Sitharaman added that no Union finance minister can play with the Finance Commission's recommendations.
Karnataka Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge on Monday lodged a complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party national president J P Nadda, BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya and BJP Chandigarh president Arun Sood for malicious posts against Rahul Gandhi, particularly an animated video that allegedly features altered versions of the Congress leader's speeches.
About 58,000 police personnel are maintaining vigil on 12,389 polling stations in the districts of Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga,Bidar, Gadag, Dharwad and Haveri. Brisk voting was witnessed in parts of Gulbarga and Dharwad where people queued up to cast votes in the morning. However, the turnout was low in Bijapur and Bagalkot where only about nine per cent of votes had been polled.
The government will introduce a bill in this regard in the upcoming legislature session, which starts on July 3.
There appears to be no solution in sight to the ongoing crisis in the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on an official visit to Bengaluru to attend various events, on Friday met Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party strongman and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, at his residence for breakfast and held discussions.
The members of the RSS' student wing holding their organisation's saffron flag stormed inside the compound of Jnanendra's bungalow at Jayamahal here and raised slogans like 'We want justice'.
According to Gandhi's lawyer Kashi Prasad Shukla, the Congress MP, who appeared before special judge Shubham Verma, said he never made a statement against anyone that could lead to a case of defamation.
'I fear that Karnataka is going to the polls next year and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has staked claim to Akkalkot and Solapur'
Showering encomiums on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for good governance, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party strongman B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday said the ongoing party national executive at Mumbai should deliberate on promoting him as prime ministerial candidate, among other issues.
With only a few hours remaining, candidates have been hitting the streets with door-to-door campaigns, distributing pamphlets with the party name and serial numbers.
Buoyed by the high court verdict upholding the disqualification of 11 rebel Members of Legislative Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday stepped up its attack on Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj, demanding his immediate recall for 'illegal and unconstitutional acts' if he does not step down on his own."The governor of Karnataka, if he has got any respect for the Constitution and standards in public life, should quit forthwith," said Venkaiah Naidu.
With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls in Karnataka, leaders of the two parties seem 'jittery' over the outcome, while the Janata Dal-Secular appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation.
'We will win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.'
With political crisis in the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party blowing over for the time being, the party on Monday hinted to the rebels that the central leadership will look into their demand and take an "appropriate action" at an appropriate time.
"Crores of rupees were approved for temples and he (Amit Shah) says the steering is in my hand. If the steering is in my hand, then why do you feel the pain?," he said.
While former chief minister S M Krishna said that he was not sure about his role in Karnataka politics, Prakash, a former JD-S leader has yet to take a decision on his political future, despite the Bharatiya Janata Party's advances.
An expansion of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party Council of Ministers in Karnataka will take place within a fortnight, state Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government has adjourned the Karnataka legislative assembly sine die to wade off the opposition protests seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into illegal mining.
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday charged that "bad governance" and "corruption" had slackened state's progress and a sense of insecurity was prevalent among the minorities.
The BJP in Karnataka has claimed that the Lokayukta probe has cleared the party's previous government from 40 per cent commission charges, calling the allegations by the Congress "false". The BJP leaders claim that the allegations were part of the Congress' "tool kit" and were used during the 2023 Assembly polls to corner the then BJP government. However, the Congress government has stated that they have not yet seen the report and that acquittals happen due to a lack of evidence. The BJP has also alleged that the current Congress government is a "60 per cent commission government" and has cited several scams during their time in power.
With Bharatiya Janata Party facing 'dynasty politics' criticism, following the appointment of veteran leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra as its Karnataka unit president, party's senior leader C T Ravi on Saturday tried to dodge related questions, and in a cryptic remark said he too is being haunted by certain 'questions'.
Many in the party feel it has played a critical role in boosting the Congress' electoral fortunes in the state and its impact is there for everyone to see.
Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Friday expressed unhappiness over Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari's accusation that he was 'acting like an opposition leader', saying he failed to understand why he said so.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka facing political crisis, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and newly-elected Vice President Rahul Gandhi held detailed discussions with former External Affairs Minister and senior party leader S M Krishna about the political scene ahead of the May assembly polls there.
Three of the fence-sitters rule fairly large states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha that together send 63 members to Lok Sabha -- where the Congress or other opposition parties have been pushed to the margins.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa moved a motion seeking a vote of confidence in the legislative assembly at 1530 hours. The one line motion moved by Yeddyurappa requested the opposition to approve the motion without a debate. He requested that the vote of confidence be held immediately, but opposition Congress insisted that a debate be held before the vote of confidence takes place.
Reacting to the development, Karnataka primary and secondary education minister Madhu Bangarappa clarified that the award is only withheld and not cancelled.
Days after the Karnataka governor granted sanction for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case, the Congress' top leadership on Friday expressed its backing for him and alleged that the Centre had unleashed a systematic assault through a 'puppet governor' to destabilise an elected government.
Police said 52 people have been arrested following Wednesday night's incidents and prohibitory orders preventing the assembly of more than four people have been imposed in Nagamangala town in Mandya district till September 14 as a precautionary measure.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would soon form government at the Centre, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed on Wednesday as he predicted that the ruling National Democratic Alliance will not complete its five-year term.
A source in the CEC's office claimed that the money power of the Congress and BJP candidates in states like Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra pales in comparison to candidates from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
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.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has been chosen to lead the Bharatiya Janata Party in the forthcoming Karnataka elections. Member of Parliament and senior BJP leader Prahlad Joshi informed reporters in Bangalore that Shettar would the leader of the party.
The BJP was unable to win any seat in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala besides Puducherry in 2011.
The Lok Sabha member from Dakshina Kannada met family members of Krishnappa, a BJP worker who was allegedly hacked to death, while his wife and son were grievously injured in the attack after they protested against bursting of crackers outside their house in Bengaluru Rural district's Hoskote on Sunday.
Renewing his attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka, Governor H R Bhardwaj on Friday charged it with having 'failed' to check illegal mining and demanded that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa reply to his recent letters on illegal mining and alleged land scams. "Illegal mining is still continuing. No action is taken by the government here," said Bhardwaj, who wrote to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa two days ago seeking a report on the issue.
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 Bharatiya Janata Party replaced at least 25 sitting MPs with new faces as the party released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.
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