Page 23 - Siddaramaiah

Karnataka CM meets PM, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This was his first meeting with the PM, after the Congress came to power in the state under his leadership, following Assembly polls in May. According to the Chief Minister's office, Siddaramaiah met Modi at the Parliament building and held discussions. He also met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, it said. Chief Minister's political secretary K Govindaraj and state's special representative in Delhi T B Jayachandra were present at these meetings. Siddaramaiah also called on Congress National President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and held discussions. On Wednesday, he participated in a meeting of state Congress leaders and Ministers with the central party leadership to discuss the party's strategy for the next Lok Sabha elections.

We know BJP's hidden agenda: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah after Congress meet

This came after the Karnataka Congress leaders had a meeting with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday over preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha election

CM Siddaramaiah to meet Nitin Gadkari regarding Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway

With accidents on rise on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said he would meet Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and point out the flaws on the expressway and changes to be made. Speaking to reporters after inspecting accident-prone areas of the Expressway near Mandya, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP government of inaugurating it in a hurry ignoring the flaws that was resulting in accidents. "I am going to Delhi and will meet Gadkari and ask him to rectify things (on the Expressway). A proposal for Rs 150.81 crore has been sent to the Centre for improving the service road," the Chief Minister said. According to him, the work will start from November this year. To a question on the alleged toll collection going on at those stretches which are still incomplete, the Chief Minister said the state government had no role to play as it is being done by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). "We are not ...

Cong high command to meet Karnataka leaders, ministers in Delhi on Aug 2

The Congress high command has convened two meetings with the party leaders in Karnataka in New Delhi on August 2, apparently to quell the dissidence brewing for some time now, top party sources said. According to sources in the Congress, the first meeting will take place between the party high command and the top Congress leaders in Karnataka. "In that meeting, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D K Shivakumar, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is also the Karnataka in-charge and some other top functionaries will take part," a Congress office-bearer told PTI. The second meeting will take place with the Congress ministers where some senior party MLAs may take part, the office-bearer added. The meetings are taking place in the wake of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting on .

No funds for development work in constituencies: D K Shivakumar to MLAs

D K Shivakumar's statement comes a day after a letter from 10 MLAs of the ruling Congress to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that ministers were not paying heed to the MLAs' requests

Why do you have so much hatred for holy name of India?, Siddaramaiah to PM

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deriding the opposition alliance 'INDIA', citing reviled names such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday sought to know why he has so much hatred for the beautiful, melodious and holy name of India. Pointing out to the PM that Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, who looted hundreds of crores of tax money of Indians and ran away from the country, too have his Modi surname, he wondered whether they can be compared to him. "Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi, you have compared the alliance of opposition parties 'INDIA' to the East India Company and the Indian Mujahideen. Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, who looted hundreds of crores of tax money of Indians and ran away from the country, too have your Modi surname ? Can they be compared with you?" Siddaramaiah asked in a tweet. Noting that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was sued for defamation, sentenced to two years in jail, and disqualified

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Karnataka HC to hear petition seeking CM Siddaramaiah's disqualification

The petition filed by a voter from the Varuna constituency, KM Shankara, which came up for hearing on Friday, alleges that the Congress party promised freebies for luring voters

K'taka HC to hear petition seeking Siddaramaiah's disqualification July 28

The High Court of Karnataka has said that it will hear on July 28 a petition challenging the election of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the Assembly from Varuna constituency. The petition blames the election manifesto of the Congress party which promised five 'guarantees' as corrupt practices amounting to bribery and also undue influence under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act. The petition alleges that Siddaramaiah had breached the provisions of the Constitution and the rules and guidelines under The Representation of the People Act. The petition claims that the The said guarantees are in the nature of offer and promises made by the candidate and by the Indian National Congress party. This was done with the consent of the respondent (Siddaramaiah). They are in the form of gratification to the electorate of Varuna Constituency and with the object of directly inducing the electorate to vote for the Congress party candidate namely the respondent. The consideratio

K'taka govt to spend Rs 52,000 cr schemes, retain fiscal deficit at 2.6%

The new regime raised the projection of nominal GSDP growth to 17.7 per cent against seven per cent by the previous BJP government for the current financial year

Govt to take firm decision on anti-farmer agriculture laws: CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the government will take a firm decision on the anti-farmer agricultural laws implemented by the previous BJP government in the state. Speaking to a delegation of farmers led by legislators B R Patil and Darshan Puttannaiah, who met him today, Siddaramaiah said the government will take decisions to protect the interest of farmers. The Land Reforms Act has been discussed and a clear decision will be taken within the next session. There was a discussion in the House today about the amendment of the APMC Act. He said that a separate meeting will be held to discuss the problems of farmers in detail, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's office said.

May Oppn meeting lead to restoration of democratic values: K'taka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday expressed hope that the meeting of Opposition parties here would lead to restoration of secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in the Constitution. He welcomed the leaders of "prominent" opposition leaders in the country who have come together to fight against authoritarianism, communalism, and corruption. "May the seeds sown in this peaceful garden of harmony (Karnataka) bear the fruit to restore secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in our Constitution," the Chief Minister said in a tweet. Leaders representing 23 parties looking to draw up plans for a joint fight against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year, are expected to attend Tuesday's meeting.

Mamata to skip oppn dinner on Mon, to take part in discussion on Tue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending an opposition dinner on July 17 as she has to follow post-surgery protocols, but will be part of the daylong meeting of the parties on July 18, sources in her Trinamool Congress (TMC) said on Saturday. Banerjee underwent a microsurgery on her left knee at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. The TMC chief suffered a ligament injury on her left knee during the emergency landing of her helicopter at the Sevoke Airbase in north Bengal on June 27. "While her doctors have given her the permission to fly and attend the opposition summit, she has been advised rest. So she will skip the dinner, but will attend the daylong meeting on July 18," a source in the TMC said. A dinner for the opposition parties has been planned by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on July 17. TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien will be accompanying the West Bengal chief .

Karnataka CM, leaders protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar along with a host of ministers, legislators and Congress top leaders in the state on Wednesday staged a "silent protest" here against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament and the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by the Centre. This comes days after the party stated it would move the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to stay Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his "Modi surname remarks. The protestors tied a black ribbon on their mouth to symbolically convey that the freedom of speech was in danger and anyone speaking against the Central government would face backlash. Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and others held placards at the Freedom Park here with the photograph of Rahul Gandhi and a message that the "roar of the truth must prevail". Alleging that the BJP deployed "dirty tricks" to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from Parliament, the All India Congress Committe

2.2 mn BPL families may not get DBT benefit under Anna Bhagya scheme

As Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to launch Direct Benefit Transfer under the Anna Bhagya scheme on Monday, about 22 lakh families living Below Poverty Line (BPL) may not get the assistance immediately as they do not have bank accounts. Karnataka has 1.28 crore ration card of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households and 99 per cent of these cards are seeded with Aadhaar numbers. Among them, 82 per cent comprising 1.06 crore of these cards are linked with active bank accounts. The cash will be transfered to those card holders. The remaining card holders will be intimated to open new accounts," an official statement said on Sunday. A total of 1.27 crore ration cards have one member designated as Head of the Households (HoH). "Cash will be transferred to the bank accounts of these HoH. Of them 94 per cent are women and five per cent are men," it said. The Congress had promised to give 10 kg rice to each BPL family member in the state under the Anna Bhagya scheme if

Gig workers to get insurance cover of Rs 4 lakh in K'taka: CM Siddaramaiah

Gig workers serving as delivery personnel in e-commerce companies will get an insurance facility of Rs four lakh, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in his budget speech in the Legislative Assembly on Friday. The amount will comprise Rs two lakh as life insurance and Rs two lakh as accident insurance. The entire insurance premium will be borne by the state government, the chief minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, said. In order to provide social security to the 'gig workers' in the unorganised sector, ie, employed as full-time or part-time delivery personnel in e-commerce companies like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon etc, insurance facility of total Rs four lakh will be provided Siddaramaiah said. Subsidy and benefits will be given to registered beneficiaries and their dependents through the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, he said.

K'taka to spend Rs 52k cr annually on 5 key promises, to benefit 13 mn

Seeking to highlight the Congress party's poll promises, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said approximately Rs 52,000 crore would be spent annually for the five key poll 'guarantees' and it is expected to benefit 1.3 crore families. Presenting the 2023-2024 budget, with an outlay of over Rs 3.27 lakh crore, in the Legislative Assembly, he said through the five 'guarantees' (poll promises), the government will be providing an average additional financial assistance of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 a month to each household. The five 'guarantees' related to free bus travel for women, 200 units of free electricity, 10 kilograms of free foodgrains to the poor, Rs 2,000 for the woman head of the house and unemployment benefit of up to Rs 3,000. According to some political analysts, these pre-poll promises found resonance with the electorate leading to the Congress' resounding victory in the Assembly elections. In the polls to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress bagged 135 seats

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah set to present State Budget today at 12 noon

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has arrived at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to present the state budget

Cong deceived people with 'misleading poll guarantees': BJP to K'taka govt

The BJP attacked the Congress government in the Assembly on Wednesday, alleging that it deceived the people with their "misleading poll guarantees", which are now replete with conditions. The party claimed that the Siddaramaiah government is fast losing its popularity as people are no longer relying on its guarantees. Former deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka sought to pick holes in the five 'guarantees' promised in the Congress party's election manifesto. He alleged that the government introduced numerous conditions in these guarantees and limited the number of beneficiaries. Ashoka charged that these conditions in the guarantees are creating confusion among people. Referring to the 'Shakti' scheme offering free rides for women in government buses, Ashoka noted that the Congress manifesto did not mentions any conditions but after coming to power, the government said the scheme is available only in non-luxury buses. Ashoka accused the government of plying only a limited number of buses

K'taka assemby adjourns after BJP protests over 'failure' of govt

The Karnataka assembly was adjourned briefly on Tuesday following protests by the opposition BJP over alleged delay in implementation of five guarantees made by the ruling Congress ahead of the elections. BJP MLAs trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans against the ruling Congress, leading to a brief adjournment by Speaker U T Khader. The proceedings began with the Speaker allowing the star question to be raised. Accordingly, Congress MLA Shivalinge Gowda rose to raise the question. However, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai demanded acceptance of adjournment motion and discussion on the issue in place of the question hour. Joining him, BJP MLA R Ashoka accused the government of "cheating" people in the name of five guarantees. Soon other saffron party legislators too raised their voice demanding that their submission be allowed first. The speaker repeatedly appealed to the opposition BJP to allow the Question Hour to take place, but to no avail. Deputy Chief