The Karnataka legislative assembly on Wednesday witnessed chaotic and unruly scenes as angry Bharatiya Jansata Party legislators tore copies of bills and the agenda, and threw them at the deputy speaker, who was presiding, following which Speaker U T Khader suspended 10 of them for the remainder of the session.
Besides, Rs 360 crore will be allocated for Chief Ministers' Special Development Programme and Minorities Colony Development Programme in the year, he said.
Senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad's statements regarding ministerial and chief ministerial posts, along with his veiled dig at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to have created a sense of unease within the ruling party in Karnataka.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Neha's parents in Hubballi, he claimed that the statements made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, home minister G Parameshwara and a few ministers in connection with this case are "very disturbing".
According to party sources, the Congress leadership has been making efforts to convince some ministers and lawmakers to contest, as they have faced problems in identifying winnable candidates in several segments.
Khan while reacting to party's state president DK Shivakumar's attempt to consolidate the Vokkaliga community, had recently said that nobody can become the chief minister with support from just one community.
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.
Polling is being held for 224 seats in what is being seen mainly as a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal-Secular.
Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday reiterated that upcoming assembly elections will be his last electoral battle, but he will remain active in Karnataka politics.
Savadi would now be the grand old party's candidate in Athani in Belagavi district, Congress leaders said.
Evidence of several irregularities have been detected in the transfer of 14 sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to B M Parvathi, the wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, according to the Enforcement Directorate.
These meetings with the district in-charge ministers, other ministers from districts concerned and MLAs and MLCs will take place at the chief minister's office residence 'Krishna' from 11 am to 7 pm with a break of two hours from 2 pm to 4 pm, the party office bearers said.
Rejoicing over the Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory in Gujarat, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the election results there will have a positive effect on the party's prospects in poll-bound Karnataka.
The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case over which the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accorded sanction for investigation against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has its origins more than three decades ago.
Police sources said that four persons have been detained for questioning in connection with Friday's low-intensity bomb blast at The Rameshwaram Cafe.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
In controversial remarks, Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday said terrorists have no caste or religion and questioned veracity of the claim that terrorists asked about faith of tourists before killing them in Kashmir's Pahalgam town last week.
According to Congress, the five schemes are 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti).
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given a rousing welcome by thousands of people, including United Democratic Front leaders and workers, at Kalpetta in Wayanad on Wednesday as she prepares to make her electoral debut by filing nomination papers for the coming Lok Sabha bypoll.
More than Rs 8 crore unaccounted cash has been seized in subsequent raids at various locations by Lokayukta. The arrested officer's father is Madal Virupakshappa, the MLA representing Channagiri constituency in Davangere district of the state.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the CM said, "There is no situation for revisiting it at the government level. There is no such intention, there is no such proposal."
The constituency comprises nearly 60,000 Kurubas -- a community which the CM belongs to -- and a Muslim population of at least 20,000. With their unified backing, there is no overt danger to the CM, reports Aditi Phadnis.
'Entire process of meeting individual legislators of Congress party has been completed with great bohemia.'
There are lessons for the Congress to learn from the Karnataka elections of how burying the hatchet among top leaders and not washing dirty linen in public can help, says Ramesh Menon.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said 52 deaths have been reported so far due to pre-monsoon rains in the state, along with damage to properties, and directed officials concerned to provide immediate relief.
The police which are probing the matter on Bommai's instruction had arrested B R Naidu, the former chief of Congress' Karnataka unit social media team, on Wednesday night from his residence.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
Asserting that his government will implement the five poll 'guarantees' promised ahead of the assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said officials have shared their inputs on financial implications, and the cabinet will meet on June 2 to decide on the implementation.
Bommai alleged that in the name of providing insurance to the people on Karnataka's side of the border, the Maharashtra government is taking declaration letters from them stating that they belong to Maharashtra. "This is condemnable."
The Cabinet held a detailed discussion regarding the five guarantees and its implementation, and has arrived at decisions, Siddaramaiah who headed the meeting told reporters.
As Karnataka gears up for D-Day, with most exit poll projections predicting a hung assembly while putting the Congress in the lead, the outcome will boil down to how the battle for some key constituencies play out.
Shettar alleged that he had been humiliated by the BJP by denying him a ticket and that party is today in the control of "very few people."
Security was stepped up in Ramanagara, Shivakumar's home district, on Wednesday as a precautionary measure in light of his supporters staging protests at multiple places after some media outlets claimed that he lost the race for the chief minister's post to Siddaramaiah.
The unemployment allowance would be given for a period of two years from the date of announcement of the result or till he/she becomes employed/self-employed whichever is earlier.
In a letter to the Karnataka chief secretary, the Commission said the state government did not obtain prior approval from it for publishing the advertisements, an action violative of the poll code instructions issued to central and state governments years ago.
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.
Moving a resolution, Stalin said that in the event of increase in the number of seats in Parliament, 1971 Census should be the basis for it. Also, the 1971 Census should be basis for delimitation of LS seats for 30 years from 2026, he asserted.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday questioned the ED slapping a money laundering case against him in the MUDA 'scam' and once again ruled out his resignation over the issue.
He said the bill will be taken up for discussion in the next cabinet meeting to clear the doubts.
The Congress on Wednesday released a list of 40 leaders who would be the party's star campaigners for the May 10 assembly elections.
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