Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed officials on Saturday to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers regarding Waqf land.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's mortal remains were brought to the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, where top party leaders paid their last respects. Singh, who headed the Congress-led UPA government and is considered the architect of India's economic reforms, died on Thursday at 92. A seven-day national mourning will be observed throughout the country in his honor.
Thousands of people participated in a 'silent march' in Kolhapur on Sunday, demanding that 36-year-old female elephant Mahadevi (also called Madhuri), be brought back from Vantara wildlife rescue, treatment, and rehabilitation centre in Gujarat's Jamnagar district.
'Modi's charisma may have weakened as last year's Lok Sabha poll results showed but in the eyes of the Sangh Parivar, it has not waned.' 'Minus a strong BJP government at the Centre for another decade and more, there is apprehension that an anti-Hindutva government could reverse many of the ideological gains that the Modi dispensation has achieved through its three terms,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress on Saturday made a stunning comeback in Karnataka ousting the Bharatiya Janata Party from its lone southern citadel with a comfortable majority in a morale booster win that will be key for reviving its electoral fortunes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Tamannaah Bhatia bagged an endorsement for Mysore Sandal Soap but not everyone's happy about it.
Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as Vice President has led to speculation about underlying political tensions and disagreements with the ruling alliance.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami is under pressure from his party as his unclear stand on the BJP alliance has brought back fears among party workers that the party may lose its identity, be forced into an unwanted coalition, and be taken over by the BJP later, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP has vehemently criticized the Karnataka government's decision to provide four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, labeling it an "unconstitutional misadventure." The party has pledged to challenge the move in court and has vowed to oppose it at all levels. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party has defended the reservation, arguing that it aligns with constitutional provisions. The issue has led to heated exchanges in the Karnataka Assembly, with both parties accusing each other of engaging in appeasement politics.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has overturned the Karnataka government's suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was suspended following a fatal stampede at a stadium last month. The tribunal's decision could also lead to the reinstatement of other suspended officers.
In a dramatic development, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Minister C P Yogeeshwara on Wednesday quit his party and joined the Congress, which is now expected to field him in the November 13 assembly bypolls from Channapatna.
Prominent Vokkaliga pontiff of Adi Chunchanagiri Nirmalananda Natha Swamiji on Sunday appealed to the Congress leadership to appoint Karnataka party unit president D K Shivakumar as the next chief minister of the state.
Karnataka minister Satish Jarkiholi on Wednesday said the guarantee schemes need to be reviewed so that only the economically weaker sections, and not the rich, benefit from them, sparking a debate on the ambitious programmes launched by the Congress government.
Residents of a village in Kapu assembly segment of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency have decided to boycott the upcoming election, in protest against the poor civic amenities there.
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.
Rajeev Shukla is set to replace Roger Binny as BCCI president in an interim capacity after the latter turns 70 next month.
Post-Karnataka, it would be a mistake to underestimate the BJP. It should be amply clear by now that the Right-Wing is more an elaborate theatre than a single scene, actor or play, warns Shyam G Menon.
Here's how some of the heavyweights fared in the Karnataka elections.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
A BJP MLC in Karnataka, N Ravikumar, has been booked for allegedly making a derogatory remark against the Kalaburagi deputy commissioner, Fouzia Tarannum, calling her a "Pakistani." The comment, made during a BJP protest, has sparked outrage, with the IAS Officer's Association demanding an unconditional apology from Ravikumar. The association described the remark as "baseless, unjustified, and entirely devoid of rationale." An FIR has been registered against the MLC and the matter is under investigation.
The Opposition Congress on Saturday seemed to be on course to breach rival Bharatiya Janata Party's lone southern citadel Karnataka, inching towards the magic figure of 113 needed to form a government on its own.
Top state leaders--Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Congress' Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar and Janata Dal-Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy are contesting from different seats.
Shivakumar also claimed that the BJP wanted to call for elections in Karnataka soon after the 2022 Gujarat poll results were out but backtracked on the move.
The Prime Minister's charge comes a day after former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed a campaign rally at Hubballi on Saturday.
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.
The new chief minister, if from the Congress, will have little or no time for political administration, to ensure that he does not lose the voter's goodwill even before the Lok Sabha polls. He can count only on one thing. That the BJP may not want to upset him too early lest an early failure should become an added problem for the party in all the polls to follow, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
'We try to connect people, but they disconnect people.'
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified his remarks on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying he did not call for no war with Pakistan, but emphasized that war should only be a last resort. His comments, which were played up by Pakistan media, have sparked criticism from the BJP, which accused him of acting like a "puppet" of an enemy nation.
A day after fielding Mohammed Yousuf Savanur as its candidate from Shiggaon in Haveri district, the party nominated Yasir Ahmed Khan Phatan in his place.
Opposition to the Karnataka government's proposed implementation of a caste census has intensified with dominant communities raising concerns about the survey's findings. The report, which has not been publicly released, is said to contradict traditional perceptions regarding the numerical strength of various castes, particularly Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. These communities, along with political parties, including sections of the ruling Congress, have criticized the survey as "unscientific" and demanded a fresh assessment. The Vokkaligara Sangha and the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha have expressed strong opposition, alleging that the report misrepresents their populations and demanding a fresh survey. Meanwhile, Dalit and OBC groups have defended the survey and its recommendations, including an increase in reservation for OBCs to 51%. The controversy has fueled political tensions in Karnataka, with opposition parties accusing the Congress government of using the caste census for political gain.
The Congress on Monday distanced itself from the controversial comments of some of its leaders on the Pahalgam terror attack, saying that only the recent CWC resolution and the views expressed by AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and authorised AICC office-bearers represent its position. The opposition party's assertion comes in the wake of remarks by leaders like Vijay Wadettiwar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Shashi Tharoor, Tariq Hameed Karra and Saifuddin Soz that have triggered a row, with the BJP alleging that some from the opposition party were speaking "Pakistan's language".
The Rajya Sabha, India's upper house of parliament, was adjourned on Monday without transacting any business due to a heated exchange between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress over the issue of reservations to Muslims in public contracts in Karnataka. The BJP accused Congress of seeking to amend the Constitution to provide reservations based on religion, while Congress asserted its commitment to protecting the Constitution. The debate centered around a statement by a senior Congress leader, who was reportedly advocating for changing the Constitution to provide reservations for Muslims.
The missive to the chief minister came as the MLAs were reportedly shepherded to Mumbai last night and kept in a five-star hotel to apparently prevent them from being poached for the June 11 biennial polls to four RS seats from the state.
A video released on Monday, the second in two days, shows the two leaders presenting a united front in the polls and exchanging notes on the Congress campaign.
The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially.
The city received about 104 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, inundating many low-lying areas and leading to traffic pile-up, prompting the BJP to launch a scathing attack on the ruling Congress.
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.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge- one of the candidates in the party's presidential polls, cast their votes in the election to the top post, for which voting is underway in Karnataka on Monday.
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