Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the Congress party would evaluate and rectify the mistakes it committed in the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

He said the exercise is aimed at taking on the BJP-JDS combine.

Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said the party increased its tally from one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to nine in 2024, but that fell short of the expectation of at least 14 to 15 seats.

“The performance will be evaluated by the party in the presence of the AICC fact-finding committee. This process is taking place across the country. We are sharing our reports for the four geographical regions of the state. We will discuss and find out the shortcomings,” Shivakumar said.

The deputy chief minister said though the party fielded good candidates in the recent Lok Sabha elections, it did not translate into favourable results.

“We need to understand the subtle factors which have influenced the results. We knew BJP-JDS combine had an advantage. We will prepare ourselves to fight with them in the future elections,” he added.

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP will be holding a “mega” protest in Mysuru on July 12 in connection with an alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which involves plots given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, its president B Y Vijayendra said on Wednesday, and demanded the CM’s resignation.

The protesters will demand allocation of sites to the poor by withdrawing those distributed illegally, and a CBI probe into the “scam” as the allegations are against the Chief Minister and his family, he said, adding that the BJP will also raise the issue during the coming Assembly session.

It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.

The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.

Speaking about the alleged MUDA “scam”, Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of giving wrong information to the public. “The CM’s true face has come out in the open.”

“At every stage in this land scam, irregularities have been committed, ” he alleged. “The Chief Minister has to answer to the people and should take the responsibility for the scam….the CM, who promised Rs 2,000 (a month) to poor women, has given 14 sites worth more than Rs two crore each, together worth about Rs 63-64 crore to his wife.”

“If there is any CM in the country, who committed irregularities during his term and sought compensation from his own government, it is Siddaramaiah,” Vijayendra added.

Vijayendra noted that 14 sites that were given to Parvathi by MUDA are said to be in accordance with land acquisition act 1991 as per records. But he pointed out that according to the act, if the land that has been acquired is between three to four acres, only two sites of 40×60 square feet measurement should be given in lieu of the land acquired.

“So, the CM’s wife should have got only two sites of 40×60 (square feet) measurement. Which means, 14 sites that have been given are completely in violation of rules,” he said, alleging “misinformation” on the part of the CM by claiming that his wife received sites which were worth only Rs 18 crore, while she was supposed to have received compensatory sites worth more than Rs 62 crore.

The guidelines value of 14 sites that have been given to CM’s wife by MUDA as on today is Rs 3,000 per sqft, while the market value is more than Rs 9,000 per sqft, he claimed.

Vijayendra also alleged that Siddaramaiah has not mentioned this over three acres of land belonging to his wife in his 2013 Assembly election affidavit, which is a clear case of violation of Model Code of Conduct and Representation of the People Act.

“We are discussing complaining to the Election Commission about this,” he added.

Alleging that Urban Development Minister B S Suresha (Byrathi Suresha) rushed to Mysuru, the home district of Siddaramaiah, hurriedly called a MUDA meeting as the scam came to the fore, and transferred officials instead of punishing them, the state BJP chief said, “more than Rs 5,000 crore worth sites have been allotted to influential people. The Minister is trying to protect officials involved in the scam.”

The Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru district, who inquired about the MUDA scam and submitted a report to the government, has been transferred, he said, alleging that the Minister has tried to cover up the scam, and has himself carried all the relevant files from MUDA office in Mysuru to Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police on Tuesday booked 23 school vehicle drivers who were allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

During a special drive conducted from 7 am to 9 am, a total of 3016 school vehicles were checked and 23 drivers were found positive for alcohol test, police said.

They were prosecuted under the Motor Vehicles Act, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M N Anucheth said.

Their driving licenses were sent to respective Regional Transport Offices for taking further necessary action, he said.

“During the special drive, 11 vehicles were found without fitness certificate, which will be handed over to concerned RTOs for further necessary action. Such special drives will continue regularly to ensure safety of students and other road users,” Anucheth added.

Bengaluru: A delegation of people’s representatives, led by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, submitted a formal request to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday, demanding for the creation of a new Bengaluru South District. The proposed district would include the areas of Channapatna, Ramanagara, Magadi, Kanakapura, and Harohalli.

The delegation comprised several prominent figures, including Ramanagara District In-charge Minister Ramalingareddy, MLA Iqbal Hussain, former MP DK Suresh, and Legislative Council members Puttanna, S. Ravi, and Sudham Das. Additionally, Bengaluru Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Area Development Authority Chairman Raghunandan Ramanna, and former MLAs CM Lingappa, Raju, and Ashwath were also present to support the demand.

Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered against the manager of One8 Commune, a restaurant co-owned by cricket star Virat Kohli, and four other establishments for allegedly operating beyond permitted hours, police said on Tuesday.

A special drive was conducted on July six following complaints that many restaurants and pubs in central Bengaluru were operating beyond the stipulated closing time of 1 am, they said.

According to the police, when a sub-inspector of Cubbon Park police station, who was on patrolling duty, reached One8 Commune at around 1.20 am, it was found that the manager was allegedly still operating the pub.

“After we received complaints that certain pubs and hotels were operating beyond the permitted time, a special drive was carried out on the night of July six,” a police officer said.

“Based on the violations found, we have registered an FIR against the manager of One8 Commune and four other establishments under the Karnataka Police Act for violation at Cubbon Park police station,” he added.

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Karnataka Milk Federation — known for its ‘Nandini’ brand of dairy products — has achieved a milestone of procuring one crore litres of milk a day from farmers.

“The milk production in Karnataka was 90 lakh litres a day in May last year. Now, the KMF is getting one crore litres of milk a day. This is a milestone in the history of KMF,” Siddaramaiah said.

He recalled that when he was the Animal Husbandry Minister many years ago, he had handed over management of dairies to milk unions.

The Chief Minister said the State now has 15 milk unions, 15 mother dairies and 16,000 societies of milk growers.

He said the quantity of milk in half and one litre milk packets of ‘Nandini” has been increased by 50 ML due to the rising milk procurement, and proportionately prices were increased by Rs two recently.

“Due to the increase in milk production, we have increased the milk quantity in the packets. This has been done because we cannot say to the milk growers, who are basically farmers, that we cannot procure extra milk they are producing,” Siddaramaiah explained.

He said the opposition BJP did not understand this and started making a hue and cry that the Karnataka government increased the milk price.

“The BJP leaders are spreading lies on this issue because I feel that they have no concern for farmers. The government is giving Rs 5 crore a day to the milk producers as honorarium, which is Rs 1,800 crore annually,” the Chief Minister added.

BJP MLA Harish Poonja

 A special court for public representatives in Bengaluru has summoned BJP MLA Harish Poonja along with 64 other party members over allegations of obstructing police duties during protests against the arrest of Shashiraj Shetty, the BJP Belthangady Taluk Yuva Morcha taluk president.

Poonja and others have been mandated to appear before the court on July 10. The Beltangady police have registered two separate cases: the first involving summons for 28 individuals, and the second for 37. They are required to present themselves before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court for a formal inquiry.

The first case accuses MLA Poonja and other BJP workers of attempting to pressure the police to release Shetty, who was detained on charges of illegal quarrying. The second case pertains to a protest held on May 20 outside an administrative building opposing the FIR filed against Shetty.

Following the filing of chargesheets by the Belthangady police, the court decided to issue summons, initiating judicial proceedings scheduled for July 10.

Former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda

 The Karnataka High Court on Friday refused to stall the investigation against former Hassan BJP MLA Preetham Gowda, who is accused of distributing explicit videos of sexual assault allegedly involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna.

Gowda had filed a petition seeking to quash the FIR registered against him under Section 67, 66E of the Information Technology Act and Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.

A single judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the interim order while issuing notice to the respondents.

However, the court said that Gowda should not be arrested or detained as long as he cooperates with the investigation.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and DK Suresh

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar stated that his brother DK Suresh is not interested in participating in elections as people have given a message for him to rest. However, Shivakumar said that Suresh is keen to work for the party. The DCM made these remarks upon his arrival at Mangaluru International Airport, where he spoke to the media before his visit to the Kukke Subrahmanya temple.

When asked about the Channapatna by-election, Shivakumar highlighted the strong support from the electorate, with 85,000 people voting for their party. He expressed the party’s commitment to serving these constituents and retaining their 136 seats. He also said that the people of Channapatna feel neglected and that the current time is ideal for addressing their concerns.

Shivakumar further said that HD Kumaraswamy entered politics much later than he did, with Shivakumar contesting for assembly elections as early as 1985, while Kumaraswamy entered after 1995. He asserted his familiarity with Channapatna, which predates Kumaraswamy’s involvement by ten years.

Addressing the demand for more DCM positions, Shivakumar dismissed the notion of daily news publications on the matter and assured that the party would respond appropriately to such demands.

In response to a question about Kumaraswamy’s knowledge of mining permissions in Bellary, Shivakumar said that “I don’t know whether Kumaraswamy knows about it or not however I don’t know anything.”