In the wake of allegations against police for ill-treating Karnataka MLC C T Ravi in custody, the police on Tuesday clarified that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader was shifted to various places for security reasons and to avoid disrupting public order.
The BJP has vehemently criticized the Karnataka government's decision to provide four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, labeling it an "unconstitutional misadventure." The party has pledged to challenge the move in court and has vowed to oppose it at all levels. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party has defended the reservation, arguing that it aligns with constitutional provisions. The issue has led to heated exchanges in the Karnataka Assembly, with both parties accusing each other of engaging in appeasement politics.
Kamal has a crisp pen when it comes to writing short and yet powerful film dialogues. But while speaking ex tempore -- and that has been his style -- he looks every bit a confused man, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced reservation for Muslims in supplying goods and services up to a value of Rs 1 crore to various government departments, corporations and institutions in the state budget for 2025-26. The budget also increased the value limit of government contracts in which Muslims can avail reservation to Rs 2 crore. The reservation to Muslims under 2B category is in addition to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Castes coming under Category-1, Category-2A. The budget also included various welfare schemes for minorities, including Rs 50,000 to support simple marriages and Rs 1,000 crore under the Chief Minister's Minority Colony Development Programme.
The move comes amid a border row over Belagavi between Karnataka and Maharashtra which flares up from time to time.
An RTI activist, Snehamayi Krishna, has alleged that a person claiming to be the personal assistant of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi B M, attempted to lure and pressure him and his son to drop their demand for a CBI probe into the MUDA site allotment scam. Krishna claims that he was offered money in exchange for not pursuing the case further. The incident comes amidst ongoing investigations by the Lokayukta and ED into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of land to Parvathi.
While the Congress alleged that the Vidhana Soudha has become a shopping mall and the BJP stood for 'Broker Janata Party', Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reminded the opposition how Rs 25 lakh cash was allegedly seized from the staff of Congress MLA from Chamarajanagar C Puttarangashetty four years ago.
"If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan," the Chief Minister told reporters.
The governor has also started using a bullet-proof car since Tuesday morning, the sources told PTI.
Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
Terming the charges against him a "BJP conspiracy", Siddaramaiah said he would wage a legal fight.
Apparently aimed at keeping the flock together ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, all ruling Congress MLAs in Karnataka will stay put together at a hotel in Bengaluru on Monday after the budget session of the state legislature concludes and will later also travel together for voting the next day.
The Belagavi administration has banned three Maharashtra ministers and an MP from entering this border district, as they are expected to participate in the "black day" event organised by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) on November 1, on the occasion of Karnataka formation day.
Rajinikanth traveled to Bengaluru to attend the Karnataka Ratna Award ceremony on Tuesday, November 1, which honoured the late Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar.
Kharge will take care of IT & BT along with existing portfolio, while Large & Medium Industries Minister M B Patil has been given the additional charge of Infrastructure Development.
Amid the raging border dispute, Karnataka and Maharashtra chief ministers spoke to each other over the phone on Tuesday night and have agreed that there should be peace and law and order should be maintained on both sides.
Five Congress legislators on Wednesday threatened to resign if senior party leader and minister K H Muniyappa's son-in-law Chikka Peddanna was given a ticket to contest from Kolar in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, bringing into open the divisions in the outfit.
The council of ministers discussed the showcause notice, and alleged that it was a "gross misuse of the constitutional office' of the governor and said that a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
'There must be ideological differences but Savarkar is a freedom fighter, then ask Siddaramaiah, whose poster must be put, of Dawood Ibrahim?'
The Karnataka government has fixed a professional fee of Rs 59.9 lakh a day for the team of senior lawyers, including Mukul Rohatgi, to fight the case pertaining to border row with Maharashtra in the Supreme Court.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Friday said that the Congress government will try to implement the five poll guarantees as soon as possible, but there will be certain 'rules and regulations'.
Bommai alleged that in the name of providing insurance to the people on Karnataka's side of the border, the Maharashtra government is taking declaration letters from them stating that they belong to Maharashtra. "This is condemnable."
Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in the four states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka was held on Friday, June 10, 2022, amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said the police are conducting in-depth investigation into the bomb blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe and are looking into all angles.
The Congress legislators have been camping in the Vidhana Soudha inside the Assembly Hall and have been sleeping there in the night.
Supporters of Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain allegedly shouted pro-Pakistan slogans after his victory in the Rajya Sabha elections.
'It's our duty to arrange food and other things for them. Some of them have diabetes and BP, that's why we arranged everything here'
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
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.
On her first visit to any state in the Indian Union after being sworn in as President of the Republic, Rashtrapati Droupadi Murmu was felicitated in Bengaluru by some of that city's luminaries.
President Pranab Mukherjee will on Thursday inaugurate the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha', a Rs 400 crore legislature complex in Belgaum, amid objections by some political parties in Maharashtra. The construction of 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' -- built on the lines of the state Secretariat 'Vidhana Soudha' in Bangalore -- is considered a symbolic assertion of Karnataka's long-held position that Belgaum is an integral part of the state.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said he has given details about the state's stand and facts regarding the raging border dispute with Maharashtra to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is likely to call a meeting of chief ministers of both states next week.
Besides, Rs 360 crore will be allocated for Chief Ministers' Special Development Programme and Minorities Colony Development Programme in the year, he said.
Amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha elections in four states, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said special observers have been appointed to oversee the poll process which will be videographed.
The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association was scheduled to felicitate the legendary Bjorn Borg, but the ceremony was cancelled.
He also expressed confidence about getting justice in the Supreme Court, as Karnataka's stand on the issue is both legal and constitutional.
Asserting that his government will implement the five poll 'guarantees' promised ahead of the assembly polls, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said officials have shared their inputs on financial implications, and the cabinet will meet on June 2 to decide on the implementation.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that he will ask his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde not to send his ministers to Belagavi, amid the raging border dispute between both the state, as it may disrupt the law and order situation in the border district.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said a 190 km long tunnel has been proposed to ease traffic congestion in Bengaluru and within 45 days, the state government will be inviting public tenders for it.
Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including Janata Dal-Secular contestant D Kupendra Reddy.
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