Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde on Sunday opposed granting financial assistance to people affected by closure of mining in Goa and expressed doubts over the state government's willingness to implement recommendations of Justice M B Shah Commission.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde, who is probing illegal mining in the state, on Thursday claimed that his phone has been tapped. Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, told PTI that after reports of alleged bugging in the office of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee surfaced, he had asked a professional to carry out a check in his office. "(The professional) told me that my telephone has been tapped. Every conversation was being recorded," he said.
In the continuing tug of war between Narendra Modi government and the governor, the state assembly on Tuesday passed the Gujarat Lokayukta Ayog Bill 2013 for a second time without incorporating any major changes sought by Raj Bhavan, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation.
Apparently upset over the critical comments on state Lokayukta Bill, the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday cancelled a meeting with Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, who attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it appeared the saffron party and the Congress were on the same page on the legislation.
The Supreme Court on Friday admitted an appeal filed by the Gujarat government challenging the state governor's decision to "unilaterally" appoint Justice (retd) R A Mehta as the Lokayukta.
In a rebuttal to state Lokayukta's recommendation for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against her most trusted and powerful multi-portfolio minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Monday sought to point out that the nature of the charges against the minister did not merit such a probe.
The post of Karnataka Lokayukta had been lying vacant since September 2011, after Shivaraj V Patil resigned from the post in the wake of a media expose that showed irregularities in the allotment of two residential plots to him and his wife.
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.
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.
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.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Friday objected to the state government's decision to order a judicial probe into land scam allegation faced by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and said he will complete the pending inquiry into a complaint on the same issue.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj said on Wednesday that he is not asking the Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, to submit to him his final report on illegal mining in the State.
A viral video showed the Lokayukta sleuths intercepting the MLA at the Kyathasandra toll gate in Tumakuru when was heading for Bengaluru.
Facing flak from opposition Congress on the mining issue, the Karnataka government on Monday ordered a probe by Lokayukta into illegal export of minerals, including iron ore, from 2000 till date.
Karnataka minister for tourism and mining magnate Janardhan Reddy has decided to hang his boots as an industrialist for good.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking for the "immediate recall" of Governor Kamla Beniwal for bypassing the state government and appointing Justice (retired) R A Mehta as the Lokayukta. Here's the full text dated September 1, 2011.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Wednesday said he would take the assistance of the Central Bureau of Investigation 'if need arise' in the investigation into illegal mining in the state
Justice Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani, a retired judge of the Bombay high court, was on Monday sworn in as the new Maharashtra Lokayukta.
Hazare has been on a hunger strike since Wednesday demanding appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
The appeal against the high court's order was filed by original complainant Srijan Basha, who had earlier approached the state Lok Ayukta for registration of the case against Yeddyurappa.
A third judge of the Gujarat high court on Wednesday began hearing the dispute over appointment of Lokayukta of the state, following the split verdict where two judges had differed on the matter.
The Gujarat high court on Wednesday issued a fresh notice to Justice R A Mehta (retired) who was appointed as the Lokayukta by the governor bypassing the Narendra Modi government. The state government has challenged the governor's decision in the high court.
The mining scam in Karnataka brought down BS Yeddyurappa from the chief minister's seat. Now it threatens to expose the state's 3 former chief minister S M Krishna, H D Kumaraswamy and N Dharam Singh. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa speaks to Karnataka Home Minister Dr V S Acharya, former minister and opposition Janata Dal-Secular minister M C Nanaiah, and state Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde to gauge the various conflicts that are complicating the ongoing political crisis in the state, and presents a comparative report.
In a strong indictment of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, state Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde on Thursday said he has given 'substantive' and 'voluminous' evidence against him in the illegal mining scam which has cost the state exchequer Rs 1800 crore in a period of 14 months.
Former chief justice of Delhi high court A P Shah, who was named by Arvind Kejriwal as an internal Lokpal of India Against Corruption, on Saturday termed the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by erstwhile Team Anna as "too draconian".Addressing a conference of state Lokayuktas, Shah favoured setting up of a strong Lokpal to contain corruption in the country but criticised the Jan Lokpal Bill, saying certain provisions of it were not within the limits of the Constitution.
Given our long and disastrous history of regional satrapies, to allow central institutions to weaken further would be playing with fire, says Sonali Ranade
Congress member of parliament Kalpana Parulekar on Monday created ruckus in the Madhya Pradesh assembly during question hour by raising the issue of her arrest in the previous session.
K C Kondaiah, a senior leader of the Congress speaks out to Vicky Nanjappa.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday charged BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi with having balked at appointing a RTI Commissioner and Lokayukta in Gujarat for fear of being booked for alleged irregularities in providing benefits to his favourite industrial group.
More than Rs 8 crore unaccounted cash has been seized in subsequent raids at various locations by Lokayukta. The arrested officer's father is Madal Virupakshappa, the MLA representing Channagiri constituency in Davangere district of the state.
The Karnataka government is contemplating the next course of action in the wake of the damning revelations of the report by state Lokayukta Santosh Hegde about the involvement of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and several ministers of the state in the lucrative illegal mining racket.
When the powerful Reddy brothers of Karnataka staged a coup against B S Yeddyurappa a couple of months back, they had said something very important, "Our final decision would depend on what Sushma amma says."
The stalemate over the appointment continues as UP CM Akhilesh Yadav recommends same name to Ram Naik for the fourth time in 20 days.
The mining scam in Karnataka could easily be worth Rs 2,500 crore says Justice Santosh Hegde, the state's Lokayukta. An exclusive first person account to Rediff.com
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday said the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government stands 'exposed' after it compiled a proposal to amend the state's Lokayukta Commission Bill to leave the Lokayukta powerless, extracting all prosecutorial powers from the position.
Justice Yashwant Varma noted that the 75-year-old politician's objection with respect to the maintainability of the proceedings were not dealt with by the anti-corruption authority.
The case was registered against the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader by Lokayukta police in 2015 based on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Karnataka Horticulture Minister Munirathna on Thursday said he would be filing a Rs 50-crore defamation case and a criminal defamation case against the Karnataka State Contractors' Association, which has made a 40 per cent commission charge against the government and accused him of collecting money.
He also promised to give free electricity, quality education in government schools and good healthcare for the state's people.
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