Controversy at the Pejawar Mutt -- an integral part of the VHP and the Ram temple movement -- forces PM to stay away.
"K C Venugopal is a buffoon, I feel sorry for him, I feel sorry for my leader Sri Rahul Gandhi ji," Baig told reporters.
'Both the people have a perspective and are people of stature and people of understanding'
Stung by an alleged sex CD scandal, Karnataka Excise Minister H Y Meti resigned on Wednesday with government ordering a probe by the Criminal Investigation Department into the entire purported episode over the charge that he sought sexual favour from a woman in return for help.
Modi also dared Rahul to speak in any language for 15 minutes about the achievements of the Siddaramaiah government without referring to a piece of paper.
Siddaramaiah asserted that the Karnataka government was a 'strong' one and ridiculed state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa for repeatedly claiming that the coalition will collapse.
The new ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor T N Chaturvedi in the Vidhan Soudha premises.
Rahul Gandhi has also slammed Hegde, saying he is 'unfit' to be a Union minister.
Karnataka Home Minister K J George came under attack from opposition for his controversial remarks that the media highlighted sexual assaults for TRP ratings, even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sidestepped the issue.
BJP general secretary and in-charge of Karnataka's party affairs P Muralidhar Rao alleged that the problem of the Congress was looking at schemes through the prism of religion which is reflected in promising benefits to autorickshaw owners, "who in majority belong to the minority community."
Students ran from pillar to post in a vain bid to appear for the exam.
"He (Modi) has created an environment in Jammu and Kashmir of hatred and anger, and the only people who benefit from violence and hatred are the Pakistanis," the Congress vice president said.
'And the same trust was evident in the Karnataka election.'
Finance Minister Piyush Goyal: 'I hope the Congress governments and other states like West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana will support our effort to bring petrol and diesel into the GST regime.'
Yeddyurappa would take the oath alone as the chief minister and once the majority is proved on the floor of the assembly, cabinet members would be inducted.
'Who's providing all this money to the BJP? And who's providing all this money to the Congress?' 'Where did all this money come from?' 'Who is enabling all these MLAs to be bought for Rs 50, 60 crores?' 'There's one MLA on whose behalf somebody claimed that the BJP invited him for Rs 60 crores. Whose money is this?'
'Where he used to sit bored, sulky and fiddling with his cell phone in the Lok Sabha (and was often missing during key debates) he is now noisy, aggressive and ready to lead his flock into the well of the House,' says Sunil Sethi.
Reaching out to present and former employees of the defence PSU at an interaction with them, Gandhi said, work done by HAL for the country was tremendous and the country owed debt to it for "protecting us" and creating a scientific vision.
"They call themselves the champions of speech and expression. But deny the same for the people of Kerala."
'Freebies are yet be proven a 'pucca' vote-catcher. But don't say that to KCR because he takes pride in two things: His record of delivery and imagination,' says Shekhar Gupta.
With months to go for the Karnataka assembly elections, the man in the hot seat, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah says he'll make billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and the Punjab National Bank scam an issue in the upcoming Karnataka elections . In an interview to CNN-News18's Deepa Balakrishnan, the CM also says that Hindutva is not a campaign issue in the state.
'The BJP suddenly seems vulnerable. This is not entirely surprising. In the past too, governments and leaders who won a thumping Lok Sabha majority lost popularity in a matter of months... The by-polls results shows that a degree of disenchantment with the Modi government is setting in,' says Praful Bidwai.
'Modi and Shah know their politics. That is why the alarmed switch to reservations, and raising the threat from 'vote bank' politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
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