Bengaluru: BJP national president Amit Shah on Friday managed to resolve differences between Karnataka party president BS Yeddyurappa and senior party leader KS Eshwarappa.

After the talks, Eshwarappa agreed to distance himself from the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade (SRB) which had caused differences between him and Yeddyurappa.

Eshwarappa will now head the BJP’s OBC Morcha and would be able to organize OBC and Dalit programmes and rallies in all districts in the name of Sangolli Rayanna but they would be under the banner of BJP.

Sources say that the three leaders met at Shah’s house and talks went on for about three hours.

Meanwhile, it is said that Shah has instructed that a committee be formed to look into matters regarding the suspension of party leaders for association with the SRB.

Shah is also said to have assured Eshwarappa a party ticket to contest from Shivamogga during the upcoming assembly election.

(Agencies)

Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday issued a bailable arrest warrant against beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya for allegedly violating an undertaking given by him and his companies not to transfer their equity shares in United Breweries Limited (UBL) to British spirits company Diageo Plc.

“We are issuing a bailable arrest warrant against the accused (Vijay Mallya) for violating an undertaking given by him in the case,” said Justice Jayant Patel heading a division bench.

The warrant has been issued after Mallya failed to appear before the bench, also comprising Justice Aravind Kumar, on petitions filed by a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.

The banks have accused Mallya of violating the undertaking given by him and his companies, including the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, not to transfer their equity shares in UBL after the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) had restrained Standard Chartered Bank, with which the shares had been pledged, from handing over the same to Diageo Plc.

On December 2 last, Justice Vineet Kothari of the high court had rejected Mallya’s application for recalling its order summoning him for allegedly violating the undertaking.

On October 20 last, Justices Patel and Kumar had summoned Mallya to appear before it on November 24.

Resuming the hearing, counsel for the bankers, Nagananda pleaded that a non-bailable arrest warrant be issued against Mallya for violating the undertaking given to the court.

At this, the bench asked whether the bankers had placed documents submitted before the Supreme Court suggesting the non-residence of Mallya in the country in order to issue non-bailable arrest warrant against the liquor baron.

“Since you (bankers) haven’t placed the Supreme Court documents suggesting Mallya’s non-residence in India, we request you to submit the same before us. After which, the court would decide on issuing non-bailable arrest warrant, which your are pleading for,” Justice Patel said.

The division bench posted the matter for next hearing on February 17.

The DRT, in its order last year, had restrained Standard Chartered Bank from transferring to Diageo Plc or anyone else, the equity shares of UBL pledged by Mallya and his son Siddharth with the bank.

(Agencies)

Ahmedabad: Police today arrested a lady Mahant (head of a religious shrine) and recovered cash worth Rs 1 crore 26 lakhs (all in Rs 2000 notes) and 2.4kg gold (24 bars of 100gm each) from her residence here.

SP Neeraj Badgujar said that the head of Mukteshwar Math, situated in Badgam area of Banaskantha district, Sadhvi Jai Shree Giri, has been arrested in connection with a cheating case filed by a local jeweller. “During a raid in this connection at her residence in Gauri Park Society in Paschim Police Station area of Palanpur, the headquarters town of Banaskantha district, altogether 6300 notes of Rs 2000 denominations worth Rs 1.26-crore and 24 gold bars each weighing 100gm were recovered,” the SP said.

A local jeweller Pritesh Shah, who also owns a shop in the city, had filed a case against three persons including the Sadhvi and one Chirag Rawal and one unknown person claiming that they had taken more than Rs 5-crore from him in last few months in the name of giving him gold at cheaper rates. They had neither given any gold to him nor returned the money, the SP said.The two other accused are still at large. The Sadhvi has been arrested from her residence during the raid today and was being interrogated further. The Income Tax Department has also been informed about the recovery of cash and gold.Notably, the Sadhvi was seen throwing Rs 2000 notes on a well-known singer during a folk music event called Dyro recently.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Government will soon roll out Aadhaar Pay service that will enable people to make and receive payments using their Aadhaar number and biometrics.

“We are going to start Aadhaar Pay. With this people will not require to carry their phone for payments. They can visit any merchant, share their Aadhaar number and verify themselves using biometrics to pay and receive money,” Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

As of now, 14 banks have come on board for Aadhaar Pay and the service will be launched soon, Prasad said told reporters.

“We are in talks with other banks too. The service will be launched very soon,” he informed.

Further, the Minister said, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), the common platform for making quick payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has also been integrated with Aadhaar Enabled Payment System on Thursday.

Around 111 crore people in the country have Aadhaar numbers.

“There are 49 crore bank accounts linked to Aadhaar. Every month 2 crore accounts are being seeded with Aadhaar,” Prasad said.

(PTI)

Bagalkot: The Sangolli Rayanna Brigade will organise a state-level convention soon and will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi at attend it, BJP leader K S Eshwarappa said on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering at the Sangolli Rayanna martyrdom day function in the district, the BJP leader claimed that the Brigade had the silent approval of the BJP high command.

He added that the Brigade was giving sleepless nights to many within six months of its inception, but there would be a change of mind among those opposing the Brigade and they would accept it.

Meanwhile, he added that the Chief Minister had to make the report of the caste census public and provide reservations based on the findings.

Brigade leader Ashok Limbavali said that activities of the Brigade would continue in the days to come as opposed to media reports that the Brigade would cease to exist if Eshwarappa and Yeddyurappa came to a truce.

(Agencies)

Jodhpur: Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his “Hum Saath-Saath Hain” co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Neelam Kothari, Sonali Bendre and Tabu, pleaded “not guilty” in an 18-year-old blackbuck poaching case in a Jodhpur court on Friday.

The actors were present in the court to get their statements recorded before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit.

The CJM court had earlier asked the Bollywood celebrities to appear on January 25 to record statement, but the stars, including Salman and Saif, did not come on that day citing security reasons.

The court then postponed the matter for Friday.

The case against all cine stars is pending since 1998, but it could not come for hearing and remained stalled due to several appeals and revisions in the higher court in other connected matters.

During the course of hearing on Friday, Salman replied to as many as 65 questions posed by the court in regard to the allegations levelled by the prosecution witnesses.

Salman and the other actors also replied to a few general questions like names, father’s name, age, residential address and caste.

To a question with regard to his religion, Salman said that “I’m Hindu and Muslim both. I’m Bhartiya”. He subsequently said in English that I’m an Indian.

Asked about the allegations levelled by the prosecution, the stars pleaded “not guilty”. Salman in his reply said that he couldn’t have gone out for poaching due to security reasons, especially in the evenings or night.

Salman and Saif stayed in the court for around half an hour and an hour respectively. The actresses had to remain in court for around two hours.

“We will produce defence witnesses to counter the prosecution as all the allegations are untrue,” Hastimal Sarswat, Salman’s advocate told IANS.

Relatives of the film stars, including Salman’s sister Alvira and his bodyguard Shera, were also present during the court proceedings.

All the five Bollywood actors are accused of poaching blackbucks on the midnight of October 1-2, 1998, during the shooting of “Hum Saath-Saath Hain”.

Two blackbucks, a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed in the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur.

Salman was accused of carrying and using illegal arms too, but recently the CJM court acquitted him of the charges.

(Agencies)

Majitha: Setting at rest speculation, Rahul Gandhi today announced that Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh will be the party’s chief ministerial face in the high-stakes Assembly polls.

74-year-old Amarinder, who is fighting his last election, will be the next Chief Minister, if the party forms government in Punjab.

Rahul, addressing the rally in the pocket-borough of Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, said Amarinder alone can change Punjab and set it right along with the support of the people of the state and there is no other way out.

Ruling SAD and AAP have been mocking Congress, asking why the party was not declaring Amarinder as its chief ministerial candidate for the February 4 Assembly polls.

“Punjab will be run by its people. I want to tell you that Punjab’s chief minister will be from Punjab and Punjab’s chief minister is sitting here. Amarinder Singh is Punjab’s chief ministerial candidate and he will be Punjab’s chief minister,” he said, prompting leaders to congratulate Amarinder on the dais.

Rahul said Punjab will not be run by “remote control” as it does not need one, taking a veiled dig at Kejriwal and accusing him of wanting to become Delhi and Punjab chief minister at the same time.

He also made a scathing attack on the ruling Badals, accusing them of ruining Punjab and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of siding with them and talking of removing corruption.

Rahul, who began his three-day election tour to the poll-bound state by addressing his first public meeting in the presence of Amarinder and Navjot Singh Sidhu, also attacked AAP and Kejriwal of trying to befool the people of the state by making false and empty promises.

The Congress leader said this election is not to “form a government but to save Punjabiyat” and Punjab’s honour and only Congress with the help of people of the state can do it.

He also said if Congress comes to power, then the government will bring a law to deal with the drug menace in the state and put all those carrying out drugs business behind bars.

(Agencies)