The special Lokayukta court on Friday posted to August 8 for orders, the second of the five private complaints filed against Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and family members in connection with alleged illegal denotification of government lands.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership's decision asking Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to step down has also put a question mark on the continuance of the Bellary brothers in the Cabinet as they have too have been indicted in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining.
Ahead of the crucial Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka which will be submitted before the chief secretary on Wednesday morning, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has sought the intervention of the Gods.
Congress and Left parties on Thursday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa following his indictment by the state Lokayukta on illegal mining issue but a defensive Bharatiya Janata Party ruled out his stepping down.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday rejected Opposition parties demand for resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in the wake of a Lokayukta report indicting him on illegal mining, claiming that he had no "direct nexus" with mining activity.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Sunday insisted that he had given no licence for mining in forest area in Karnataka in his capacity as the state chief minister, a day after a probe was ordered against him in a mining scam.
A whistle-blower, who dared to make a complaint to the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta against a minister, is now being hounded by the latter. Literally terrorised by the minister's sustained intimidation, the whistle-blower is now on the run.
The Lokayukta Court on Tuesday adjourned to September 17 hearing of the bail applications by B S Yeddyurappa and 14 others in connection with a private complaint alleging irregularities in denotification of government land by him.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Monday favoured handing over the probe into illegal mining in the state to the Central Bureau of Investigation, maintaining that the Obalapuram Mining Company owned by former minister G Janardhana Reddy indulged in such activity.
With Congress praising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for rebuffing Team Anna on the state Lokayukta Bill, lawyer Shanti Bhushan on Friday wondered whether there was a deal between him and the ruling party at the Centre.
The Karnataka high court on Tuesday refused to grant a stay on the proceedings initiated against former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and his wife by a lower court on a private complaint filed against them. Justice K N Keshavanarayan rejected the applications filed by Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita for staying the proceedings before the Lokayukta special court. The Lokayukta court had on August 8 issued summons to Kumaraswamy and his wife, asking them to appear before it.
After a lot of stormy talk-session with his party high command, acting Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa, who stepped down from his post, was eventually done in by the Lokayukta's report on illegal mining. Vicky Nanjappa explains the exact case against the chief minister, which forced the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party to seek his resignation.
After a lot of stormy talk-session with his party high command, acting Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa, who stepped down from his post, was eventually done in by the Lokayukta's report on illegal mining. Vicky Nanjappa explains the exact case against the chief minister, which forced the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party to seek his resignation.
The government had stated that the Lokayukta had not given the persons named in the report an opportunity to present their case before he named them and recommended action against them.
Highlights of the government's new Lokpal Bill
A part of the Lokayukta Santosh Hegde's voluminous report on illegal mining, which has rocked the Karnataka government, deals specifically on the role of the Reddy brothers of Bellary in the multi-crore scam.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's followers spoke up for him before the Bharatiya Janata Party's high command on Friday morning. Now, they have decided to take on the report on illegal mining by Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde that indicts the CM and his family.
Putting up a brave face despite the damning indictment by the state Lokayukta on illegal mining, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday said his government needs time to study the "voluminous" report submitted by the anti-corruption watchdog and maintained that "most of its points" were pending in courts. Reacting to the report of Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, Yeddyurappa pointed out that it was a voluminous report running into hundreds of pages and had 31 chapters.
Karnataka Home Minister R Ashok, who was in the dock for his alleged role in a land case, can now heave a sigh of relief. On Friday, the Lokayukta police gave him a clean chit. In a report submitted by the police to the Lokayukta court, it is stated that he had no role to play in the case.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said that if the leaked report of the Karnataka Lokayukta on illegal mining is correct, then it is an indictment of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Owing to the soon-to-be released Lokayukta report, political tensions are at an all time high in Karnataka. Leaked portions from the report have suggested that Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has a mention in that report, which has given the opposition the required ammunition to start firing at him once again.
The Foundation for Democratic Reforms and Lok Satta, along with some organisations will arrange a round table conference in New Delhi on April 24. The conference is for a consensus on the creation of a powerful and independent Lok Pal at the national level and Lokayuktas in states.
Vicky Nanjappa goes through Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's explosive report on illegal mining in the state and reveals damning figures of corruption.
The report on illegal mining by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has stepped up the heat on big wigs in the state including Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
An embattled Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is expected to return to Bengaluru on Monday from a week-long Mauritius holiday with family amid debate in the party on his future in the wake of Lokayukta's damning indictment on the mining scam.
Demand for the removal of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Saturday emerged from within the Bharatiya Janata Party in the wake of the Lokayukta indicting him in his report on illegal mining in the state.
In yet another setback for Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, the high court gave a green signal to the Lokayukta court to go ahead with the proceedings against him in an alleged land scam. Yeddyurappa is accused of denotifying land, allotting them to family members.
The Karnataka Lokayukta's report on illegal mining in the state is said to have named Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappaa, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the Reddy brothers among others.
Kharge shoots off another letter to the prime minister.
In a breather for embattled Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, a local court on Thursday postponed proceedings relating to his prosecution and referred to Lokayukta the allegations made in one of the complaints against him over illegal de-notification of land.The 23rd Additional Civil and Session Court Judge C B Hippargi, while pronouncing the order, directed the Lokayukta superintendent of police to inquire into the allegations made in the first complaint.
Karnataka Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj, who has been let down once too often by New Delhi, is unlikely to take any precipitate action against Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, even though, according to the Constitution, he has considerable powers once it comes to the Lokayukta, say highly-placed sources.
The much-hyped report of the Lokayukta is all set to be made public. While political parties are discussing ways of having the upper hand, it is the Governor who will play a major role in the future once this report is released.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Saturday issued a notice to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on a complaint against him about denotification of lands.Earlier on Saturday, the Lokayukta expressed regret over his decision to withdraw his resignation over the government's inaction about the massive corruption in the state. While addressing the media at Bengaluru on Saturday, Justice Hegde said that he cannot now undo what has been done and he cannot resign again.
Taking exception to Anna Hazare's praise for Narendra Modi, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Wednesday said the Gujarat Chief Minister had not even appointed a Lokayukta despite being in power for seven years. "I respect Anna Hazare a lot for taking up the fight against corruption.
A day after the Lokayukta filed an FIR against him in connection with an alleged land scam, Karnataka IT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu resigned on Friday. "To facilitate an impartial probe by Lokayukta, Katta Subramanya Naidu has resigned from the ministry today. I have forwarded it to Governor H R Bhardwaj for acceptance", Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told reporters.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde's sudden resignation has come as a shock to the state and an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party government, which is incidentally gearing up for grand celebrations on Friday marking two years in office.
It would be good if all political parties understood the advantages, he said.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday requested Justice N Santosh Hegde, who resigned from the post of Lokayukta of Karnataka on June 23 over the manner in which the government had treated some of his reports, to reconsider his decision.
A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Naveen Sinha, while referring to an earlier judgment of the apex court, said, "We are holding that it is a workable piece of legislation and it is not justifiable to keep this pending."
Kharge said that a special invitee invitation is a "concerted effort" to exclude the voice of the opposition in Lokpal selection.