Radhika Ramaseshan reports on why the Karnataka chief minister risked crossing swords with his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and its ideological wellspring, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The Bharatiya Janata Party has acted against two senior leaders from Karnataka for their public loyalty to former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa. While B Puttaswamy, cabinet minister in the ruling BJP government, has been sacked, Member of Parliament G Basavaraj has been suspended from the party. The decision was taken at the meeting of the core committee of the BJP held in New Delhi on Saturday and announced by Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Tuesday suffered an embarrassment after party MLA Haladi Srinivasa Shetty resigned from the Assembly over denial of ministerial berth in the Jagadish Shettar cabinet.
Asserting he will abide by rules, the speaker said he will take a "just decision which may be of convenience to some and inconvenience to some."
Twenty-two ministers were sworn-in by President Pranab Mukherjee, his first swearing-in since becoming President, on Sunday morning. Seven were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, two as ministers of state with independent charge, and 13 as ministers of state
'Why is the entire Cabinet running around in Bangalore?' 'Why are they making arrangements for horse-trading?' 'Is this not the BJP's greed for power?' 'They have won the entire country. Why are they so desperate for Karnataka?'
Modi has appointed P K Sinha, who superannuated as cabinet secretary on Friday, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he said.
Problems for Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa continued with the Congress lodging a complaint against him and his sons in connection with a land scam on Friday.
'The handling of the pandemic, under this totally constitutional and legal three-level dictatorship, has begun to show its downside,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The apex court, in a plethora of verdicts, has given varying judicial opinions on Speakers' powers ranging from refusing to intervene in the matter to assuming the role of the Speaker itself and going to the extent of disqualifying lawmakers under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
'When it is an open ballot, the division taking place in the open house will be for all to see.' 'As they say sunlight is the best disinfectant, this (aspect of the order) brings in transparency and it's in keeping with the best democratic principles.'
Failure to deliver on governance, corruption allegations, preoccupation with Lok Sabha and gram panchayat polls and factionalism have weakened Siddaramaiah's government in Karnataka. This may well hand the BJP a chance to make a comeback in the state, says Raghu Krishnan.
If he doesn't win next year, it will set back the party's prospects in 2024. If he wins, it will be seen as his win as much as the BJP high command's, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Of the 20 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, eight were from Maharashtra, three each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, two from Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
A protegee of Advani, she stood out due to her mass appeal, an ability most of the party's second generation leaders lacked, resulting in her being elected to the Lok Sabha four times.
Last week, the Union Cabinet decided to import 1.2 lakh tonnes of onions to improve the domestic supply and control prices, which touched Rs 100 per kg earlier this month.
'Modi-Shah have understood the risks their cynical mixing of domestic political motivations with strategic national interests was soon going to become counterproductive asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Born on November 3, 1933 at Challakere in Chitradurga, Sharief had an illustrious political career spanning 50 years.
Sadananda Gowda resigned as the chief minister of Karnataka on Wednesday and Jagadish Shettar met Governor H R Bhardwaj at Raj Bhavan to stake his claim to form the new government. Shettar will be sworn in as the new Karnataka CM on Thursday. However, the crisis is not yet over for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.
Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu on Monday welcomed Karnataka government's decision to appeal against Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's acquittal in a wealth case, with DMK terming it as the "right" step by the ruling Congress party.
The longest-serving state party president since October 2010, Parameshwara has remained a hardcore loyalist of the party ever since his political debut through the Congress.
The new Ministers of State sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh.
Telangana will have to wait a while before it finds a representation in the Narendra Modi cabinet.
Before the MCC came into effect, Modi was busy laying stones, cutting ribbons, and unveiling plaques across the country.
The brewing discontentment in the party may adversely impact the TMC's prospects in the next assembly polls due in April-May next year.
There are many factors that are being debated about Governor Bhardwaj's latest course of action where he went ahead and recommended President's rule in Karnataka.
Taking on Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj for recommending president's rule, the National Democratic Alliance on Monday decided to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to demand his dismissal and asked Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to parade all his supporting MLAs in front of the president.
Ahead of expelled leader Sasikala's return on February 8 to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday lodged a complaint with police against her camp alleging a 'conspiracy' to unleash 'violence' and sought action to ensure peace in the state.
Students ran from pillar to post in a vain bid to appear for the exam.
A message from KCR on Thursday evening persuaded the Congress to take its MLAs to Hyderabad.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said he would meet Governor H R Bhardwaj soon to request him to convene the session of the state assembly early in June. "I will meet the governor along with a few of my Cabinet colleagues to request him to allow us to start the assembly session," Yeddyurappa said in Delhi, before leaving for Bangalore.He said it was for the second time that the state Cabinet has recommended the session dates.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
As the coronavirus pandemic made courts adopt the new normal and go virtual in 2020, the Union law ministry pitched in by providing the required infrastructure to ensure online hearings are held smoothly.
In Jaipur, the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, both second-line HIV drugs, was administered was administered on an elderly Italian couple undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at the SMS Hospital.
The counting will begin at 8 am, and as per the Election Commission's COVID-19 guidelines, a candidate, his poll agent and counting agent can remain present in the counting hall, officials said, adding various measures have been taken to ensure social distancing and avoid crowding.
The figure is based on the base price of spectrum for the upcoming auction fixed by the TRAI and on the assumption that there will be no bidding war.
Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel died in Ahmedabad on Thursday after prolonged illness, family sources said. Patel (92) had recovered from Covid-19 recently and was rushed to a hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning following health complications, the sources said.
The Congress had released 3 audio tapes in run up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' on the party MLAs
AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam is said to be upset at his son Raveendranath Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP, being denied a ministerial chance for a second time in a row, beginning with the formation of Modi 2.0 in 2019, reveals N Sathiya Moorthy.
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