The Enforcement Directorate on Monday booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and some others in a money-laundering case linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, taking cognisance of a recent state Lokayukta first information report (FIR), official sources said.
In a letter to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority commissioner she said she was allotted the 14 alternative sites in the third and fourth phase of Vijayanagar in Mysuru against the usage of her three acres and 16 Guntas of land in Kesare village under Kasaba Hobli in Mysuru.
Calling the political condition prevailing in West Bengal "horrible and frightening", Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar alleged on Tuesday that the people of the state do not have the freedom to exercise their franchise fearlessly.
State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhya termed it as "vendetta politics", while former chief minister Fadnavis said this would not impact his plans to travel and meet people.
K C Kondaiah, a senior leader of the Congress speaks out to Vicky Nanjappa.
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.
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 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.
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.
In a setback for Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government, the Supreme Court has upheld the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta Justice R A Mehta by Governor Kamla Beniwal.
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.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership of patronising illegal mining in Karnataka, the Congress on Thursday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. With the state Lokayukta report indicting the state government over the issue, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, "Yeddyurappa must immediately resign from his post". "All these things are already in the public domain but now the Lokayukta has indicted the chief minister," he said.
If pandemic (mis)management threatened to dominate Goa's electoral discourse, the BJP is up against a deeper structural issue in its organisation, created by the fact that a majority of the legislature party and the ministerial council is made up of Congress defectors, disparagingly referred to by the Opposition as "imports". Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday sacked Small-Scale Industry Minister Chadradeo Ram Yadav, who was indicted by the state Lokayukta. "In consultations with the CM, Governor B L Joshi has relieved the minister from his post with immediate effect," a notification issued by the state government said. In his report submitted to the government on December 28 last year, the Lokayukta had indicted the minister for drawing salary from two places.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday announced a slew of stricter laws to fight corruption and amendments in the existing Lokayukta Act. Gogoi said, "The new anti-corruption legislations and the amendments to State Lokayukta Act will be tabled in the state assembly in the next budget session." "We were committed to tackling corruption even before Anna Hazare started his campaign. With that in mind, we will make amendments in the present Lokayukta Act," he said.
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.
In an unprecedented move that will surely bring her on a collision course with the state government, Gujarat Governor Dr Kamla Beniwal, using her special powers, has appointed retired judge of Gujarat high court Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta of the state.The governor has bypassed the Narendra Modi-led state government while making the appointment. The state government has been sitting on the file regarding the appointment of a state Lokayukta.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
Expressing doubts over the state government implementing his report on the mining scam in Karnataka, state Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Saturday said his only hope was the Supreme Court.
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.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj has rejected the resignation of the state's Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. Sources in the Raj Bhavan, while refusing to reveal details about the governor's decision, confirmed that Justice Hegde's resignation had been rejected.The Lokayukta had tendered his resignation on Wednesday citing the failure of the government to protect the interest of the institution.Hegde slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party government for reneging on its promise.
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.
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
P Vishwanatha Shetty is stated to be out of danger.
Under attack from the opposition over his luxurious watch, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah on Thursday said he would declare it as a state asset and hand it over to the government.
Bhushan questioned the appointment and removal processes of the Lokpal laid out in the bill, which was recently cleared by the Aam Aadmi Party cabinet, saying they would put the ombudsman at the mercy of the city government.
The wedding celebrations show the controversial mining baron retains influence over elected representatives, whichever party is in power.
Over a month at the helm, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he was working towards "visible changes" in administration and asked his ministers to be honest enough to have the "moral courage."
Stepping up the attack on the ruling AAP over the 2015 Delhi Janlokpal Bill, ousted party leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday said that the proposed legislation is "completely" different from its previous 2014 version.
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.
'At no time since Independence this issue of whether we are a secular country or whether we are a Hindu Rashtra has come up in this manner.' 'This is the most important issue which is going to decide whether we remain together as one country or not.'
Gujarat Lokayukta Justice R A Mehta's resignation letter is a stinging indictment of the Narendra Modi government's obstructionist attitude towards a constitutional watchdog.