Page 21 - Siddaramaiah

Sanction for CBI probe against Shivakumar in DA case illegal: Siddaramaiah

Defending his cabinet's move to withdraw approval for the CBI probe against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in a disproportionate assets case, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said, the sanction given by the previous BJP government is illegal. The cabinet on Thursday deemed the previous BJP government's move to give consent to the CBI to investigate the DA case against Shivakumar as not being in accordance with the law and decided to withdraw the sanction. The then BJP government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019 following which the central investigating agency registered an FIR against Shivakumar on October 3, 2020. The CBI has claimed that Shivakumar amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 74.93 crore, disproportionate to known sources of his income from April 1, 2013 to April 30, 2018, when he was the Energy Minister in the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of 2013-2018. "What we have said is that the sanction given is illegal. For an inquiry on any governm

Siddaramaiah govt completes 6 months, says steps taken to reduce corruption

As his government completed six months in office on Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his administration has taken decisive steps to reduce corruption and initiated thorough investigations in various cases. He said his government is committed to building a state that not only meets the immediate needs of its people, but also lays the foundation for a prosperous future. In the elections to the 224-member Assembly held in May this year, the Congress ousted the BJP from power with a landslide victory. The Congress got 135 seats to BJP's 66. "As the Chief Minister of Karnataka, it brings me immense pride to mark the completion of six months of our government's tenure. In this short span, we have been steadfast in our commitment to empower the people of Karnataka and craft a sustainable and progressive future for our state," Siddaramaiah said in a statement. "Our governance model, the New Karnataka Model, is a testament to this commitment. It is a model that intertwines

Will retire from politics, if proved I have taken money: Siddaramaiah

With JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy repeatedly attacking him and his son Yathindra, a former Congress MLA, accusing them of a "cash for transfer" racket, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he will retire from politics, if proved that he has taken money, even in a single transfer case of government officials. He alleged such cash for transfer happened during Kumaraswamy's tenure. "I have told you not to ask about it (Kumaraswamy's allegations). Haven't I responded to it already? Let him tweet (post on X) a number of times. He is speaking about what they did during his tenure (as CM)," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question about Kumaraswamy's attacks. Speaking to reporters here, the chief minister said, "He (Kumaraswamy) is speaking about the money they (Kumaraswamy and JDS leaders) took for transfers. They took money during his tenure. In our tenure, we have not taken any money. I have already said -- I will retire from politics, if it's proved that I .

Kumaraswamy targets Karnataka CM, again alleges 'cash for postings' scam

The JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday alleged that an official's name mentioned in a phone conversation between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his son Yathindra has figured in the transfer list of police inspectors released on the previous night. On Thursday, Kumaraswamy, sought to link the phone conversation to alleged "cash for postings" scam, a charge categorically rejected by the Chief Minister. Kumaraswamy, a former Chief Minister, also shared the transfer list issued by the police department on November 17. The order list comprising 13 names shows transfer of an official by name Vivekananda from state intelligence to V V Puram police station in Mysuru city. Reacting to it, the CM said although the record has proved that his conversation with Yathindra Siddaramaiah related to the development of government schools in Varuna Constituency, Kumaraswamy has tried to peddle another lie today to mislead people. "Vivekananda, who is mentioned in our conversation, is

K'taka CM writes to Shah, Sitharaman to expedite drought relief funds

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to expedite the process of releasing the drought relief funds to the state. In separate letters to the three Central ministers, Siddaramaiah highlighted the dismal rainfall this year which was the lowest in the last 122 years. The chief minister pointed out that out of 236 taluks, 223 have been declared drought hit in Karnataka. Among them, 196 are categorised as severely drought affected. Noting that Karnataka has estimated a loss of Rs 35,162.05 crore, Siddarmaiah said the state government has sought Rs 18,171.44 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) for undertaking drought relief measures in the state. The chief minister pointed out that there are 52.73 lakh small and marginal farmers with a land holding of less than two hectares, who are most impacted by drought as the majority of t

Siddaramaiah asks ministers to study drought situation; to submit report

The direction came as the state faces one of the worst droughts, where out of 236 taluks, 216 have been declared drought-hit due to inadequate rainfall

Hold competitive exams in Kannada as well: CM Siddaramaiah to Centre

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday made a pitch for holding competitive exams for central government jobs in Kannada saying it is not possible to conduct them in Hindi or English alone. Addressing people at Kanteerava Stadium on the occasion of 68th Karnataka Rajyotsava, the Chief Minister said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a relook at the medium of language for these exams. "Shivaji Nagar MLA Rizwan Arshad has rightly said that the Central government conducts the exams only in Hindi and English. We need to oppose it," he said. According to him, it is not possible to hold the competitive exams in Hindi and English alone. "Our children will write the exams in the language they know. I will request our Prime Minister to take a relook (at the mode of language)," Siddaramaiah said. Noting that only government schools have Kannada as the medium of instruction and not private schools, the Chief Minister lamented there was a misconception among pe

Karnataka Rajyotsava Awards: Check the complete list of awardees here

Karnataka government has awarded the Rajyotsava award to 68 people including ISRO Chairman S Somanath and golfer Aditi Ashok. Here's the complete list

Siddaramaiah requests Vaishnaw to extend Vande Bharat Express till Belagavi

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to extend the Vande Bharat Express running on the Bengaluru-Hubballi-Dharwad route upto Belagavi city, in order to boost the connectivity between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. In a letter to Vaishnaw, Siddaramaiah said the second Vande Bharat Express in Karnataka "brought a paradigm shift in the connectivity of the region, between Dharwad, Hubballi, and Davangere with Bengaluru". He noted that Belagavi was a significant vantage point for industrialists, students and tourists. Calling Belagavi as an 'economically vibrant' district, he said it houses sugar, aluminum and major industries and also a support base for automobile and aerospace industries apart from several small and medium industries. The CM pointed out that Belagavi was also a tourist destination with a rich cultural and historical background. "I request you to extend the Bengaluru to Hubballi-Dharwad Vande Bharat train service upto Belagav

Shekhawat slams K'taka CM for spreading falsehood over water projects

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday hit out at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accusing him of spreading falsehood and misinformation with regard to the various water projects including the Mekedatu balancing reservoir across the Cauvery river. Shekhawat reacted to Siddaramaiah's statement on Saturday alleging that the Narendra Modi-led government did not address Karnataka's water issues despite scanty rainfall. Alleging that projects like Mekedatu and the Mahadayi River are pending Centre's approval, Siddaramaiah charged, "Do you want to inflict more thirst on Kannadigas, dear Prime Minister?" Lashing out at Siddaramaiah, Shekhawat said in a statement on 'X': "We know it is tradition for Congress to spread false rumour & misinformation. But it isn't becoming of a CM to wreak havoc in people's lives by doing so." Regarding the Mekedatu project, the Minister said the discussion on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was included as an agenda item during

BJP trying to destabilise our govt, but will not succeed: Karnataka CM

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Karnataka Chief Minister said not a single MLA from the ruling Congress will switch sides

K'taka CM takes a dig at PM Modi over his call against caste politics

Taking a leaf out of the Bihar government, which recently came out with the inaugural caste census report, the Congress promised to conduct a similar exercise in Rajasthan and across the country

HD Kumaraswamy attacks Siddaramaiah and DKS, dubs Congress as 'Scamgress'

The state of Karnataka is facing electricity issued and the CM and Deputy CM were busy watching cricket match, he said

Fake news creates unrest, affects country's economy: K'taka CM Siddaramaiah

Fake news creates unrest in society, affecting the country's GDP and per capita income, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday. He asked police to take strict legal action against those spreading fake news. Speaking at a Police Remembrance Day programme after paying tribute to martyrs at the Martyrs' Park on Mysore Road, the chief minister spoke about the problems being created by fake news. He said it is creating unrest and spreading hatred widely. "It is the responsibility of the government and the police system to see and treat all people equally," Siddaramaiah said. "False and hateful news is harmful to the country's GDP. The per capita income of the people is also affected as a result of unrest. Therefore, strict legal action should be taken against websites that spread fake news and those who operate them," Siddaramaiah said. With the advancement of technology, the police department is facing new challenges, the chief minister underlined. Stating that cyber crimes are

Devanahalli farmers oppose land acquisition for industry: K'taka Minister

Farmers in Devanahalli are opposed to the land acquisition for industrial purposes and a meeting will be held on October 25 to discuss the issue, Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil has said. A meeting took place between representatives of the farmers and the government at Khanija Bhavan on Wednesday that failed to produce any result, the Minister said in a statement. Another meeting would be called on October 25 to discuss acquiring 1,777 acres of land for Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board in Channarayapatna hobli of Devanahalli taluk. Patil said people of 13 villages have been opposing the land acquisition. Farmer leaders Baiyareddy, Chukki Nanjundaswamy and others who attended the meeting opposed the land acquisition. The preliminary notification which has been issued in this regard should be cancelled. The lives of hundreds of farmers' families depend on this land, the farmers were quoted as saying. The minister told the farmer representatives t

It is necessary to create Kannada speaking environment in Karnataka: CM

The CM further said that we should love other languages and religions but we should not forget our own language and held Negligence responsible for non-implementation of Kannada in administration

Congress high-command has not asked us for even five paise: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday dismissed as "politically motivated and baseless" the opposition BJP's allegation that the cash seized by the Income Tax Department in recent Income Tax raids here belonged to the Congress party. "It's a political statement and baseless allegation. Are there Congress contractors and BJP contractors? I call them BJP contractors. Where is the evidence?" Siddaramaiah told reporters. BJP on Sunday alleged that the cash including Rs 42 crore seized from a contractor and his son was linked to the Congress and that the Siddaramaiah government was using the State as an "ATM". To a query on BJP's allegation that the seized cash was meant to be pumped into the coming elections in five States, Siddaramaiah said, "We have no connection with it (money). Those states which are going to polls should fight on their own. When we fought the elections, did we go to other states asking for money? It is the people who bless. Our state has no connection wit

Low electricity generation, higher demand led to power shortage: K'taka CM

Karnataka is facing a shortage of power as electricity generation has come down due to drought, while the demand has shot up, and the government is trying to address the situation by purchasing power from both inside and outside the state, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday. He said that an order has been issued asking those generating power in the state to supply it to the government. "Electricity generation has reduced, while the demand has increased. It is because of deficit rainfall and due increase in demand like it happens during summer. The consumption demand now is 15,000-16,000 MW, compared to 9,000 to 10,000 MW during the corresponding period last year, so this has led to some issue," Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters here, he said he has called a meeting with energy department officials to discuss purchasing power from outside. "We have also issued an order recently that those generating power in the state should supply it to the government. We will purcha

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Karnataka CM to visit cracker shop at Attibele where 14 died in fire

The fire broke out as the workers at the store were unloading firecrackers from a vehicle on Saturday, around 3.30 pm, police said