Channapatna : Former Minister C P Yogeshwara, who joined the Congress after quitting BJP, on Thursday filed his nomination as the grand old party’s candidate for the November 13 Assembly by-poll from Channapatna, amid a show of strength.

He was accompanied by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and district in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy, among other party leaders.

Yogeshwara along with Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, Reddy, former MP D K Suresh and several other Congress leaders held a massive road show in which a large number of party workers and supporters had gathered.

Yogeshwara on Wednesday quit BJP and joined the Congress, hours before the party fielded him as its candidate from the high profile Channapatna segment.

Channapatna bypoll is necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the election of its representative — JD(S) state President and now Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy — to Lok Sabha from Mandya parliamentary segment.

The by-poll will see a straight contest between Congress and NDA partner JD(S), which is in an alliance with the BJP, in the segment.

Addressing the gathering, Yogeshwara said Siddaramaiah’s personal presence and blessings, and Shivakumar and Suresh’s support and cooperation are a “big strength” for him.

“I have come before you as your candidate to join hands with Shivakumar in his efforts to develop the taluk….I appeal to you to make me win with a record margin to serve you,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said Yogeshwara is a popular leader in Channapatna and he has made efforts for the development of the constituency as a five time MLA and a Minister, and people acknowledge his work in filling up lakes in the taluk.

“Let whoever the JD(S) field as its candidate, let Kumaraswamy himself contest or let him field his son or wife, our candidate Yogeshwara will win hundred per cent. He is a winning horse,” he said.

Charging Kumaraswamy with “not doing anything for the development of Channapatna,” the CM said: “he did not make visits to the constituency. Kumaraswamy is a central minister now, he is not going to any part of the country other than the Mandya segment he represents…”

Shivakumar said, the government is undertaking works to the tune of Rs 500 crore in Channapatna, adding, if the Congress candidate wins here, the segment can witness changes for good. “I request you to give Congress victory with a huge margin.”

Hitting out at Kumaraswamy for quitting as Channapatna MLA and contesting Lok Sabha polls from Mandya, he said: “You (people) should ask him — you were twice MLA from here and also became CM — what have you done, release the list.”

Ahead of joining Congress, Yogeshwara, the actor-turned-politician, had appealed to leaders of the alliance to consider giving him a ticket from the saffron party. He had also said he had plans to contest as an independent if he didn’t get the ticket.

There were plans to field Yogeshwara on a JD(S) ticket, but he was not interested in it, sources said. “Instead, he wanted Kumaraswamy to support him as BJP candidate, which was not acceptable to the latter and his party.”

With this by-poll, “D K Brothers” — Shivakumar and Suresh — are hoping to regain Congress’ ground in the Vokkaliga dominated region, which is their home turf, after the Lok Sabha poll debacle in which the latter lost to BJP-JD(S) joint candidate and Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law Dr C N Manjunath in Bangalore Rural, under which the Channapatna Assembly seat comes.

According to JD(S) sources, Kumaraswamy did not want to cede the Channapatna seat that he had represented to Yogeshwara or BJP.

Kumaraswamy had won the Channapatna seat in 2018 and 2023. Before that Yogeshwara had represented the seat from BJP and Samajwadi Party. He had earlier also represented the seat both as an independent and from the Congress.

Kumaraswamy’s actor-turned-politician son Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s name has been doing the rounds as JD(S)-BJP alliance’s candidate for Channapatna seat. Nikhil had lost the 2023 Assembly polls from neighbouring Ramanagara.

Kumaraswamy had won Channapatna in the 2023 assembly polls, with 96,592 votes against Yogeshwara (then in BJP) who got 80,677 votes. The Congress candidate had then secured 15,374 votes.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday announced that 100 new police stations would be established in the state, while 10,000 police quarters would be constructed by 2025.

Siddaramaiah was speaking at the police remembrance day where he paid homage to 216 policemen who laid down their lives in line of their duty in the country including 12 in Karnataka.

“It is the government’s duty to provide houses for policemen. We will build 10,000 residential quarters by 2025 for which Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated,” the CM said.

He added that 100 new police stations will be built for which Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned.

The Chief Minister also announced opening seven new public schools and promised setting up more such institutions in the coming years.

Underscoring the importance of law and order to maintain peace in society, Siddaramaiah said peaceful society attracts investment, creates more job opportunities, increases per capita income and improves the economy.

To curb unlawful activities and for quick response in the event of accidents, 200 vehicles are patrolling Highways and 6,000 CCTV cameras are used for monitoring public spaces, he informed the gathering.

On the occasion, the CM assured the policemen that the state government will provide all the facilities to them to discharge their duties.

plea of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is currently in jail in connection with a rape case.

A single-judge bench of the High Court also rejected his anticipatory bail application.

Prajwal Revanna had approached the High Court after his bail plea was dismissed by the lower court in the rape case registered at the Hole Narasipura police station in Hassan.

Bengaluru: Karnataka has registered a robust GSDP growth of 10.2 per cent in 2023-24, the state government said on Monday. Citing a data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the government said in a statement that the state has significantly surpassed the national average of 8.2 per cent.

“Initially, the National Statistical Estimate (NSE) had projected a modest 4 per cent GSDP growth for Karnataka, but this was revised to 13.1 per cent by the end of the fiscal year, indicating early underestimation of the state’s economic performance,” the statement read.

The government pointed out that this feat was achieved despite severe challenges, including the worst drought in a decade and a slowdown in global IT markets. The state’s agriculture sector faced negative growth due to drought conditions, while Karnataka’s dependence on the IT and hardware sectors—accounting for 28 per cent of its Gross State Value Added (GSVA)—made it vulnerable to global economic downturns, according to the statement.

The Indian IT industry’s growth, which slowed from 15.5 per cent in FY 2022 to 8 per cent in FY 2023, reflected global recessionary fears and inflation. For FY 2024-25, the NSE forecasts Karnataka’s GSDP to grow at 9.4 per cent, slightly below the national average projection of 10.5 per cent, the statement said.

However, the Ministry of Finance projects a more optimistic 14 per cent growth for the state, supported by strong fiscal indicators, it added. “As of September 2024, Karnataka recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in GST collections and a 24 per cent surge in stamp duty revenue, signaling a healthy economic trajectory,” the government said.

Karnataka’s per capita GSDP remains among the highest in the country, on par with Telangana, reflecting the strength of Congress-led governance in both states, the statement said. The state government gave credit to its pro-people policies, including its five guarantees, saying they have ensured that the benefits of growth reach all sections of society.

Bengaluru Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced that all Scheduled Tribe (ST) residential schools in the state and the Raichur University will be named after Maharishi Valmiki.

He made this announcement after inaugurating the Valmiki Jayanti programme, organised by the Department of Backward Classes Welfare here.

“All Scheduled Tribe residential schools and University of Raichur will be named after Maharishi Valmiki… it is my wish that the name and life of Valmiki, who reached the pinnacle of achievement through perseverance, should be immortalized,” Siddaramaiah said.

Addressing the event, Siddaramaiah also criticised the BJP, alleging despite being in power at the Centre and in several states, the saffron party has not implemented the SCSP (Scheduled Castes Sub Plan) and TSP (Tribal Sub Plan) policies anywhere.

“Our government was the first to reserve budget funds proportionate to the SC/ST population through these schemes. I initiated the concept of hostels for marginalized communities, and I will ensure there is one in every hobli,” he said.

Further, the CM, called out the BJP, accusing it of opposing welfare schemes and “merely paying lip service” to the idea of equality.

“True equality can’t come without addressing economic and social disparities, as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar warned,” he said.

Siddaramaiah also urged marginalized communities to stand united and develop the courage to speak the truth. “Don’t believe my words blindly. Think, reflect, and discern between truth and lies. That will be the real way to honor Maharshi Valmiki,” he said.

The Chief Minister also noted that historically marginalized communities like the Kuruba and Besta castes made significant contributions to literature and philosophy.

Pointing out that Kalidasa, the renowned playwright of Shakuntala, belonged to the Kuruba community, Vyasa, the author of the Mahabharata, came from the Besta community, and Maharishi Valmiki, who wrote the Ramayana, was from a similar background, he said. “People made up stories on how a bandit like Valmiki couldn’t possibly write the Ramayana, just because these communities did not have access from education and learning Sanskrit.”

Highlighting that despite societal barriers, individuals from these communities studied Sanskrit and created masterpieces like the Ramayana, which is a source of pride and inspiration for everyone, Siddaramaiah said, “When access was provided to education, they excelled and became inspirations to the world. Valmiki promoted equality and equal opportunities for all. The concept of Ram Rajya in the Ramayana represents a society where fairness and equal opportunities prevail.”

He said Maharshi Valmiki had provided shelter and education to Lava and Kusha, the sons of Lord Rama, proving that he stood for universal values.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, where misappropriation of funds was reported earlier this year, will face no shortage of funds.

“The misappropriation of funds in the Valmiki Corporation should not be a reason for any shortage of funds for the tribal development,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after a meeting on tribal development.

The government will sanction the funds to the Corporation as announced in the Budget in February this year, he said.

Siddaramaiah said there was misappropriation of funds to the tune Rs 89.63 crore, out of which Rs 71.54 crore has been recovered.

The ED had earlier arrested Congress MLA B Nagendra and five other key accused during its probe into the ‘scam’ at the Corporation.\

Nagendra was granted bail by the Special Court for People’s Representatives here on Monday.

He had resigned as the Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister in June following allegations of his involvement in the ‘scam.’

The ED said last week Nagendra has been identified as the primary accused and mastermind behind the scam, allegedly orchestrating it with the help of 24 others.

The ED had said its investigation revealed that under the influence of Nagendra, the account of the corporation was moved to the MG Road Branch without any proper authorisation, where Rs 187 Crore, including Rs. 43.33 Crore from the State Treasury under the Ganga Kalyana Scheme, were deposited without following proper procedures and in violation of government guidelines.

“These funds were subsequently siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion. ED investigation also revealed that an amount of Rs. 20.19 Crore of the diverted funds was used to support a candidate contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Bellary constituency, as well as for the personal expenses of B. Nagendra,” the federal probe agency added.

New Delhi: The Karnataka government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it has withdrawn its notification for conducting board examinations for students of classes 5, 8 and 9 in the current academic year in three rural districts.

A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing an appeal filed by Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools against the March 22, judgement of the Karnataka High Court.

The high court’s division bench had permitted the state government to conduct the board exams for classes 5,8, 9 and 11 for the academic year 2023-24, overruling the March 6 order of a single judge’s bench.

The single judge of the high court had nullified the state government’s decision of October 2023 to hold board exams for these classes through the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB).

On April 8, the apex court stayed the high court division bench order and a April 6 order passed by the Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council “till further orders”.

“This is a classic instance whereby no one else than the state government of Karnataka has sought to create a havoc and great distress not only amongst the students and their parents, but also amongst the teachers and the school managements in the state of Karnataka,” the bench had then noted.

On Tuesday, the bench was informed by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta that the state government had withdrawn the notification.

“The withdrawal is done. It was a mistake on our part. I can assure my learned friend that even if exams were conducted, no results will be out…,” he said.

The bench asked as to why the state government was bent on troubling the parents and children.

“There appears to be some ego problem on part of the state,” Justice Trivedi remarked.

Mehta, however, clarified that there were some errors in grant of marks in the three districts, also becoming the reason behind the notification for conducting examinations.

The bench then posted the hearing after a week.

Advocates K V Dhananjay and A Velan, appearing for the petitioners, had previously informed the bench that despite the apex court’s interim order staying the board examinations for classes 5, 8, 9 and 11, the state government conducted a half-yearly board exam for class 10 and a public exam for classes 8 and 9 in September.

The bench had asked the petitioner to file a contempt application against the state government for the alleged defiance of its order after the petitioner said the state government’s move despite the stay order amounted to contempt.

The Karnataka high court division bench had interpreted the notifications issued by the state government regarding the board exams as guidelines rather than strict regulations, based on its understanding of the powers granted under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

Bengaluru: A special court here on Tuesday granted bail to Karnataka BJP MLA Muniratna, who is in judicial custody, in connection with a rape case.

A case was registered after a woman lodged a complaint at Kaggalipur police station in Ramanagara, alleging that Muniratna, who represents the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency, raped her at various locations.

Before these accusations surfaced, Muniratna had already been arrested in a separate case involving caste abuse and death threats made to a contractor. After securing bail in that case, the rape allegations emerged, leading to his re-arres

In response to the woman’s allegations, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate.

The MLA was taken into custody for questioning and later transferred to jail.