Page 14 - Karnataka Government

BJP slams K'taka CM over his post on demolition of 'illegal' houses in Goa

The BJP has slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his comments on the demolition of some houses allegedly built illegally and belonging to Kannadigas in Goa and said he should first work to solve problems in his own state. Bharatiya Janata Party's Goa spokesperson Giriraj Pai Vernekar told PTI on Sunday that the demolition drive was carried out following a directive of the Supreme Court. A total of 22 houses built illegally on land owned by the local communidade (community institution) at Sangolda village in North Goa district were demolished by the authorities on Friday and Saturday. Siddaramaiah in a post on X on Sunday said, "Deeply concerned by the demolition of homes belonging to Kannadigas in Sangolda, Goa. I appeal to the Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Dr Pramod Sawant, to cease further demolitions immediately until alternatives are provided, and ensure all displaced individuals receive adequate rehabilitation." He shared the media reports and pictures of the ...

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ED writes to Karnataka Guv, Lokayukta over alleged scam in KOMUL hiring

The Enforcement Directorate has written to the Karnataka governor and the Lokayukta seeking registration of an FIR and independent probe into "systematic rigging" of a 2023 recruitment process in the Kolar-Chikkaballapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (KOMUL) led by a Congress MLA under investigation in a money laundering case. Official sources told PTI that the alleged 'cash-for-jobs' racket was unearthed by the federal agency during searches conducted by it in January against K Y Nanjegowda, a Congress MLA from Malur seat in Kolar district, and his associates. They were raided as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged illegal allotment of government land worth Rs 150 crore to ineligible persons. The alleged recruitment scam pertains to September, 2023 when KOMUL announced hiring for 81 positions through a written test conducted by the Mangalore University. The recruitment process, as per the ED, comprised a written test (85 per cent weightage)

'Royal vs ordinary citizen' battle erupts in Mysore Lok Sabha constituency

In a battle involving the 'royal' and the 'ordinary', the voters of Mysuru are faced with a dilemma of choosing between BJP's Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and Congress's M Lakshmana in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. While Wadiyar, the scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family is making his political debut from the Mysore Lok Sabha segment, Lakshmana is state Congress spokesperson and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's confidant. It's no secret that Siddaramaiah has chosen to focus on this constituency given the number of his visits and campaign meetings in the region. "Voting for Lakshmana is like voting for me. His victory means my victory," says Siddaramaiah, who represents Varuna Assembly segment in the district. The Congress has also chosen to play the caste card, highlighting that Lakshmana is a Vokkaliga, the agrarian community that dominates the region. "National issues do matter but we have to think locally as well," Raju Gowda, a farmer, sitting at an 'Ashwatha Katt

K'taka drought funds: Let there not be contest between govt, state, says SC

Let there not be a "contest" between the Union and the state, the Supreme Court said on Monday while hearing the Karnataka government's plea seeking a direction to the Centre to release financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for drought management. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta was told by Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who were appearing for the Centre, that they would seek instructions in the matter. The apex court, which observed that various state governments were required to approach the court, initially asked the Centre to file a response to Karnataka's plea. Urging the court to take up the matter after two weeks, the solicitor general said they would take instructions in the matter. "Let there not be a contest between the Union and the state," the bench said. Mehta said instead of filing a petition in the top court, if somebody would have spoken to the authorities on the issue

CM Siddaramaiah attacks Centre over K'taka's drought memorandum submission

CM Siddaramaiah wrote on X that the state submitted the 1st Memorandum to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Home Affairs on September 23, 2023

No doctor in ambulance of K'taka Guv's convoy, protocol officer suspended

A protocol officer of the Madhya Pradesh Health Department was suspended after it was found that no doctor was marked for duty in the ambulance attached to Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot's convoy to attend to a medical emergency, an official said on Saturday. The absence of a doctor in the ambulance came to light after Gehlot's granddaughter, who was accompanying him, fell ill when the convoy was passing through Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening, he said. "The Karnataka Governor's granddaughter, who was with him in the convoy, fell ill near Indore on Friday evening. But there was no doctor in the ambulance," Collector Ashish Singh told PTI. Gehlot's granddaughter was then admitted to a private hospital. She is now fine after being treated there, he added. "The protocol officer of the health department has been suspended for negligence in putting in place appropriate medical arrangements in the governor's motorcade," Indore's Chief Medical and Health Officer

Our govt will usher in 'Rozgar Kranti', says Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge

The Congress will usher in a 'Rozgar Kranti' by taking concrete steps to increase employment opportunities, enable entrepreneurship and realise the aspirations of the youth, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday. He said the Congress guarantees that the future of youth will turn from bleak to bright and reiterated the 'Yuva Nyay' guarantees which the party would implement if voted to power. In a post on X, he said, "The Congress party will usher in a 'Rozgar Kranti (employment revolution)' through Yuva Nyay guarantee! We will take concrete measures to increase employment opportunities, enable entrepreneurship and realise the dreams and aspirations of our youth." Kharge listed the guarantees given by his party under its 'Yuva Nyay' pitch. Under the 'Bharti Bharosa' guarantee, the Congress chief said, his party would provide 30 lakh new Union government jobs, according to a jobs calendar. As part of 'Pehli Naukri Pakki', the party will provide one year Right to Apprenticesh

Self-serving politics of BJP: Cong slams for withholding funds for K'taka

The Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of withholding funds that should "rightfully" go to Karnataka, saying the people of the state are being made to pay the price just because they exercised their democratic right to elect a Congress government. Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is constantly trying to "throttle" the finances of India's states. His remarks came after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged in a post on X that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is consistently denying the written word. "The interim report of the 15 FC (Finance Commission) for 2020-21 sanctioned Rs 6764 crores for three states, viz Karnataka (Rs 5495 crores), Telangana (Rs 723 crores) & Mizoram (Rs 546 crores)," Siddaramaiah said. "These grants were recommended not because of any special love for these states. These were recommended to ensure that no state receives a lower share in devolution in ...

K'taka moves SC seeking direction to release funds for drought management

The Karnataka government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to release financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for drought management. The petition has also sought to declare that the Centre's action in not releasing the financial assistance for drought arrangement as per the NDRF is "ex-facie violative" of the fundamental rights of the people of the state guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It said the state is reeling under "severe drought", affecting the lives of its people and for the Kharif 2023 season, which starts in June and ends in September, a total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected. The plea said 196 taluks are categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 as moderately affected. "Cumulatively for Kharif 2023 season, the agriculture and horticulture crop loss have been reported in more than 48 lakh hectares with the estimated loss (cost of cultivation

Confident of resolving Eshwarappa issue, says state BJP chief Vijayendra

Amid a banner of revolt raised by senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa, the party's Karnataka President B Y Vijayendra on Monday expressed confidence about the issue getting resolved, and said it was natural for aspirants to get upset on not getting the ticket to contest elections. Acknowledging Eshwarappa's contribution in building and strengthening the BJP in Karnataka, he said the candidates for Lok Sabha polls were decided by the national leadership of the party, and it was not his decision. Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga seat in the coming Lok Sabha polls, blaming Vijayendra and his father and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa for his son K E Kantesh being denied a party ticket from Haveri constituency. Former CM Basavaraj Bommai has got BJP's Haveri ticket. Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga. Eshwarappa, who is firm on contesting despite efforts by the party leaders to pacify him, h

K'taka under acute water crisis, Modi govt refusing to help, says Cong

The Congress on Monday said Karnataka is reeling under an acute water crisis due to a severe drought situation in most parts and accused the Modi government of refusing to help the people of the state. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh's attack on the government came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address a public meeting in Shivamogga. "The prime minister is in Shivamogga, Karnataka today. We hope he addresses some of the key issues in the state in his address," he said. Ramesh said Karnataka is reeling under an acute water crisis due to a severe drought situation in most parts of the state, with 223 of the state's 236 Talukas facing drought conditions. "The state government has requested the Modi Sarkar to release funds of Rs 18,172 crore for drought relief. Why has the Modi Sarkar refused to help Karnataka's people so far?" he said in a post on X. To help alleviate the drought-related stress on the rural economy, the Karnataka ..

PM Modi to address public meeting in Yediyurappa's home turf Shivamogga

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will address a public meeting at Shivamogga, the home turf of former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. This will be his second such meeting in Karnataka since the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates. The first was on Saturday at Kalaburagi, the home turf of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. BJP is expecting a huge turnout at the Allama Prabhu ground (Freedom Park) for the meet in the home district of Yediyurappa, who is a member of the party's all important Parliamentary board. Yediyurappa's elder son B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate for the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, where former deputy chief minister K S Eshwarappa has announced he will contest as an independent candidate as he is upset over the denial of ticket to his son K E Kantesh to contest from Haveri LS constituency. Eshwarappa has even announced that he will skip Modi's public meeting. The disgruntled leader had earlier stated that the Prime Minister "resid

Senior BJP leader, K'taka ex-CM Yediyurappa booked under Pocso Act

Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old survivor, police said here on Friday. The survivor's mother alleged that 81-year-old Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February 2. According to police, the BJP stalwart has been booked under section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act and Section 354 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). There was no reaction from Yediyurappa or anyone in his family on the complaint lodged against him at the Sadashivanagar police station.

Confusion around Karnataka govt's withdrawal of e-bike taxi scheme: Rapido

Rapido pointed out that recent order issued by the state government does not mention banning Rapido or any other aggregator operating under the protection of the high court order

Karnataka govt hikes dearness allowance for employees from 38.75% to 42.5%

The Karnataka government on Tuesday approved the revision of Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees from the existing 38.75 per cent to 42.5 per cent. The announcement comes weeks before the Lok Sabha elections. The DA will be revised from 46 per cent to 50 per cent for the employees drawing central pay scales, an official statement said. "This change represents a significant financial commitment of Rs. 1792.71 crores every year, reaffirming our dedication to our employees, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on 'X'.

Cisco signs agreement with Karnataka govt to train 40,000 in cybersecurity

Women will represent half of the trained workforce to help meet the growing need for such skills

Karnataka didn't witness such severe drought in last 3-4 decades: Dy CM

Amid the acute water shortage in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Monday the State had not witnessed such a severe drought in the past three-four decades. "In the last 30-40 years we had not seen such drought; though there was drought earlier we had never declared such a large number of taluks as drought-affected,", he told reporters here. "Wherever Cauvery river water has to be supplied, (it) is being done, but out of 13,900 odd borewells in Bengaluru, about 6,900 borewells have become defunct," he said. Shivakumar said the government has taken "things under its control" and arranged tankers to supply water.

No scarcity of water in B'luru, BJP created it: Dy CM Shivakumar slams govt

The Deputy CM highlighted that nearly 7 thousand borewells were running short in the city and efforts were on to address the issue

BJP's call on Mandya seat in Karnataka piques Independent MP Ambareesh

The BJP top brass' decision regarding the Mandya Lok Sabha seat is keenly awaited with party-backed sitting Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh and its alliance partner JD(S) both making a strong pitch for the ticket. While JD(S) has conveyed to the BJP leadership that it wants to field its candidate, multilingual actress-turned-politician Sumalatha has also thrown her hat in the ring and wants to contest on a ticket from the national party. JD(S) is firm on this seat--which is located between Bengaluru and Mysuru-- as the constituency is dominated by Vokkaligas, the community that forms its strong voter base. The party headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has already conducted multiple rounds of meetings under its state President H D Kumaraswamy to decide on the candidate. Incidentally in 2019, Sumalatha had defeated the then Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil, the joint candidate of Congress-JD(S) alliance in Mandya, known in Kannada as 'Sakkare Naadu' (land of ...