What were our political leaders up to on the weekend?
They are the contenders, the leaders of parties that will finally form a government in Karnataka.
Fearing political gain for the Congress from the padayatra, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is making 'frustrated attempts' to scuttle it, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday, as their march demanding implementation of the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery river, entered its third day.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he would move a resolution in the state assembly on Tuesday expressing solidarity with those living in the contentious boundary region with Karnataka.
Overhaul of the goods and services tax (GST) structure, including possible changes in the tax slabs, may now be taken up only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given the number of states that are going to the polls in its run-up. "No major overhaul of tax rates is expected in GST until the end of next fiscal year. One major reason for this is that some members of the group of ministers (GoM) - mandated to look at rate rationalisation by the GST Council - are from poll-bound states. Later, this may lead to reconstitution of the panel," a senior government official told Business Standard. Besides, both the Centre and states are not in favour of frequent changes in the tax rates amid inflationary uncertainties; they believe any major change should be brought in after extensive deliberations, according to the official.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would participate in the Karnataka leg of the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" led by Rahul Gandhi that will be entering the state on September 30, state party chief D K Shivakumar said on Friday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 30 of the total 50 seats in the region in the 2018 assembly polls, followed by Congress 17, Janata Dal-Secular 2, and others (KPJP-Shankar) 1.
Stating that matters of utmost public importance are coming up for discussion next week, the Whip issued by the Opposition's Chief Whip in the assembly Ajay Dharam Singh has asked all the members to mandatorily participate in the proceedings from December 20-24, from the beginning till conclusion.
Congress partly vehemently opposed the bill, calling it "anti people", "inhuman", "anti constitutional", "anti poor" and "draconian", and urged that it should not be passed for any reason and should be withdrawn by the government.
With most exit polls predicting a tight contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls in Karnataka, leaders of the two parties seem 'jittery' over the outcome, while the Janata Dal-Secular appears to be expecting a hung verdict, which would enable it to play a role in government formation.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday urged politicians of Maharashtra not to use the language bogey or border issue for their political survival, as he made it clear that the state will not give even an inch of its land to the neighbouring state.
'Bommai was a minister in my cabinet. It is not ethically correct.'
Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to the defence of his son, saying he never made those comments.
It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.
'You (Modi) come here and don't even take the name of your Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and (B S) Yediyurappa (former CM). Your speeches are all about Narendra Modi'
According to the preliminary information, it was an LED-linked instrument, the chief minister told reporters in Ballari.
The protests, which erupted after the Supreme Court refused to interfere with orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee directing the state to release 5,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, have intensified.
According to Lokayukta sources, Prashanth, the chief accounts officer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed on Thursday evening while accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) office.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said the state government would look into the "serious objections" raised over halal meat, with some right-wing groups giving a call to boycott it.
The members of the RSS' student wing holding their organisation's saffron flag stormed inside the compound of Jnanendra's bungalow at Jayamahal here and raised slogans like 'We want justice'.
Members of the Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday demanded a thorough probe into the death of chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat along with his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on December 8.
Condemning irresponsible social media posts and rejoicing over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat in a military chopper crash, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he has asked the police to identify and initiate legal action against them.
'Bommai's predicament is pathetic right now because deep inside he is not like this, but to remain in power he has to talk and speak against his own conscience.'
The electoral fortunes of top leaders-- Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of the BJP, Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar and JD-S' H D Kumaraswamy, among many others will be known on Saturday.
The state is mainly witnessing a three-cornered contest between the ruling BJP, the Congress and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular).
Denials poured in on change in the leadership in Karnataka, amid buzz over such a move by the Bharatiya Janata Party high command ahead of the assembly polls next year, as Union Minister Amit Shah was on a day-long visit to take part in various events in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which was attended by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh, Higher Education Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, and senior officials of the government.
The EC had on Saturday issued a notice to the Karnataka Congress over its "corruption rate card" advertisements published in newspapers in the run-up to the May 10 state polls and sought "empirical evidence" to prove its allegations by Sunday evening.
Sharpening the attack against Congress and defending the government, three state ministers dubbed the opposition party leaders as 'experts' in creating fake news, as they challenged them to provide evidence or name those involved in the scam.
'Modiji and Amit Shahji should see my work.' 'Everybody gives me a lot of respect.' 'National leaders should see that.'
Fans mourn an actor gone much too soon.
Stating that the issue has been closed after the syndicate meeting at Mangalore University, he asked students to focus on education instead of getting into such issues.
It was in Kolar in 2019, during Lok Sabha election campaigning, that he made a remark on the Modi surname for which he was convicted of criminal defamation and stripped of his Parliament membership last month.
Shettar said he has not lost his hopes and would wait till the evening.
Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat on Thursday had announced that the Bhagavad Gita will be a part of the school syllabus for Classes 6 to 12 across the state from the academic year 2022-23.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after a Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday said that the government has decided to go for open market tender to procure rice, whose process will start from Thursday.
The contentious anti-conversion bill was cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet on Monday and it is most likely to be tabled in the legislative Assembly on December 21, official sources said.
The bill was passed by voice vote on Tuesday night.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will have an understanding with former prime minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal-Secular for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Friday, an announcement that shot up political temperature in Karnataka.
