Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka over the border row, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Friday said Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is heaping 'grave atrocities' on Marathi people in the neighbouring state."Marathis are being assaulted with sticks and guns and beaten up like cattle. If the Karnataka government wants to display its masochism by attacking Marathi people, it should remember that Maharashtra is land of Shivaji Maharaj," fumed Thackeray.
A verbal duel of sorts has erupted between two senior ministers -- M B Patil and Shivanand Patil -- about seniority as the yardstick to become the Chief Minister.
The bomb blast near the state Bharatiya Janata Party city office that left at least 16 people injured indicated the hand of terrorists and state police has set up a special team to investigate the attack, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the borewell in his house in Sadashivanagar in the state capital has gone dry for the first time. This happened despite the fact that Sadashivanagar is located next to Sankey Lake.
In this interview with Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Kharge says that he is not an aspirant to the chair of the chief minister, but also adds that the final decision would be with the party high command.
"There is no threat to the government. On February 8, I am going to present the budget. Nothing to worry about," he told reporters after Governor H R Bhardwaj's address to the joint state legislature session in Bengaluru.
He will be holding a meeting with Ministers of Education and Home departments and officials later in the day aimed at taking certain measures to restore cordial and peaceful atmosphere and discipline at educational institutions.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge and Congress leader B K Hariprasad have raised concerns about the RSS not being a registered organization and questioned the sources of its funding, alleging that this lack of registration allows the RSS to evade government regulations. BJP leaders have defended the RSS, stating that registration is not mandatory for all organizations.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar accuses the BJP of politicizing the Dharmasthala 'multiple murders and burials' case, criticizing their protests and questioning their motives.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, IT industry veteran N R Narayana Murthy along with wife Sudha Murty, and Mysuru royal family member 'Rajamate' Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, were among the early voters who cast their ballot in the Karnataka Assembly polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance appeared to register a landslide victory in Bihar, opening up impressive leads in more than 180 of the state's 243 assembly seats, with early trends also indicating that the saffron party was on track to post its biggest tally.
Attacking Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in the wake of the Lokayukta indicting him on the illegal mining issue, Left parties on Thursday demanded his resignation, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leader has no moral authority to continue in his office.
Unidentified men posing as central government officials intercepted a cash van in Bengaluru and allegedly fled with about Rs 7 crore. Police are investigating the incident and have formed teams to hunt for the suspects.
Lok Sabha member D V Sadananda Gowda was on Thursday sworn-in as chief minister of Karnataka, succeeding B S Yeddyurappa, who quit in the wake of the Lokayukta report on illegal mining that indicted him.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has decided to remain silent and direct all inquiries to party spokespersons following criticism over various issues, including his singing of the RSS anthem and remarks about the Chamundeswari hill.
The Karnataka high court on Monday did not grant interim relief to Nikhil Sosale, head of marketing, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who was arrested on June 6 in connection with the fatal stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and adjourned the matter for hearing on Tuesday.
The decision to invite Mushtaq had sparked controversy, with several petitions challenging the Karnataka government's move.
Sixty-eight-year old Dharam Singh would be the chief minister.
Nine ministers of cabinet rank and four ministers of state were inducted at the swearing in ceremony at Raj Bhavan with Governor Vajubhai Vala administering the oath of office and secrecy.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj on Thursday rapped the Bharatiya Janata Party government over inadequate rehabilitation work in the state's flood-hit northern districts, but Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa disagreed with his view and asserted that relief work was going on a 'war-footing'. Bhardwaj said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conducted an aerial survey of the affected districts and announced an aid of Rs 1,000 crore, "but nothing has been done by the state government". "
As the three dissident ministers continued their defiant stance against him, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday talked tough, hinting at 'stern action' against them."These people cannot cow me down. They are worried about my popularity graph," Yeddyurappa told reporters.Yeddyurappa said he has asked the party central leadership to take action against Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy and Health Minister B Sreeramulu.
The MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations are being raided by the federal probe agency officials along with an escort of a central paramilitary force, the sources said.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed in Madhya Pradesh to investigate the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara, suspected to be linked to a toxic cough syrup. The investigation includes arrests, exhumations, and a ban on the implicated cough syrup.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the government is trying to find out details about the student from Haveri district who was reportedly injured due to the shelling by Russian forces in Ukraine's Kharkiv city.
Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
Denying reports of his resignation, Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda has said the question of a leadership change does not arise in Karnataka.
With his government facing flak over recent attacks against churches, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday blamed certain Christain organisations for flaring up "disharmony and social tension" in the state.
These remarks from a legislator considered close to Shivakumar come amid renewed speculation about a leadership change in Karnataka later this year.
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.
'Rahul Gandhi's problem is that he doesn't think big.' 'He looks more like an activist, while politics is like a game of chess. You attack and then defend and have a game-plan.'
Three months after coming to power, the ruling Congress on Thursday passed an order setting up the inquiry panel led by retired HC judge Justice Nagamohan Das, fulfilling one of its key promises made in the run-up to assembly polls.
Yeddyurappa, who could not stop smiling while the ceremony, said he swore upon God and the farmers' community in Karnataka that he will govern the state to the best of his ability.
Stoking a controversy, a local Bharatiya Janata Party leader has threatened to behead Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in public if he consumed cow meat in Shivamogga.
D Sadananda Gowda will be sworn in as the new chief minister of Karnataka on Thursday at 4.30 pm, according to a communication from the Raj Bhavan.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the RSS of "majority communalism" over an article published in an RSS mouthpiece regarding the Catholic Church's property holdings in India. The article, which has since been removed from the website, called for the government to acquire the church's land, claiming it was illegally leased during the British era. Vijayan said the article reveals the "true mindset" of the RSS and its alleged plan to "target minority groups one by one and destroy them step by step." The Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, echoed Vijayan's concerns, stating that the article shows the RSS's intent to target the Church's property. He also claimed that the article's publication coincides with the passing of the Waqf Bill in Parliament, suggesting a pattern of targeting religious communities. Meanwhile, the BJP state president, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, denied the article's accuracy and stated that the article was removed after it was found to be untrue. He also emphasized that owning land is not a crime, and countered allegations that the Congress and Waqf have illegally acquired land in Karnataka. Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Thalassery, however, expressed confidence that the Church is not afraid of any "Church Bill", as its properties have been earned through hard work. He said the Church will take legal action if necessary.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
A controversy has erupted in Mysuru over the ownership of Chamundi Hill, home to the Chamundeshwari Temple, ahead of the Dasara festival. Pramoda Devi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family criticized Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's statement that the hill is not the property of Hindus alone, leading to a heated exchange and raising questions about the nature of the upcoming Dasara celebrations.
In the wake of threats by some outfits to organise protests on Valentine's Day, the Centre on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to take "preventive and punitive" action to ensure law and order.
If the exit polls in Karnataka are to be believed, the Congress will manage to scrape through and get a thin majority in the state assembly when the votes are counted on Wednesday. But the party may have a tough time in selecting a chief minister as senior leaders Dr G Parameshwar and Siddaramaiah are both eyeing the coveted post.
Asserting that his government still enjoyed a majority even after 13 Bharatiya Janata Party Members of Legislative Assembly announced their resignations, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Sunday said he was ready to face a No-Confidence Motion moved by the opposition. "I have majority. There is no threat to the government. I am ready to face a No-Confidence Motion if the opposition moves it," he told reporters.
