Governor has sent back to the government a bill that sought to collect funds from temples with over Rs 10 lakh annual income, citing that a case concerning the earlier related act and amendments made to it is still pending in Supreme Court.
A personal security officer of Mast Nath Yogi, the Jammu and Kashmir state unit president of Janata Dal-Secular, allegedly opened fire inside his house, triggering panic in Doda district, police said Thursday.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Friday made a clean sweep in the bye-elections held on April 9, winning all the three seats by comfortable margins. The BJP wrested Bangarapet and Jagalur seats from the Congress and Chennapatna from the JD-S
Popular Kannada film actor Ambareesh has won over many fans over the years with his performances on the silver screen. But it seems unlikely that he will be able to convert his considerable filmy fortune to an electoral victory in the Mandya city constituency in the Karnataka assembly polls on May 5. Ambareesh, a Congress candidate who is popularly known as Mandyada Gandu (the man of Mandya), is pitted against M Srinivas of the Janata Dal - Secular.
Former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular supremo Deve Gowda on Monday announced the formation of the Third Front, an amalgamation of eight parties including the Left, and touted as a political alternative to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Rebel Janata Dal-Secular leader M P Prakash on Monday held consultations with party legislators supporting him to chalk out the strategy of the group, which is opposing the renewed ties with Bharatiya Janata Party on government formation in Karnataka.
Janata Dal-Secular Karnataka unit President and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita, contesting the May 5 Assembly elections, have together declared assets worth Rs 123 crore.
The number of nominations filed by candidates for the May 5 Assembly elections in Karnataka crossed 2,000 on Tuesday.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has equated the manifesto of his party, the Janata Dal-Secular, for the upcoming Karnataka assembly election to a Bhagwad Gita, Quran and the Bible.
The Janata Dal-Secular has put out its first list of candidates for the Karnataka elections 2013. Significantly, the list has three former cops on it.
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.
On Friday, four of the 14 legislators had visited the Siddhivinayak temple in central Mumbai and offered prayers to Lord Ganesh.
B S Yediyurappa, deputy chief minister designate of the new Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government to be sworn-in in Karnataka on February 3, Sunday said the government would formulate a Common Minimum Programme.
Addressing election rallies in the district headquarters towns of Shivamogga and Raichur, Gandhi alleged that the prime minister was in the know about the sex scandal and he could have got Prajwal arrested within seconds but allowed him to flee the country.
The Janata Dal-Secular in Karnataka said on Sunday that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa was responsible for the "instability" of the BJP government and not the opposition. "The chief minister himself is responsible for the instability of his government and not the opposition parties," JDS state unit president H D Kumaraswamy said while participating in a function here.
Chandrappa's appointment follows the demise of KPCC working president and former MP R Dhruvanarayana.
The opposition Congress and Janata Dal Secular on Tuesday made a forceful plea in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly against notification of the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award, underlining that the move would amount to grave injustice to the State's interests.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy's remarks that Mahatma Gandhi would have turned corrupt in the present day politics on Monday drew sharp reaction from leaders including Gandhian Anna Hazare, who wondered how the country could eliminate corruption if leaders talk like this.
About 55 to 60 per cent voters on Sunday exercised their franchise in the Udupi-Chikmaglur Lok Sabha bye-election where ruling BJP faces a litmus test, locked in a bitter contest with Congress and Janata Dal-Secular.
Brushing aside reports of differences between 'third front' partners, Janata Dal-Secular chief H D Deve Gowda on Monday said no one can prevent the emergence of a political "force" against Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. Gowda said he is closely watching the situation in the country and political compulsions will create a "force" against the Congress and the BJP.
Seeking to give a new twist to his ongoing war against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka over alleged land scams, Janata Dal - Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday claimed Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had made a vain bid to patch up with him."Two days ago, a right hand man of Yeddyurappa had a telephonic talk (with me) to say the chief minister wanted to strike a compromise with me to end the expose of the misdeeds of his government,"said Kumaraswamy.
Armed with the Wikileaks expose about 2008 trust vote, the Opposition ON Thursday closed ranks in demanding the immediate resignation of the government, contending that it has lost moral right to continue as the country's democracy has been "maligned".
Party members of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular staged a dharna in the Karnataka legislative assembly on Tuesday, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged 'kickbacks' received by a trust run by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's sons, in return for Government favours. Congress leader Siddaramaiah also demanded Yeddyurappa's resignation.
Several BJP and JD-S leaders joining the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka is an evidence to prove that public sentiment is in favour of the party and it will come to power, its state unit President D K Shivakumar said on Monday.
Janata Dal-Secular candidate Jamir Ahmed on Sunday won the Chamarajpet assembly seat in the byelection held in Karnataka on June 2.
In the much expected exercise that takes the state ministry's strength to the maximum permissible limit of 34, Kumaraswamy inducted three ministers from his party Janata Dal (Secular) and two from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The new application before the court states that the facts have been jumbled and that Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had allegedly de-notified only a small portion of the land at Rachenahalli in favour of his family members. However, strangely the name of the HD Kumaraswamy does not figure in the complaint, considering that a major portion of the land was de-notified by him.
Jagadish Shettar was elected as the speaker of the new Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Shettar was elected unopposed as both the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular decided against fielding a candidate for the post of Speaker
M P Veerendrakumar, former state president of the Janata Dal - Secular, who quit the party following differences of opinion with the Communist party of India - Marxist over the allocation of Lok Sabha seats, has lashed out at his former ally.Veerendrakumar, who is also the managing director of leading daily Mathrubhumi, stated that the CPI-M leadership has become pro-capitalism and alleged that the party was trying to promote five-star hotels.
In the byelections held on September 13, the BJP's Y C Vishwanath, a medical practitioner, won by over 13,000 votes in Kadur, held earlier by the Congress. But the BJP failed to retain Gulbarga South, with the JD-S candidate Aruna Patil romping home by over 3,000 votes over the Congress's Ajay Singh, son of former chief minister Dharam Singh
