Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asserted that Marathi is the language of Mumbai and Maharashtra and anyone who lives here should learn and speak it. Fadnavis was speaking in the state assembly after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said the government should clarify its stand on senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi's comments that a person coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda has appointed Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and party general secretary Vinod Tawde as central observers for the election of the leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly.
The three seats fell vacant following the resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi to contest the assembly elections.
While data can empower communities, it reinforces identities, making local politics more caste-centric, with decisions increasingly contested on the grounds of representation.
Such dynamics could lead to shifting alliances and, in the worst case, local governance getting paralysed as each group demands proportional power-sharing, explain Amitabh Kundu and Mehebub Rahaman.
With 103 members belonging to the BJP, the Karnataka assembly will witness a balance it has never seen.
It looks like he struck an instant chord with the people, with the voters rewarding the Congress with a comfortable majority of 136 seats in the 224 member Karnataka Legislative Assembly for which elections were held on May 10, and the votes counted on Saturday.
Congress legislators spent the whole night inside the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council, escalating demand for the dismissal of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa over his statement regarding the national flag.
The resolution which also condemned the border dispute 'created' by Maharashtra and moved by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, was adopted by a voice vote.
Unidentified assailants attacked three cows in Bengaluru, severing their udders and sparking outrage in the Chamarajapet area. The incident has led to tension in the city, with the BJP calling for a 'Black Sankranti' if the government fails to take action against the perpetrators. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed the police to investigate the case and take action against the culprits.
The 61 year-old leader was the Minister for Home Affairs, Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature in Yediyurappa's council of ministers that was dissolved on Monday and was also the Minister in-charge of Haveri and Udupi Districts.
D V Sadananda Gowda who replaced B S Yeddyurappa as the chief Minister of Karnataka won the elections to the Karnataka legislative assembly on Thursday.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the orders and legislations enforced under the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime like school textbook revision and anti-conversion laws, which are against the state's interest, would be revised or withdrawn by the new Congress government after reviewing them.
The resolution moved by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Karnataka state legislature had passed a resolution on the issue to purposely fuel the border row.
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.
Coalitions in Karnataka are a relatively new concept. The first real coalition was formed only in 2004 by the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular with N Dharam Singh as the chief minister. After this government fell, the JD-S joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and formed the government with H D Kumaraswamy as the chief minister.
Chinchansur, a prominent leader of the Koli-Kabbaliga community in the Kalyana Karnataka region, resigned from his post of Member of the Legislative Council on Monday.
In the wake of allegations against police for ill-treating Karnataka MLC C T Ravi in custody, the police on Tuesday clarified that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was shifted to various places for security reasons and to avoid disrupting public order.
'The Muslims in Karnataka are safe and secure. The state government belongs to everybody.'
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader K G Bopaiah was on Wednesday elected as the speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The elections were held after Jagadish Shettar stepped down the post to be sworn in as a cabinet minister in the B S Yeddyurappa government.
Several BJP and JD-S leaders joining the Congress ahead of the May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka is an evidence to prove that public sentiment is in favour of the party and it will come to power, its state unit President D K Shivakumar said on Monday.
BJP MLC C T Ravi was arrested in Karnataka, India, for allegedly using derogatory language against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. He was released on bail by the High Court of Karnataka, which observed that police failed to follow proper procedures during his arrest. The incident has sparked a political showdown between the BJP and the ruling Congress in the state.
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.
Former Karnataka chief minister S R Bommai died in Bangalore on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 84.
State Congress president D K Shivakumar even tore papers on his table, in protest against the introduction of the bill, which his party called 'draconian and anti-constitution'.
Anti-Corruption Bureau officials of Andhra Pradesh on Monday held Karnataka legislator T H Suresh Babu in Hyderabad in connection with the cash-for-bail case involving former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy.
Congress legislators will spend Thursday night inside the Karnataka legislative assembly and council, demanding the sacking of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa and also that he be booked for sedition for his statement about the national flag.
The Karnataka government can have 34 ministers. Ten of them, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, were sworn in on May 20.
Amid speculation that he has been asked to come to the national capital by the high command, he said: "I have not received any call yet. Let's see."
The state is funding the tour even as ten districts were in the grip of monsoon fury and at least six districts were drought-hit. The government had asked for central funds for relief measures.
Jagadish Shettar was elected as the speaker of the new Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Shettar was elected unopposed as both the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular decided against fielding a candidate for the post of Speaker
The Karnataka legislative assembly is in disarray and the Opposition has refused to let proceedings begin until the chief minister orders a CBI probe into the illegal mining. Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa explains the issue.
"If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan," the Chief Minister told reporters.
After sleeping over in the assembly for nearly a week, members of the Karnataka legislative assembly are ready for more drama -- it is time for Yatra politics in the state. The first of the yatras (processions on foot) will commence on July 25 led by the opposition Congress.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
A crucial meeting of the Janata Dal-Secular legislature party is scheduled to commence at 0900 hours where a final call will be taken whether to support the BJP or not. JDS supreme H D Deve Gowda has been authorised by his party to take the final decision.
With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
Lingayats are said to constitute about 17 per cent of Karnataka's population, and the community has dominance in as many as 100 out of total 224 constituencies, majority of these seats being in north Karnataka region.
The Goa government's decision has not gone down well with Opposition parties and industry bodies.
The legislators had earlier been lodged in a resort on the outskirts of Chennai.
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