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.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday indirectly blamed Governor H R Bhardwaj for delay in the appointment of Lokayukta asserting that the government has followed precedents and the ball was in his court.
Even as Karnataka continues to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the directive of the Cauvery River Waters Authority, all the members of Legislative Assembly from the Janata Dal-Secular have tendered their resignations against this move by the Karnataka government.
The Commissioner of Public Instructions has issued a circular making the mandatory singing of the first two stanzas of the national song at 11 am on September seven.
Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna had on Saturday floated the idea of having three more DCMs in Karnataka and said he would discuss it with the Congress high command, keeping in mind the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In a relief for former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the high court has quashed proceedings initiated against him in connection with two cases. The cases against Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita, also a Janata Dal -Secular member of Legislative Assembly, relate to renewal of mining lease to the Jantakal Mining Firm in violation of norms and alleged irregularities in allotment of sites to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa said the BJP was demanding early elections because development work in the state has been affected and various welfare schemes have come to a halt.
As Karnataka draws closer to elections, the three major political parties are finalizing the strategy to be adopted in the forthcoming elections.
Stepping up its attack on the alleged land scandals, opposition Janata Dal - Secular on Monday accused Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa of denotifying some land in Bengaluru in violation of court rulings and levelled bribery charges against him. Former chief minister and state JD-S president H D Kumaraswamy alleged that Yeddyurappa had denotified more than five acres acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for a layout at Nagarbhavi.
In the public eye, it seemed as though leaders were talking to each other in person or through the media. In reality, leaders refused to even see eye-to-eye and utilized the services of a mediator to do all the talking. What happened behind the scenes? How did the allies mend the fences? Rediff.com spoke to the official mediators of the JDS and the BJP to find out.
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda led Janata Dal-Secular, which had hoped to play the role of a kingmaker in Karnataka, on Wednesday said it would sit in the opposition.
Party chief H D Kumaraswamy told media persons, "If my party does not get majority, we will not form an alliance with anyone. I would rather sit in opposition than being a part of a coalition government."
The Bharatiya Janata Party has plenty to smile about, after it swept the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike or the Bengaluru Municipal Corporation which had remained dissolved for three years.
Vishsveshwara Theertha Swami of the Pejawar mutt from the religious Udupi town in coastal Karnataka is trying to broker peace between the Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka so that the two parties could get together and form the government.
The two-day conclave of the Karnataka Janata Dal-Secular that concluded on Tuesday decided against exploring possibilities of forming another government and galvanised the party for mid-term polls.The top leadership has been trying since Monday to placate its agitated MLAs, who have been insisting that efforts be made towards installing a government either with its estranged partner BJP or with the Congress.
The BJP formally withdrew support from the Karnataka government on Sunday, thus reducing the Janata Dal-Secular government, led by Kumaraswamy, to a minority. The BJP met Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhavan on Sunday to inform him about its decision to withdraw support. The BJP leaders also urged the governor to impose President's rule. Kumaraswamy said that he is ready to face the trust vote on October 18 and added that he is confident of winning.
The move came following the hour-long meeting of the party in Bangalore, necessitated by the Janata Dal-Secular's refusal to hand over power as promised on October 3.
In the midst of opposition protests in Karnataka over the illegal mining issue, Governor H R Bharadwaj on Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil.
The Karnataka state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to be more assertive in their approach to put to an end the free run of their coalition partner the Janata Dal-Secular.
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.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal-Secular legislators boycotted the governor's address to the joint session of the legislature.
Gowda has hinted that there might be polls held soon in the state.
Chandrappa's appointment follows the demise of KPCC working president and former MP R Dhruvanarayana.
Continuing his tirade against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Janata Dal-Secular state unit President H D Kumaraswamy on Monday dubbed him the "most corrupt chief minister" of Karnataka.
Congress has criticised Janata Dal Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy, son of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, after the former revealed that his father was offered a bribe for defence deals. Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary questioned why the statement by Kumaraswamy was being aired in the media after over a decade.
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.
The BJP presented a surplus, farmer friendly budget for Rs 18.85 crore for the year 2008-09. Emphasis was also given to Bengaluru city with Rs 36,000 crore being allocated for infrastructure development. In his budget speech, Yeddyurappa said that the main intention was to improve the image of Bengaluru and put it on the global map. For this to take place the development of infrastructure was the key.
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
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.
The BJP on Wednesday also named its in-charges for assembly bypolls to four seats in Tripura.
On being branded as a party of Lingayats, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in North Karnataka, other parties were trying to give his party this image. "However, this is untrue and the distribution of tickets, especially in Bangalore, will prove that wrong. Most of our candidates are from the Vokkaliga and Reddy community and hence branding the BJP as a party of Lingayats is not correct," he added.
Moves are being made by senior leaders of Janata Dal (Secular) for his expulsion from the party.
A Janata Dal-Secular corporator was shot dead by unidentified persons at Banashankari area of Bengaluru on Sunday, the police said.
This time, aspiring candidates are presenting neat applications. A bio-data, running into a minimum of four pages and mentioning all their credentials, letters of recommendation and several papers mentioning their loyalty towards their respective party. However, in Karnataka, at least this time, it is very evident that the elections are going to be fought mainly on the caste factor.
BSR Party chief Sriramulu has claimed that he has the support of over 20 BJP MLAs. He would need just ten MLAs from the BJP to cross vote in order to defeat Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Battling allegations of corruption and nepotism, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said he would soon release "documentary evidence" on scams during the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular regimes in the state.
Suspected Janata Dal-Secular supporters attacked the residence of a key aide of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa after he made allegations of land-grabbing against the former prime minister and their party chief H D Deve Gowda
The star campaigner of the The Bharatiya Janata Party, B S Yeddyurappa, who is hoping to capitalise on public sympathy after the Janata Dal-Secular did him in within seven days of taking charge as chief minister, has said his party will provide free power to farmers who own irrigation pump sets up to 10 horse power in the state.
Siddaramaiah said his main task was to bring the Congress back to power in the state.
