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Senior MLA Suresh Babu replaces Kumaraswamy as JD(S) leader in Karnataka Assembly

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Senior MLA Suresh Babu replaces Kumaraswamy as JD(S) leader in Karnataka Assembly
Senior JD(S) MLA C B Suresh Babu

Bengaluru: Senior JD(S) MLA C B Suresh Babu is the party’s leader in the Karnataka Assembly, Speaker U T Khader said on Monday.

The position fell vacant following JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s election to the Lok Sabaha.

“JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy on July 14 has given a letter stating that Chikkanayakanahalli MLA C B Suresh Babu has been appointed as the JD(S) party leader (in the Assembly) and the same has to be recognised. Accordingly, Suresh Babu has been recognised as the JD(S) party leader,” Khader told the House.

Kumaraswamy resigned as the MLA from Channapatna segment after his election to the Lok Sabha in the recent polls.

AI cameras installed in K’taka Assembly to record arrival exit time of MLAs duration of presence

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 Artificial Intelligence-enabled cameras with facial recognition technology have now been installed in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that will record arrival and exit time of members, as well as the duration of their presence in the House.

KGF Congress MLA Roopakala Shashidhar was the first legislator to be recorded by the cameras on arrival at the Assembly for the monsoon session, which began today as the new system became operational.

The first MLA to be captured exiting was Tiptur’s Shadakshari of Congress.

Speaker U T Khader noted that there is a practice of recognising MLAs who come early to the Assembly before the quorum bells are rung and their names are read out in appreciation by the Chair.

“Some senior legislators like Araga Jnanendra, Basangouda Patil Yatnal (of BJP) and some senior Ministers had made a request that some legislators, despite coming a bit late, sit through the proceedings till six or eight (PM), but no one takes note of it and it is an injustice,” the Speaker said.

He added: “So, for the first time we have installed Artificial Intelligence cameras, which will take note of — what time a member arrives and leaves, and for how long he or she was present in the Assembly. Information regarding this comes to the Assembly Secretary’s system by the end of the day. There will be data.”

According to officials, the initiative is part of the effort to improve attendance of legislators and their participation during the session.

Meanwhile, aimed at giving a facelift to the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat here, gates at the west entrance of the Assembly hall has been renovated in the first phase, replacing iron grilled gates with a large and carved grand rosewood door.

It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today along with a plaque having the preamble of the constitution.

The Speaker said: “there is national and international respect for our Vidhana Soudha building. National and international level delegations and tourists come to Vidhana Soudha. It is our duty to make it look good and respectable from both inside and outside. This is the first phase, more work has to be done, I seek your (members) suggestions.”

Siddaramaiah, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and other legislators complimented the Speaker for the initiative.

Rupee hits all-time low settles 10 paise down at 83.61 against US dollar

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Mumbai: Rupee depreciated 10 paise and settled for the day at 83.61 against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by the overall strength of the American currency in the overseas market.

Forex traders said a positive trend in domestic equities, wherein benchmark indices touched all-time high levels and significant foreign fund inflows supported the rupee at lower levels.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.53, but lost ground and touched its all-time low of 83.62 against the dollar. It finally settled at 83.61 against the American currency, registering a loss of 10 paise from its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee settled at 83.51 against the US dollar.

Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said the rupee declined on positive US dollar and rising domestic inflation.

US dollar rose on safe haven demand amid political violence in the US, he said, adding that rising odds of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September may limit a sharp upside in the greenback.

“Traders may take cues from Empire State manufacturing index data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83.30 to Rs 83.80,” Choudhary said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally lower by 0.02 per cent at 104.07.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 0.09 per cent higher at USD 85.11 per barrel.

In the domestic equity market, the benchmark indices scaled all-time high levels. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended the day 145.52 points, or 0.18 per cent, higher at an all-time high of 80,664.86 points. The broader NSE Nifty settled 84.55 points, or 0.35 per cent, higher at a record 24,586.70 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital markets on Monday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,684.78 crore, according to exchange data.

According to the official data released on Monday, wholesale inflation in the country rose for the fourth consecutive month in June at 3.36 per cent on account of rise in prices of food articles, especially vegetables and manufactured items.

India’s merchandise exports in June increased 2.56 per cent to USD 35.2 billion even as the trade deficit widened to USD 20.98 billion during the month, the commerce and industry ministry data showed on Monday.

The government data released on Friday showed retail inflation increased to a four-month high of 5.08 per cent in June as food items, including vegetables became dearer.

Not afraid of politically malicious criticism says CM as opposition attacks his govt over scams

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Not afraid of politically malicious criticism, says CM as opposition attacks his govt. over 'scams'

Bengaluru With opposition parties targeting his government over alleged financial irregularities in a state-run corporation in both Houses of Karnataka legislature and planning to raise the Mysuru Urban Development Authority ‘scam’ issue, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he has answers to their “every word” and it is not in his nature to sit quietly, afraid of politically malicious criticism.

He also accused BJP and JD(S) of adopting “hit and run” tactics by lying before the media, and asserted that it will not be allowed in the House (Legislative Assembly/Council).

“BJP and JD(S) leaders, I have an answer for every word of yours. It’s not like lying before the media so far, standing somewhere far away and shooting a bullet in the air. This is the House, your hit and run has no place here,” he added.

The illegal money transfer issue, involving Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd, came to the fore, after its accounts superintendent, Chandrashekhar P, died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a death note.

The note alleged unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Corporation from its bank account, and from that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to “well-known” IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.

Following allegations against him in connection with the scam, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra tendered his resignation on June 6. He is currently under Enforcement Directorate custody.

The MUDA case is linked to fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by the Authority, which involves plots given to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi.

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.

BJP and JD(S) have demanded for Siddaramaiah’s resignation and CBI probe into both these cases.

Reacting to BJP demanding CM’s resignation in connection with the MUDA case, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said: “let them raise their issue in the Assembly, we will respond to it, whether it is MUDA or any other case.”

“All scams were done by them (BJP) and they are now blaming us. We are taking several measures to clean up things after coming to power,” he told reporters here.

On BJP terming the government’s move to constitute a Commission, headed by Justice P N Desai, a retired Karnataka High Court judge, to probe the MUDA alleged scam, an “eyewash” and demanding CBI probe, Shivakumar said: “Should we obey whatever they say? People have given us the mandate. We will do what is good for the state.”

BCCI to release Rs one crore for treatment of cancer-stricken Gaekwad

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In a noble gesture, the BCCI on Sunday decided to release Rs one crore for the treatment of former India coach Anshuman Gaikwad, who is battling blood cancer at a medical facility in London.

BCCI’s decision has come following emotional appeals for support from former captain Kapil Dev and Sandip Patil, who had enjoined the cricket board to help Gaikwad.

“Mr. Jay Shah has instructed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to release Rs 1 crore with immediate effect to provide financial assistance to India’s veteran cricketer Mr Anshuman Gaekwad, who is battling cancer,” BCCI apex council said in a statement.

Gaekwad, son of former India captain D K Gaekwad, is undergoing treatment for blood cancer at the King’s College Hospital in London.

“Shah has also spoken to Mr Gaekwad’s family to take stock of the situation and extend support. The board stands by Gaekwad’s family in this hour of crisis and will do whatever is essential for Mr Gaekwad’s quick recovery,” the statement continued.

“The BCCI will continue to monitor Mr Gaekwad’s progress and is confident that he will come out of this phase strongly,” it added.

The 71-year-old Gaekwad played 40 Tests and 15 ODIs for India between 1975 and 1987.

After Valmiki scam illegal fund transfer scam hits Wakf Board complaint lodged

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Close on the heels of the Valmiki Corporation scam where a sum of between Rs 88 crore and Rs 187 crore was misappropriated, the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf has lodged a police complaint against its former chief executive officer Zulfiqarulla for illegally moving over Rs 4 crore of its funds.

Incumbent CEO Meer Ahmed Abbas has accused his predecessor of causing a loss of Rs 8.03 crore in total to the state exchequer.

In a complaint to the High Grounds Police Station, Abbas said that the state government had “encroached” a Wakf property belonging to Gulbarga Dargah and paid Rs 2.29 crore in return. Further, the Wakf Board had received Rs 1.79 crore from the Religious Endowment Department (Muzrai department).

“This way, Rs 4,00,45,465 was deposited in the Indian Bank account at the Benson Town Branch. On November 26, 2016, transferred the amount to the Vijaya Bank account of the CEO, Wakf Board in Chintamani branch (in Chikkaballapura district),” the complainant said.

Abbas stated that Zulfiqarulla did not bring this transfer of money to the notice of the Wakf Board, which caused the board a loss of Rs 8.04 crore. This amount is said to have been arrived at by assuming that compound interest would have accrued on the sum of Rs 4,00,45,465 in the past eight years if it had been invested appropriately.

The complaint states that on March 31, 2022 it was deemed that the reply given by Zulfiqarulla about the alleged misappropriation of funds was unsatisfactory. However, only two years later, on June 12, 2024 did the board decide that a complaint would be filed about the matter, and accordingly a case was registered on July 6, 2024.

The complaint filed in the Waqf board scam comes close on the heels of a similar scam being brought to light recently, wherein funds were misappropriated from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation.

Police have arrested former minister B Nagendra in the Valmiki Corporation scam, along with 11 other persons.

Bus fare hike inevitable says KSRTC chairman

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Tumakuru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation chairperson S R Srinivas on Sunday said the fare hike in government buses in the state was inevitable.

He said the KSRTC has submitted a proposal to the state government to increase the fare by 15 to 20 per cent.

“We had a board meeting two days ago. We have proposed a hike of 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The rest is up to the discretion of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. If KSRTC is to survive, fare hike is inevitable,” Srinivas said.

Noting that the prices of fuel and auto parts have gone up substantially, the KSRTC chairperson said the fare hike has not been effected since 2019.

“The salary revision of the KSRTC employees has not been done since 2020. Hence, increasing the ticket price is necessary.” According to him, the corporation has incurred a loss of Rs 295 crore in the last three months.

The transport corporation has also submitted a proposal to purchase 40 new Volvo buses to the government.

He added that so far 600 regular buses have been procured.

To a question whether the hike would burden male passengers since women are allowed to travel free of cost under the ‘Shakti’ scheme, Srinivas said there is no question of putting burden only on men.

The KSRTC chairperson said the state government is bearing the expenses of women travelling in the buses.

Overconfidence hurt BJP’s hopes in Lok Sabha polls: Adityanath at party meetingVartha Bharati

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Addressing the BJP’s UP working committee meeting here, Adityanath said while the BJP managed managed to maintain its vote share of previous elections, there was a “shifting of votes”, and now the “defeated” opposition is “jumping around” again.

The chief minister said, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, we had maintained constant pressure on the opposition in UP, achieving great success in 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2022 (national and state elections).”

“The percentage of votes that BJP had in its favour in 2014 and subsequent elections, BJP has been successful in getting the same number of votes in 2024 as well, but the shifting of votes and overconfidence have hurt our expectations,” he said.

“The opposition, which had earlier accepted defeat, is again jumping around today,” the chief minister said here at the concluding session of the day-long meeting at Ambedkar Auditorium of Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University in Lucknow.

Adityanath’s remarks comes after a day after the BJP-led NDA’s dismal performance in by-elections in seven states.

In a boost to the INDIA bloc, its members won the bypolls to 10 of the 13 assembly constituencies in seven states, while the BJP managed to bag two and an Independent pocketed one as votes were counted on Saturday.

The Election Commission is yet to announce the schedule for the assembly bypolls in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won 33 seats, down from 62 it clinched in 2019. The Congress won six seats, while its INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party bagged 37 seats from UP, which sends 80 members to the Lower House of Parliament.

Addityanath said the BJP does not have to “go on the backfoot” since they have done good work.

Addressing party workers, he said “When you were in the opposition, you used to fight for the issues of the people. When you were in government, you saw the security environment in UP. Remember, roads used to be empty during Muharram, and today, it is being held without attracting any attention.”

Praising the law and order in the state, Adityanath said, “After the 2022 (UP Assembly) elections, the opposition started jumping around and resorted to violence. But with your support in our government’s ‘Mafia-free UP’ campaign, we succeeded in freeing the state from goons and mafia.”

K P Sharma Oli appointed Nepal’s new Prime Minister

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K P Sharma Oli appointed Nepal's new Prime Minister
K P Sharma Oli

Kathmandu: K P Sharma Oli, CPN-UML chairman and seen as a pro-China leader, was appointed Nepal’s Prime Minister for a fourth term on Sunday to lead the new coalition government that faces the daunting challenge of providing political stability in the Himalayan nation.

Oli, 72, succeeds Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who lost the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives on Friday, leading to the formation of the new government process as per Article 76 (2) of the Constitution.

President Ram Chandra Paudel appointed Oli as the new Prime Minister under Article 76-2 of the Constitution of Nepal, according to a notice issued by the President’s Office.

Oli became the Prime Minister with the support of the Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament.

Oli’s swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place at 11 am on Monday at Shital Niwas, the main building of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

On Friday night, Oli staked his claim to become the next Prime Minister with the backing of NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba and submitted the signatures of 165 House of Representatives (HoR) members — 77 from his Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) party and 88 from the Nepali Congress. (NC).

CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Prachanda lost the vote of confidence in HoR during a floor test on Friday.

Earlier last week, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML chairman Oli inked a seven-point deal to form a new coalition government replacing Prachanda. The two leaders agreed that the remaining term of the Parliament would be shared between them turn by turn. In the first phase, Oli will become the Prime Minister for 18 months as per the agreement.

Prime Minister Oli will form a small cabinet on Monday, according to sources close to him.

Other political parties including Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Janata Samajwadi Party Nepal, Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party, Janamat Party and Nagarik Unmukti Party are also likely to join the government.

Oli served as Nepal’s prime minister from October 11, 2015, to August 3, 2016 and then, from February 5, 2018, to July 13, 2021. He continued to serve from May 13, 2021, to July 13, 2021 — because of an appointment by the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari, described by local media as a success of Oli’s Machiavellian tricks. Later, the Supreme Court ruled that Oli’s claim to the post of prime minister was unconstitutional.

Karnataka govt forms inquiry commission into MUDA scam

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Karnataka govt forms inquiry commission into MUDA scam

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Sunday ordered the formation of an inquiry commission into the alleged alternative site scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

According to the order, High Court judge (retd) Justice P N Desai will head the single-member commission.

The commission will be required to complete the inquiry and submit its report to the state government within six months.

The departments concerned and the MUDA officials will have to cooperate with the investigation by providing the necessary documents and information to Justice Desai, the order said.

The government passed the order late Sunday night ahead of the Legislature session, which will start on July 15 and culminate on July 26.

The scam gathered steam after the BJP alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi was one of the beneficiaries of alternative sites (plots).

Siddaramaiah categorically rejected the allegation and claimed that MUDA “illegally” took over the four acres land belonging to his wife and formed a layout without her permission.

The CM said MUDA compensated them by providing them alternative plots.

The BJP has raised doubts about the claim saying how can MUDA touch such a “high profile” property.

The party has pegged the size of the scam somewhere around Rs 3,000 crore.

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