Live blog: JD(S)-Congress govt in K'taka in crisis as over 10 coalition MLAs want to quit

Politics

The strength of the coalition government is 119 now. Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly. The majority mark in the Assembly is 113.

TNM Staff

Crisis has returned to the JD(S)-Congress led government in Karnataka as around eight MLAs of the alliance have reached the Karnataka Assembly Speaker’s office to tender their resignations. Three JD(S) MLAs and five Congress MLAs reached Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s office on Saturday afternoon to offer their resignation. Among them are JD(S) leaders AH Vishwanath, and Gopaliah Narayana Gowda and Congress leaders Mahesh Kumthalli, BC Patil, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Shivaram Hebbar, and Pratapgouda Patil. More MLAs are on the way according to reports. However, the Speaker has refused to meet them so far. Soon after the news of the legislators reaching Vidhana Soudha got out, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao rushed to former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s residence as the latter’s name was doing the rounds as one of the MLAs likely to quit. The strength of the coalition government is 119 now. Congress has 79 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs – R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies – are also supporting the coalition. Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly. The majority mark in the Assembly is 113. If these 8 MLAs and Anand Singh resigns, the coalition numbers will be down to 110. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is not in Karnataka and is currently abroad. Congress's troubleshooter DJ Shivakumar has reached the Vidhana Soudha to try and retain the coalition MLAs. Speaking to the media ahead of his meeting with the MLAs, Shivakumar allayed fears and stated: "Nothing will happen, they are all our friends, nothing will happen to the government." The BJP has stated that it is confident that the government will fall.  Follow live updates here: (Note: If your live blog does not load, please disable your Adblocker:)

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Will Karnataka govt survive? 8 JD(S)-Cong MLAs line up outside Speaker’s office to resign

Politics

The Speaker however is refusing to meet them and told the media that the MLAs will have to fix an appointment if they wanted to meet him, calling their visit an attempt to blackmail.

TNM Staff

Speculation is rife in political circles that several MLAs from the ruling coalition in Karnataka are all set to tender their resignations. Amidst such speculation, eight legislators went knocking on Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s door in the Vidhana Soudha on Saturday, intending to speak to him. Three JD(S) MLAs and five Congress MLAs reached Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s office on Saturday afternoon to offer their resignation. Among them are JD(S) leaders AH Vishwanath, and Gopaliah Narayana Gowda and Congress leaders Mahesh Kumthalli, BC Patil, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Shivaram Hebbar, and Pratapgouda Patil. More MLAs are on the way according to reports. However, the Speaker has refused to meet them so far. The developments have come as a shock to leaders of the ruling coalition. Soon after the news of the legislators reaching Vidhana Soudha got out, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao rushed to former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s residence as the latter’s name was doing the rounds as one of the MLAs likely to quit. The Speaker, who is in Vidhana Soudha, told the media that the MLAs will have to fix an appointment with him if they wanted to meet him, and called their visit an attempt to blackmail. "They have to take an appointment with me. I am not sitting at a market here. I am the Speaker. Blackmail tactics of spreading rumours of resignations will not work with me," Ramesh Kumar said. According to reports, 11 Congress and two JD(S) MLAs are likely to quit their posts after meeting with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. A highly placed source in the Congress said that Congress MLAs Ramalinga Reddy, Sowmya Reddy, Shivaram Hebbar, BC Patil, Pratapgouda Patil, SN Subba Reddy, Mahesh Kumatahalli, Roshan Baig, Muniratna, Byrathi Basavaraj, ST Somashekar and JD(S) MLAs AH Vishwanath and Narayana Gowda were likely to quit. Sources in the Congress say that the fresh round of resignations are the BJP’s attempt at luring away ruling coalition’s legislators ahead of the Monsoon session of the Assembly, which is slated to begin on July 12. “BJP wants a no confidence motion when the session begins. The Speaker is trying to stall the resignations. None of the MLAs resignations have been accepted so far,” the Congress source said. The strength of the coalition government is 119 now. Congress has 79 MLAs, the JD(S) has 37 MLAs and there is 1 BSP MLA. Two independent MLAs - R Shankar from Ranebennur and H Nagesh from Mulbagal constituencies - are also supporting the coalition. Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 MLAs in the Karnataka Assembly. The majority mark in the Assembly is 113. If these 8 MLAs and Anand Singh resigns, the coalition numbers will be down to 110.

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A detention centre for undocumented foreign nationals to soon open near Bengaluru

Immigration

Karnataka will become the second state to establish such a centre after Assam. However, rampant use of detention is not in accordance with international law.

TNM Staff

Karnataka may soon become the second state in the country to have a detention centre for illegal immigrants. The state is already in the advanced stage of setting up one such centre near Bengaluru. The facility aims at detaining foreigners staying back without proper documentation. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in a written response to a query by Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, said that the Karnataka government has informed the Centre that they are in the process of establishing a detention centre soon. “The required police personnel and other infrastructure facilities have been allocated for this purpose and the necessary work is in progress,” Rai’s statement said.  In February, the Ministry of Home Affairs had informed the Supreme Court that it had allocated Rs 47 crore to the Assam government to establish a detention centre, which would be functional by August 31, 2019.   Several questions on the legality of detention centres have been raised even as the Supreme Court is hearing a case on the detention centre coming up in Assam. According to Mrinal Sharma, Policy Advisor, Amnesty International India, the central government does have the power to detain foreigners and build detention centers under the Foreigners Act, 1946, it is only to be used as a last resort. “While Section 3(e) and (g) of the Foreigners Act of 1946 allows the Central Government to detain a foreigner or keep them in a particular place or impose restrictions on their movements, it also provides for alternatives to detention. Section 3(f) allows foreigners to be released by entering into a bond with or without sureties. Section 4, on the other hand, states that a foreigner against whom a detention order has been made must be confined in a place which is subject to maintenance, discipline and punishment allowing for the construction of detention centers. The central government has delegated these powers to the state governments or FRROs,” she said. However, she said that rampant use of detention was not in accordance with international law, which permits detention to be used only as a last resort where it is necessary, reasonable, and proportionate to a legitimate government objective. Speaking to TNM, ADGP (Law and Order) Kamal Pant said TNM that only one detention facility would be set up in Karnataka, which is being established in Bengaluru Rural district’s Nelamangala taluk. “The basic infrastructure has been identified. It has been repaired. There is some additional work to be done, which will be completed soon,” Kamal Pant added.   The work is being coordinated by various agencies including Foreigners Regional Registration Office, the state intelligence, which is the state government agency for keeping track of foreign nationals, the state police, which will be in charge of the security of the detention centre. “We will need somebody to run the centre for day to day administration. This is most likely to become the responsibility of the Social Welfare Department. Besides that, we will have to follow the model of a correctional home and will consult with the Prisons department,” ADGP Kamal Pant added.  Rai, in his response stated that the government had not maintained an accurate record of the number of illegal immigrants. However, he said that Karnataka government’s figures indicated that, 143 cases were registered against “illegal Bangladeshi nationals” in the state and “144 illegal Bangladeshi nationals have been deported” so far. The Centre had issued instructions to all state governments and union territory administrations in 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2018, to set up detention centres to restrict the movements of illegal immigrants to expedite the process of deportation.    

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All Saints land row: Church members accuse Bengaluru metro officials of arm-twisting

Civic Issues

With hundreds of trees and part of the church under threat of facing the axe, church-goers and activists have been protesting against the land acquisition.

TNM Staff

The feud over the acquisition of land next to All Saints Church near Vellara Junction in Bengaluru has taken a new turn, with the All Saints Church Congregation Welfare Association accusing Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) of arm-twisting Church of South India (CSI). The BMRCL had proposed to temporarily acquire 3,797.271 sq. m land on the All Saints Church premises. The land is required for the construction of an underground station on Namma Metro’s Phase 2 line between Gottigere and Nagavara. With hundreds of trees and part of the church under threat of facing the axe, church-goers and activists have been protesting against the land acquisition. The association is now accusing BMRCL Director Ajay Seth of threatening the CSI of taking over the property by use of force. “We were to learn that Reverend PK Samuel, Bishop of the Church of South India Karnataka Central Diocese and the Church’s Pastorate Committee have repeatedly appealed to Bangalore Metro and other authorities of the State to drop the idea of damaging the Church and any of its property. In response, Mr. Ajay Seth, IAS, Managing Director of Bangalore Metro, has written in his 25th May 2019 letter to the Bishop threatening to take over the church property, and permanently too, if the Church refuses to part with the land voluntarily,” a statement from the association reads. The association claims that the threats had led to the CSI parting with the land temporarily without being aware that it violates judicial verdicts and amounts to destruction of biodiversity. BMRCL’s chief public relations officer B L Yashvanth Chavan, refuted the allegations and said that the church members must cooperate as BMRCL was planning to transplant the trees and not cut them down. “They have not been allowing officials near the property. Work is getting delayed. Each day’s delay is proving to be more costly,” Chavan said. According to the letter sent by Ajay Seth noted in May 2019 to the CSI, the land requirement was reduced from 4,480.573 sq. m to 3,797.271 sq. m. “The BMRCL is constrained to initiate the process to acquire 3,797.271 sq. m of land in All Saint’s Church premises on a permanent basis that facilitates construction of the metro station,” the letter said. “We remain hopeful that Bangalore Metro and the State Government will revisit its decision to dump its equipment and to drill the tunnel from within All Saints Church. There are clearly viable alternatives, involving far lower capital investment, which also eminently improve the utility of the metro for the wider public use. We, and several others, have already provided these suggestions in meetings with Mr Seth and his team. Yet, it is deeply distressing that Bangalore Metro is adamant about destroying our Church,” said Ebenezer Premkumar, a member of the association.      

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IMA scam: SIT arrests govt official for allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 4.5 crore

Crime

LC Nagaraj, who was appointed as Competent Authority to probe IMA's fraudulent activities gave Mansoor Khan a clean chit in his report.

TNM Staff

The Special Investigation Team probing the Ponzi scam perpetrated by IMA, on Friday arrested an Assistant Commissioner of the Bengaluru North sub division and a village accountant for helping IMA founder Mansoor Khan obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) in exchange for a bribe of Rs 4.5 crore. LC Nagaraj, the Assistant Commissioner and village accountant Manjunath, were arrested for enabling Mansoor Khan to obtain the NOC he needed for a loan. SIT sources say that Nagaraj earlier told the sleuths during investigation that he had tried to take action against Mansoor Khan by issuing him several notices. However, the probe revealed that Nagaraj was allegedly misusing his position and had demanded a bribe of Rs 4.5 crore in exchange for an NOC and a report favouring IMA. SIT sources say that the state government had appointed Nagaraj as the Competent Authority to probe the tip-off received from Reserve Bank of India that Mansoor Khan and IMA were running fraudulent operations. Soon after he was appointed the Competent Authority in June 2018, Nagaraj had issued a public notice in newspapers seeking information from the IMA investors regarding irregularities. However, in February 2019, Nagaraj had filed a report and submitted it to the state government stating that Mansoor Khan and IMA were not running fraudulent operations. SIT sources say that Nagaraj allegedly penned down a report in favour of Khan, so that the Revenue Department would have no problem issuing him an NOC. On Friday, Nagaraj was picked up from the Karnataka High Court. Nagaraj, who was at the court for a case, was picked up by SIT sleuths who said they wanted to question him. Dressed in plainclothes, the sleuths intercepted Nagaraj in the High Court canteen. SIT also raided Nagaraj’s residence. SIT sleuths also arrested village accountant Manjunath for allegedly helping Nagaraj in the transaction with Mansoor Khan. “The money was handed over in three instalments of Rs 1.5 crore each. One of the IMA’s employees met with Manjunath at a coffee shop and handed over the money,” an SIT official said. Nagaraj is the second government official being arrested in the IMA case. Last week, the SIT arrested BDA executive engineer PD Kumar Nayak for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 crore from Mansoor Khan. PD Nayak had allegedly helped IMA get a clean chit from the Revenue Department after the company came under the RBI’s lens. Nayak had allegedly taken the money from Khan stating that he had to give it to a senior IAS officer, who had previously served as BDA chief.

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'Big blow to state's economy': Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy on Union budget

Politics

CM Kumaraswamy said that the budget would reduce the state's GST share by Rs 1,600 crore.

IANS

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday expressed his displeasure over the Union Budget's proposal to cut the state's share of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in te 2019-20 fiscal. "The Budget has given a big blow to the state's economy, reducing its share of the GST by Rs 1,600 crore for this fiscal," tweeted Kumaraswamy in Kannada and English. In a series of tweets from the US where he is on a week-long private visit since June 29, the Chief Minister said the additional special duty of Re 1 and a road and infrastructure cess of Re 1 per litre on petrol and diesel would limit the state's scope to increase its own value added tax (VAT) on the transport fuels. "Fuel price hike by the Central government hits everyone directly and indirectly," said Kumaraswamy in another tweet. Expressing his disappointment over the Union Budget, the Chief Minister said he expected more from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on sectoral allocations to the southern state. "Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha as a BJP member, has disappointed me, as she did not announce any new project or financial aid to the state, especially the Bengaluru suburban train service for this year," he lamented. Noting that a budget was a not a mere statement of intent in the Indian context, Kumaraswamy said though a budget speech was the most important medium for communicating with the poor, Sitharaman's speech had certain intents, but nothing beyond them. "Had great expectations from the maiden budget of FM @Sitaraman, but disappointed. Though creation of FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations) and strengthening of e-NAM (electronic National Agriculture Market) and promoting traditional industries are welcome moves, more morale boosting programmes were desirable for the farming sector," he said in a tweet. Kumaraswamy, who also holds the finance portfolio, had presented his second state budget for fiscal 2019-20 on February 8, 2019.

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Karnataka HC orders probe into Bengaluru FC's use of Kanteerava Stadium

Sport

Athletes say that the football club has made alterations at the stadium ever since the club began using it.

Prajwal Bhat

The Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government to conduct a probe into the manner in which the Sree Kanteerava stadium was allowed to be used by JSW Bengaluru Football Club for the past three years. The stadium comprises of a football field and an athletics track around it and athletes say that the football club has made alterations at the stadium ever since the club began using it.  The court has asked the state government to formulate a policy for the use of government stadiums by third parties as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court, which says government properties cannot be leased without public notice and bidding. The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad issued the order for a probe while hearing a petition filed by former national and international athletes including Ashwini Nachappa, GG Prameela, and others against Bengaluru FC over its use of the Kanteerava Stadium.  "Firstly, a public notice should have been given and a bidding process should be there in allowing Bengaluru FC to use the stadium. After the initial lease period ended, it has been extended without due process," says SD Eashan, an international shot-putter and Asian games medalist, who is also one of the petitioners.  He is among 49 athletes petitioning against the football club.  "Natural grass on the field was removed (by the club) and artificial grass was put in its place and sand has also been used on the field. On days before matches, the first track is blocked by advertising hoarding and wires used for the football matches. This is impeding athletes training at the stadium," says Eashan.  In May 2019, holes cropped up on the athletic track at the stadium. Coaches attributed the holes to lack of  maintanence by the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES).   Read: With no maintenance, potholes develop on Bengaluru Kanteerava Stadium athletic track   The athletes also point out that the stadium was originally built for athletics ahead of the 1997 National Games.  The stadium has simultaneously been the home stadium of the football club since 2014. The football club was allowed to use the stadium’s track and field area by the DYES in order to gear up facilities at the stadium as one of the cities hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17 World. Eventually, Bengaluru was dropped as one of the host cities after a delay in infrastructure works at the stadium.  The club signed a three-year agreement to use the facilities at the stadium in 2014 and then extended it in 2017. The club has played all its home matches since 2014 at the stadium. The counsel appearing for the football club informed the court that the present agreement with the stadium has ended and that a plea for renewing it is under consideration before the state government. The counsel further said the stadium was upgraded by spending around for ₹5 crore. A Bengaluru FC official declined to comment on the issue until the case is resolved.  Football fans have been thronging to watch Bengaluru FC games in the stadium for five years now with the attendance crossing 20,000 on some occasions. The 2018 ISL final was played at the Kanteerava stadium in which Bengaluru was beaten 3-2 by Chennaiyin FC.

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