Speaker refuses to allow discussion on law and order, forcing Opposition to walk out

BENGALURU: Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and police firing at protesters in Mangaluru rocked both Houses of the state legislature on Tuesday. Angry Congress members walked out of the assembly after Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri refused to allow a discussion on the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state, including police action against anti-CAA protesters. Demanding that the Speaker allow him to move an adjournment motion on the subject, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said that there is no mention of protests against CAA and police firing in which two persons were killed in Mangaluru.

“There was no provocation for the police to open fire at protesters in Mangaluru and they could have handled the situation better. The police are acting like puppets in the hands of the government. I was not allowed to visit Mangaluru and the police commissioner even issued me a notice asking me not to visit. As leader of the Opposition, it was my right and responsibility,” Siddaramaiah said, demanding a detailed discussion on the subject.

After Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J Madhuswamy intervened and took objection to the demand of moving the adjournment motion, the Speaker rejected Siddaramaiah’s request, but agreed to allow the discussion under a different rule, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Congress members, however, insisted that the Speaker should allow them to start the debate immediately and that the discussion on the Governor’s address can be taken up later. When the Speaker turned down their request, it led to heated exchanges between Opposition and ruling party members.At one point, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa intervened and raised his voice to tell Siddaramaiah that he cannot dictate the Chair. The Congress members took strong objection to Speaker’s comments when he asked them not to waste time. They asked the Speaker to expunge his remarks, while Kageri only assured them of looking into the demand.

Cong owners of tukde tukde gang: Minister
Ruling BJP and opposition Congress members were engaged in a heated argument after Minister C T Ravi accused Congress of supporting “tukde tukde gang”.Taking objection to his comments, Congress MLA Priyank Kharge asked the government to explain who constituted the tukde tukde gang and why the government was not taking action against them. As members from both sides were hurling accusations at each other, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told Congress members that they were the owners of the gang.

Bengaluru: The bandh call given by some pro-Kannada organisations to demand implementation of a report which recommended job reservation to Kannadigas had little effect on normal life in Bengaluru and other parts of the state on Thursday.

Barring a stray incident of stone pelting at a bus in Dakshina Kannada district, the bandh was peaceful in the morning hours.

Buses and autorickshaws plied as usual defying the bandh call given by the ‘Karnataka Sangathanegala Okkoota’, a consortium of organisations in Karnataka.

The organisers of the bandh are demanding implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi report which recommended that preference be given to natives of Karnataka in Central government and private jobs in the state.

In Bengaluru, city buses plied as usual though most of them ran almost empty as there were very few commuters.

Autorickshaws operated as usual though one of the autorickshaw drivers’ associations had supported the bandh.

The main trade area of the city, KR Market and surrounding places had no effect of the bandh in the morning hours.

Pro-Kannada activists were on the city rounds appealing to traders to shut their shops in their support.

In Anekal near Attibele in the city on Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, activists reportedly tried to shut shops and business establishments forcibly.

At Pirangipet in Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada district, stones were pelted at a private bus in the morning.

Heavy deployment of policemen has been made at important locations to check untoward incidents.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had appealed to the pro-Kannda organisations to keep their agitation peaceful.

He said his government always stood for Kannada and Kannadigas and initiated measures to implement the Sarojini

The money laundering case was registered against Congress leader by the ED in September 2018, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax department.

BENGALURU: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Tuesday questioned Gowramma, mother of Congress leader DK Shivakumar, in connection with a money-laundering case.

She was questioned at Shivakumar’s farmhouse in Kodihalli. DK Shivakumar’s brother and Congress lawmaker DK Suresh was also questioned by the ED officials.

The money laundering case was registered against Congress leader by the ED in September 2018, based on a complaint filed by the Income Tax department, alleging tax evasion and hawala transactions running into crores.

Last year, the Congress leader was arrested by the agency on September 3 and was sent to judicial custody in Tihar jail on September 17. Prior to that, he was in ED’s custody for 14 days.

On October 23, the Delhi High Court had granted bail to Shivakumar while taking into note that he had been extensively interrogated by the probe agency since his arrest on September 3.

Mr Devesh agarwal [ president of bangalore chamber of industry & commerce], Mr Naresh kumar additional secretary tourism department of j&k, Mr Javed ur rehman assistant director tourism publicity j&k are guest of honours apart from that. Ms Ranjini nambiar [ national president of skal international india], Mr Sathya [ president kodagu tourism association],Mr Niranjan bhargava Honourable secretary TAAI karnataka chapter & Mr Prithvi k.k [ General secretary bangalore chamber of industry and commerce]

Speaking to media Mr Hamid Wangoo chairman of [KHBOA] said that monitoring houseboats has actively been involved with the promotion of tourism and its members are actively participating in various travel trade fairs being organised in different parts of the country time to time.Today we choose confidence and support from the state of karnataka people in helping us reviving tourism in jammu and kashmir once again.

The aim and objective of the road show is to impress upon the indenting tourists from karnataka to visit jammu and kashmir where tour and travel agents hospitality sector and houseboat owners offers special seasonal discounts. KHOBA also offers package tours to following destinations like historical mughals gardens, hill stations like yusmarg,sonmarg,pahalgam,gulmarg,springs rafting etc piligrimage tourism places like mata vaishno devi,& Shri amarnathji, golf , paragliding,local sightseeing,trekking etc. We are here to provide a crystal clear picture of kashmir which is also known as paradise of earth.

There are five category of houseboats in four major water bodies such as Dal Lake,nigeen lake,chinar bagh and river jhelum to attain peace of mind lesser known destination have been discovered in the state of j&k like Kashthivard,Bhaderwah,Doodhpathri,Gurez and Bangus valley etc

In a bid to pacify Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli, Yeddyurappa appointed him chairman of Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL).

BENGALURU: Three days after they were sworn into the BS Yediyurappa Cabinet, the 10 new ministers were allotted portfolios on Monday. Chief Minister Yediyurappa seems to have carefully distributed the ministries, not just to avoid disgruntlement within the cabinet, but also to keep hopes of other aspirants alive by retaining a few key portfolios.

The biggest takeaways from Monday’s portfolio allocation were Yediyurappa’s decision to continue keeping the sought-after Bengaluru Development ministry with him, Ramesh Jarkiholi being given the big-ticket Water Resources ministry and Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi losing Agriculture, a portfolio that he held additionally, to Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The attempt at balancing the portfolio allocation, however, still managed to anger a newly-inducted minister who is now contemplating approaching the BJP central leadership.

After many rounds of talks, Ramesh Jarkiholi got his wish to hold the portfolio that was previously held by Congress’D K Shivakumar.

Party sources said the ministry was promised to Jarkiholi even before he joined the BJP.Fully aware of the implications that would follow the allocation of the coveted Bengaluru Development ministry to any of the ministers from the city barely months before the BBMP elections, Yediyurappa chose to retain it with himself. With six more berths to be filled, Yediyurappa has the daunting task of keeping party loyalists hopeful and has retained high-profile portfolios like Energy and Finance too with him. To stall dissent, the CM has also conveyed his plans of dropping a few ministers soon to accommodate more aspirants.

In a bid to pacify Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli, Yediyurappa appointed him chairman of Mysore Sales International Limited (MSIL). While the legislator, a close aide of Ramesh Jarkiholi, is miffed over being the only turncoat not to have made it to the cabinet despite winning his seat, unlike A H Vishwanath and MTB Nagaraj, Yediyurappa is hopeful that the appointment will help quell disgruntlement.

While there is no rejig of any incumbent minister’s core portfolio, ministries that were being held as additional charge have been distributed to the new entrants. With the State Budget barely weeks away, the new ministers have their tasks cut out.

“I am 200% happy with my portfolio. I will hold meetings with officials at the earliest and chart out my next course of action. I will also take help from Suresh Kumar who had been holding the portfolio previously. There’s nothing wrong in taking his advice and guidance, he is a senior minister,” said Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar when asked about his preparedness for the budget, given the time constraints.

Despite Yediyurappa’s attempts to please all, rumblings have already begun within the cabinet with one new minister hoping to approach the BJP top brass with his complaint. Chikkaballapur MLA Dr K Sudhakar is said to be unhappy with his Medical Education portfolio. Sources close to the minister said he is contemplating approaching the BJP central leadership over Yediyurappa not ‘honouring his commitment’.

“Among all those who switched to the BJP, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Sudhakar were the only ones who were assured of specific ministries. Ramesh was promised Water Resources and Sudhakar was promised Energy. The commitment made to Sudhakar has not been kept,” said the source.

Sudhakar said the portfolio had been given to him considering his educational qualifications. “We can’t choose — whether to become a minister or pick a portfolio. That is the prerogative of the CM. This wasn’t the portfolio I had anticipated but the CM seems to have seen only my educational qualification. Let us see,” Sudhakar said.

DK Shivakumar hit out at the BJP and RSS for taking out a route march in Ramanagara against the controversial Jesus Christ statue.

BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Sunday hit out at the BJP and RSS for taking out a route march in Ramanagara against the controversial Jesus Christ statue.

“Just because the BJP won 25 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress workers need not lose hope. If the Congress and JD(S) had worked out a better strategy, the BJP would not have won even 10 seats. We will correct our mistakes,” the former Congress minister said.

After the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has failed to do well in assembly polls and has been losing power in many states. People are hitting the streets protesting against its policies such as CAA and NRC, he said.

Accusing the BJP and RSS of not being able to digest Congress’ victory in the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha segment in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he said that the BJP is trying hard to make inroads into the
constituency represented by his brother D K Suresh. “Let them take out route march, we don’t care,”
he said.

“We all know what the BJP did during the Lok Sabha elections, and the media reported how much money they spent in the elections. What was the Election Commission doing? Was the Income Tax Department sitting with its eyes closed? Why did they conduct raids only in Hassan, Shivamogga and Mandya districts,” he asked.

He alleged that false cases were slapped when him and other leaders, including H D Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Yediyurappa has parliamentarians in 25 of 28 constituencies and couldn’t win Hassan, Bangalore Rural and Mandya.

BENGALURU: After winning the Vokkaliga strongholds of KR Pete in Mandya, Yeshwantpur and Chikkaballapur, it is no surprise that CM BS Yediyurappa’s new-look cabinet has seven ministers from this community. Yediyurappa has inducted four Vokkaligas  — Narayana Gowda, K Gopalaiah, ST Somashekar and Dr K Sudhakar. This is in addition to R Ashok, CT Ravi and CN Ashwath Narayan, and is unprecedented because the BJP has never been seen as a party of Vokkaligas.

It was BY Vijayendra and Ashwath Narayan who delivered KR Pete in Mandya to the BJP. Ever since, Yediyurappa is going all out to retain his share of the Vokkaliga pie. His attempt to give a berth to CP Yogeshwar, who hails from this community, has been delayed, but he knows that Yogeshwar’s induction will make BJP more powerful in the Vokkaliga-dominated Channapatna-Ramanagara belt.

The undisputed community leader remains JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda, but the man who has seen victory in 37 Vokkaliga-dominated areas and stood a close second to the Congress in 30 constituencies where their votes make a decisive difference, is feeling threatened. Gowda has not hidden his bitterness, and even hit out at Ashwath Narayan being seen in KR Pete.

Yediyurappa has parliamentarians in 25 of 28 constituencies and couldn’t win Hassan, Bangalore Rural and Mandya. In Mandya, BJP supported Congress rebel Sumalatha Ambareesh. Yediyurappa’s gameplan is to increase the number of Vokkaliga voters.

At a recent cabinet meeting, the BJP took keen interest in sugar factories in Mandya, the backbone of the local economy. The budget is likely to see investment in local infrastructure, to help them receive local support.

Senior party leaders like Amit Shah and others have met Adichunchanagiri pontiffs repeatedly, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has a special connect with them through the Nath tradition. Ashwath Narayan elevation has also yielded the party richer rewards because he is credited with the KR Pete victory. “The party’s support base has increased tremendously, it is a 360-degree effort.

Minister CT Ravi gave it another perspective, “It’s not about power, but about being of greater service.’’ 

Yediyurappa said that the final list of legislators to be inducted into the Cabinet will be finalised by Wednesday evening.

KALABURAGI: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who arrived here on Wednesday to inaugurate the 85th Akhila Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, told reporters at the airport that the expansion of the Cabinet will be completed on Thursday.

Yediyurappa said that the final list of legislators to be inducted into the Cabinet will be finalised by Wednesday evening.

 When asked about the legislators to be inducted into his council of ministers, Yediyurappa said, “Everything will be finalised in the evening after getting information from the party high command. Those who will be inducted will be decided by the high command. It’s certain that the Cabinet expansion is going to happen at 10.30 on Thursday. But, those who will be inducted will be known only after the top leadership of the party clarifies about the same.” 

When asked if the senior leader and MLA Umesh Katti would be inducted into his Cabinet, the chief minister refused to comment.   

Yediyurappa said that the budget, which he will present on March 3, will be a pro-farmer and pro-women budget. “Consultation has been done with all departments. There will not be any discrimination about districts. The budget will help in the overall development of the state.”

This submission was made before Justice John Michael Cunha during the hearing of a petition filed by K Lenin.

BENGALURU: The state government on Monday informed the Karnataka High Court that a representative of Swami Nithyananda had informed the CID that Nithyananda is not at his ashram in Bidadi, but is on a spiritual tour.

This submission was made before Justice John Michael Cunha during the hearing of a petition filed by K Lenin. He prayed to court to cancel the bail granted to Nithyananda, the controversial godman who is facing charges of rape.

In his plea, Lenin claimed that Nithyananda had violated conditions imposed while granting bail, and hence, bail be cancelled. On this, the court ordered notice to Nithyananda on January 31, 2020, on the petition filed by Lenin, and this was served on Nithyananda’s aide.  

Meanwhile, Nithyananda’s representative filed an affidavit before court, stating that she was forced to receive the notice by the CID, though she pleaded that she cannot serve it on Nithyananda, as she doesn’t know his whereabouts.

Expressing displeasure over the way the notice was served, Justice Cunha reserved the order on Lenin’s plea. Lenin claimed that Nithyananda had fled the country on an expired passport, but his representative claimed that he is on a religious tour in India.

While sources indicated that the new ministers could be sworn in on Monday, he plan is to induct 13 new ministers.

BENGALURU:The BS Yediyurappa-led government is all set to get 13 more ministers after the Chief Minister’s meeting on Friday with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

During the meeting, which lasted about 25 minutes, the BJP central leadership not only gave Yediyurappa a free hand to expand the cabinet “whenever he wants”, but is also said to have approved his suggestion to induct 10 of the 11 newly- elected legislators.

They had defected from the Congress and JDS and won on BJP tickets in the bypolls. Sources privy to the discussion said that the swearing-in ceremony for 13 ministers is likely to be held on Monday. With their induction, the Karnataka cabinet’s strength will stand at 31. Sources added that Yediyurappa has decided not to drop any incumbent ministers and to keep three berths vacant in case dissent arises.

After camping in New Delhi for two days to discuss the cabinet expansion, Yediyurappa finally met Amit Shah on Friday. A meeting between the two leaders, which was scheduled for Thursday, was postponed owing to Shah’s busy campaign schedule for the Delhi assembly elections.

“Amit Shah, JP Nadda and I met for about 25 minutes and discussed the issue. They are in agreement with most of my suggestions. They said I can expand the cabinet whenever I want,” Yeddyurappa said.

“After I return to Bengaluru, I will talk to a few (stakeholders) and discuss the issue. I will convince them and expand the cabinet. The date of swearing-in is my prerogative,” said a beaming Yediyurappa as he walked out after meeting Shah and Nadda. 

While he chose to not answer pointed questions on how many of the newly-elected MLAs will be made ministers and when the swearing-in can be expected, sources indicated that the new ministers could be sworn in on Monday. 

“The CM will now have to take a call on whether he wants 10 out of the 11 newly-elected MLAs and three old-timers or nine newly-elected MLAs and four old-timers. The plan is to induct 13 ministers,” said another source. Yediyurappa has been pushing to induct at least 10 out of the 11 formerly disqualified MLAs owing to the assurance he had given to them before they joined the BJP.

Party insiders suggest that to avoid extremely heavy representation from Belagavi in the cabinet, either Mahesh Kumathalli or Shrimanth Patil could be left out from among the 11 legislators. For the three berths meant for party old-timers, Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali, Murugesh Nirani, Halappa Achar along with a host of BJP leaders are in line for consideration. 

Yediyurappa is expected to hold discussions with senior party leaders, cabinet aspirants and candidates who are likely to lose out on ministerial berths on Saturday and Sunday to build confidence and ensure minimum damage and dissent.

His suggestion to drop a few incumbent ministers seems to be the only proposal that the high command has not responded to in the positive. The CM is said to have been given autonomy over how to go about the cabinet expansion along with portfolio allocation. But with that also comes the onus of facing any challenges that may come up as a fallout.