With his power in K'taka Congress waning, Siddaramaiah tries to revive his position

Politics

Following Siddaramaiah’s resignation as Congress Legislature Party Leader, his detractors within the party are trying to ensure the former CM is kept out of power, say sources.

Theja Ram

The last two years have been turbulent for the Congress in Karnataka, and especially so for one of its tallest leaders – former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. From being hailed as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate to being sidelined by his own party men, Siddaramaiah’s political career took a sharp turn after the Karnataka state Assembly election results were announced in 2018. His position within the party, insiders say, weakened considerably after the losses in the Lok Sabha elections and the bye-polls held earlier this month. Siddaramaiah’s resignation as the Congress Legislature Party Leader was also a huge sign that his detractors within the Congress were trying to desperately win the game of one-upmanship and ensure that Siddaramaiah is kept out of power. Amid this turbulence in the Congress, speculation began in Karnataka’s political circles that Siddaramaiah is pursuing other political avenues as his detractors in the Congress, are bent on sidelining him. Several of Siddaramaiah’s close confidantes say that in order for Siddaramaiah to remain relevant in state politics, he is considering several options before him. Sources also say that it is not new for Siddaramaiah to orchestrate scenarios in order to have a better bargaining chip with the high command. What are Siddaramaiah’s options? Confidantes of Siddaramaiah allege that his meeting with the BJP leaders including rebel turned BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, was a ploy to alert the Congress high command that he is considering other options to enhance his political career. Sources close to the former Chief Minister say that he wants to create a scenario to negotiate a good deal with the high command. Sources say that Siddaramaiah is threatening to move away from the Congress, if the high command does not allow him to retain power within the party. There is speculation that he is proposing to quit the party either to form a party of his own or join the Janata Dal (United), thereby eliminating his major opponents – the JD(S). “He is threatening to take away his loyalists and form a new party. This is a typical tactic Siddaramaiah uses when he wants to get something from the high command,” the source says. However, not many believe that he will actually move away from the Congress. Why does Siddaramaiah want to negotiate his position in the party? By losing his status as the most sought-after leader of the Karnataka Congress, his detractors within the party including former Deputy CM Dr G Parameshwara and former Water Resource Minister DK Shivakumar have only swooped in to claim the void that was created after Siddaramaiah resigned as the CLP leader. Party insiders say that Siddaramaiah is being sidelined as his detractors want the high command to offer a chance to other leaders to revive the party in the state. “Since he is in a position of disadvantage, he needs to negotiate a better deal or his loyalists and his son’s political careers are at stake,” the source adds. Sources say that DK Shivakumar is lobbying for the KPCC President’s post, which became vacant after Dinesh Gundu Rao’s resignation on December 9. DK Shivakumar and senior leaders like BK Harisprasad, Ramalinga Reddy, HK Patil and Shamnur Shivashankarappa are believed to have put their foot down and informed the high command that Siddaramaiah’s move to negotiate must not be entertained. “Siddaramaiah wants to get the post of Leader of Opposition and ensure that his man becomes the KPCC President. DK Shivakumar and others do not want that. DK Shivakumar has been trying to assure Siddaramaiah that both he and his son Yathindra would be comfortable accommodated in the party. The high command is unlikely to agree to Siddaramaiah’s demands,” the source says.      

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IMA scam: CBI raids two Income Tax officials, properties across Bengaluru and TN

Crime

Earlier this month, the CBI had sought sanction from the state government to prosecute two IPS officers.

TNM Staff

In another development in the probe in the Rs 4,000-crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) ponzi scam in Bengaluru, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday raided two senior Income Tax sleuths in Bengaluru. Three other middlemen associated with the company were also probed, officials said. The two I-T officers who were probed worked as the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) and Assistance Commissioner of Income Tax (ACIT) in the Income Tax Department (Investigation Wing/Assessment Wing), Bengaluru when the scam broke, reported The Hindu. According to reports, the raids were carried out in eight locations across Karnataka and neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Five of the locations were in Bengaluru and the other three in Karwar, Hosur and Salem. A press release issued by the central probe agency has found that these two officials had earlier carried out a search of IMA’s accounts in 2017. The CBI is probing an allegation that the two officers failed to take coercive action against the deduction of TDS on interest payments and the huge cash payment entries in the books of accounts of IMA group. Further, it is alleged that the accounts of IMA which was frozen following the I-T search were unfrozen after they were allegedly paid huge bribes. This development comes after the CBI, earlier this month, had sought the sanction to prosecute six Karnataka officials, including two senior IPS officers posted in the state, in connection with the case.  The CBI has written to the Karnataka government seeking a nod for prosecuting IPS officers Hemant Nimbalkar of 1998 batch and Ajay Hilori of 2008 batch. The residences of the two officers were also searched by the CBI earlier this year.  While Nimbalkar was posted as the then Inspector General of Economic Offences, Hilori was the then Deputy Commissioner of East Bengaluru, the sources said. Besides, the CBI has also sought similar sanction for the then Deputy Superintendent of Police (CID) EB Sridhara, Inspector and SHO Commercial Street Police Station M Ramesh and sub-inspector of the station P Gowrishankar and the then Assistant Commissioner Bengaluru North Sub Division LC Nagaraj. Sridhara was the inquiry officer and Hemant Nimbalkar was the supervisory officer in the enquiry done by CID EOW (Economic offences wing) into activities of IMA group entities, CBI officials had previously said.

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Starting from Dec 31 night, BMTC will run additional metro feeder buses

Transport

These new bus services will be in addition to the 143 night services that the BMTC already operates.

TNM Staff

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the state-run bus company, will run extra metro feeder buses starting from midnight of the New Year's Eve for all the days of the week.   BMTC officials said this would facilitate comfortable, reliable and affordable transport facility in and around Bengaluru city for those working till late hours. These new bus services will be in addition to the 143 night services that the BMTC already operates. On Saturday, the  Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited said it will run metro service till 2 am only for New Year’s Day. Earlier, City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao told the media that he had requested both BMRCL and BMTC to extend their service timings for those who gather in public places for the New Year celebrations. New Year’s Eve celebrations at Bengaluru’s MG Road and Brigade Road attract thousands of people from across the city every year.  Other than extended bus and metro services, police have taken a number of safety measures like deploying additional CCTV cameras, drones, watch towers and LED screens in specific areas. Tents with two or three police officers, including a woman police officer, will also be set up so that the public can report any case of harassment or crime easily. These tents will be coming up in areas in Bengaluru’s Central Business District.  Further, Deputy Commissioners of Police will be doing the rounds on New Year’s Eve. Drunk driving checks will also be conducted in the city. Personnel from Civil Defence, City Armed Reserve Police and Karnataka State Reserve Police will also be deployed in the city. 

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‘No one forced them to attend Sunburn’: Goa Min on 3 deaths at music fest

Deaths

While two tourists from Andhra Pradesh died on Friday during the Sunburn festival, one person from Bengaluru collapsed and died on Sunday.

PTI

Image for representation

Even as opposition parties hit out at the Goa government over the death of three tourists after collapsing at the Sunburn Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festival, state Culture Minister Govind Gawade on Monday said no one forced people to attend the event. The Congress alleged that drugs were "openly sold" at the venue and demanded that permission for the EDM festival be revoked and an inquiry be conducted. The Goa Forward Party (GFP) sought a CBI probe in the deaths. Three tourists died in the last three days after collapsing at the festival venue at Vagator beach in North Goa district. Asked about criticism of the government for allowing the event in the state, Gawade said, "The government is not forcing the youth to go and attend the Sunburn festival. They go on their own. No one is forced to go there." The three-day Sunburn festival concluded on Sunday. On Friday, two tourists from Andhra Pradesh collapsed after feeling uneasy while standing outside the festival venue. They were taken to a hospital where doctors declared them dead, police said. The postmortem was conducted and the opinion on the cause of death was reserved as the viscera was sent for further forensic examination, they said. On Sunday night, another tourist from Bengaluru complained of easiness at the venue and later died, minutes after being rushed to a hospital, they said. Gawade said the government was not responsible for such a massive crowd at the festival. "We are not distributing any passes to anyone. It is the music enthusiasts who like to go there, they do it out of their own wish," the minister said. He said the state government has always been promoting local culture and music through different events. "When we speak of local culture, we also include western culture, which is taught in government-run institutions like the Kala Academy," Gawade said. State Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar could not be contacted for his comments. Goa Pradesh Youth Congress Committee president Varad Mardolkar alleged that drugs were "openly sold" at the event. "Police are not taking action against the culprits," he said. The Congress on Sunday sought the intervention of Superintendent of Police (North) Utkarsh Prasoon in the matter and demanded that permission for the festival be cancelled. "If the police had paid heed to our request, the third death could have been avoided," Mardolkar said. GFP vice president Durgadas Kamat demanded a CBI probe into the deaths. "The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should take over the probe into the cause of deaths at the EDM festival and the sudden increase of drugs everywhere in the state," he said. Festival organisers were not available for comment.  

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Women in Karnataka to be allowed to work night shifts at shops, cabinet clears new law

Policy

The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2019, includes provisions for free transport facilities and adequate security guards.

PTI

Karnataka cabinet on Monday approved a bill to amend an act aimed at allowing women employees to work during night in entities covered by the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. The cabinet approved the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that will amend the act of 1961, specifying certain conditions, including provision of transport facilities free of cost and deployment of adequate security guards. Briefing reporters on the cabinet decisions, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said there was no opportunity for women to work in the entities, which includes offices and premises of any trade or business, in the night shifts so far. "In order to provide opportunity for them we have decided to amend the act by defining what sort of protection should be provided for them for working in night," he said. Under the act, 'shops' means any premises where any trade or business is carried on or where services are rendered to customers and includes offices, storerooms, godowns, warehouses, used in such connection with such trade or business, but does not include a commercial establishment or a shop attached to a factory. The bill is likely to be brought in the assembly during the first session of 2020 to be held in February. The latest move comes a month after the state government issued a notification allowing women to work in night shifts (7 pm to 6 am) in all factories registered under the Factories Act. The amendment bill states that a woman employee who is so willing may be allowed to work during night subject to conditions including willingness to be obtained in writing, provision of transport facilities by the establishment from the residence of the woman employee to the workplace and back free of cost and with adequate security. Also, such transport facility shall have GPS for tracking and monitoring. Besides, adequate number of security guards,sufficient rest rooms and dispensary facility among others should be provided during the night shift for the benefit of the women employees, it said. The establishment shall bear the cost of creche obtained by the women employees from voluntary or other organisations and conduct pre-employment screening of the antecedents of all drivers employed. An App in mobile may be developed and adopted by the establishment through which the women employee can contact the concerned at the time of emergency, it added.

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ISRO scientist plays flute at Parliamentary panel meet in Bengaluru, video goes viral

ISRO

The video of the flute performance was shared on Twitter by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh

IANS

Screengrab

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is admired for sending satellites and rockets into the space but a senior scientist from the premier organisation has enthralled the Internet by playing the flute at the end of a meeting with a Parlaimentary panel. The video of the flute performance was shared on Twitter by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Parliamentary Standing Committee ended it's last meeting at ISRO with a flute performance by the Director of its Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, P. Kunhikrishnan, who is also a professional flute player! He played the evergreen Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje. Sharing a snippet. pic.twitter.com/AkwwPh9oZY — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 29, 2019 P Kunhikrishnan, Director of U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, concluded the last meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee at ISRO by playing the flute. In his twitter post, Ramesh said that Kunhikrishnan is a professional flute player. ISRO Chief K Sivan, who was present at the meeting, is also seen in the video. "The Parliamentary Standing Committee ended its last meeting at ISRO with a flute performance by the Director of its Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, P. Kunhikrishnan, who is also a professional flute player. He played the evergreen Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje. Sharing a snippet", said Jairam Ramesh in a tweet. The video of the flute performance by a senior ISRO scientist has become an internet rage with more than 28,000 views. In the comments section of the post, netizens applauded Kunhikrishnan's skill. "Awesome..this is what makes us feel great about these scientists apart from the scientific achievements..kudos. Also, this is the learning for upcoming talents at ISRO to take this institution to new heights," a netizen said.  

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How the lotus bloomed again: Dramatic political turns in Karnataka in 2019

Politics

From BS Yediyurappa wresting power from the Congress-JD(S) coalition, to DK Shivakumar getting arrested, here is a list of the major political events of 2019.

Theja Ram

It’s been a politically-charged year in Karnataka’s politics, and we have witnessed several action-packed turns. From BS Yediyurappa setting a record for the shortest stint as a Chief Minister to storming back to power with a vengeance; from DK Shivakumar’s rise as a strong face in the Congress to his fall after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him, this year has seen several dramatic events transpire. As the year comes to an end, TNM brings you a list of the major political events of 2019 that will go down in Karnataka’s history. When Yediyurappa toppled the Congress-JD(S) coalition After Yediyurappa’s resignation in 2018, the Congress and JD(S) – two strange bedfellows – formed an alliance and came to power. Since day one, efforts were on to poach the coalition’s legislators and finally, in July 2019, the BJP succeeded. Yediyurappa had suffered for a year after being labeled the two-day-Chief Minister. Yediyurappa, who had to resign in May 2018 two days after he took oath, swore to come back to power. A year of coaxing and wooing the Congress and JD(S) MLAs paid off and finally in July, 17 Congress and JD(S) leaders resigned as MLAs and flew to a luxury hotel in Mumbai. They were cooped up here until the motion of confidence brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was forced to resign from his post when the coalition failed to prove majority in the Assembly. BJP’s victory in Lok Sabha elections By January 2019, the Congress and JD(S) coalition partners were indulging in massive infighting. Their decision to go to polls as an alliance too backfired. Traditionally considered rivals in the region, their respective cadre were unwilling to help each other to win the polls. The BJP procured a massive victory by winning 25 out of the 28 parliamentary seats from Karnataka. The Congress won two seats and the JD(S) won none. This victory was also crucial as the party broke into fortresses of the Congress and JD(S) in the Old Mysuru region. Veterans were defeated and the BJP’s victory proved that the traditional caste-based calculations did not work in the state anymore as it had managed to break into crucial votebanks of the Congress and JD(S). HD Deve Gowda’s defeat Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda suffered a massive defeat in the Tumkur Lok Sabha segment. After winning as an MLA six times and as an MP six times, 87-year-old HD Deve Gowda defeat was seen as a big loss of face. And what is most ironic is that Deve Gowda had vacated his safe seat for his grandson, to further the dynasty in the state. Deve Gowda had to give up his home constituency -- Hassan to his grandson Prajwal Revanna. The veteran politician was mulling over contesting from Mandya. However, his other grandson Nikhil was fielded from the segment as it is a stronghold of the JD(S). While Prajwal won from his seat, Nikhil lost. The victory in the bye-elections The bye-elections held on December 5, was a litmus test for the BJP in Karnataka. A defeat would mean that Yediyurappa’s efforts in poaching and toppling the coalition government was all for naught. The BJP won 12 out of the 15 segments that went to polls. These were necessitated as 17 coalition rebels had resigned. While turncoats in Haryana and Maharashtra had suffered a massive defeat, the Congress in Karnataka expected to win at least seven seats, but suffered a massive defeat. Yediyurappa secured a simple majority in the assembly. Ahead of the polls, several leaders in the BJP wanted Yediyurappa out, stating that was getting too old. The successive victories in Lok Sabha and the bye-polls ensured his position within the party as the decision-maker. DK Shivakumar’s arrest in the money laundering case The Enforcement Directorate arrested former Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar in connection with the Rs 8.83 crore money laundering case on September 3. The Enforcement Directorate’s probe began after the Income Tax Department filed a chargesheet alleging money laundering. The I-T case was registered after sleuths found Rs 8.83 crore cash during search and seizure operations in August 2017 at various of his properties in New Delhi, including his residence in Safdarjung Enclave.  This was a massive setback for the Congress as Shivakumar, known to be a troubleshooter, was in trouble himself. Whilst the party cried vendetta by the BJP, protests by Congress erupted across the state against his arrest. Shivakumar was denied bail and was in Delhi’s Tihar jail for almost two months. He was granted bail by the Delhi high Court on October 23. He received a grand welcome in Bengaluru up on his return on October 26. 

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