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Karnataka assembly unanimously passes state GST Bill-2017

Agencies
June 15, 2017

Bengaluru, Jun 15: With less than a month left for the rollout of the GST, the 'Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017' was unanimously passed by the state assembly here today.

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Before Karnataka, as many as 24 states and Union Territories had passed the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) bill in their respective legislative assemblies.

As per the GST Constitutional amendment, all states have to pass SGST bills by September 15, 2017, failing which they will lose their taxation powers.

Piloting the bill, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state has always been at the forefront of issues like implementing tax reforms, including VAT. "Even the World Bank has acknowledged Karnataka as the most progressive states in implementing tax reforms," he added.

Countering this, Vishweshwara Hegade Kageri (BJP) said the image of the state took a hit for not being the first state to pass the SGST bill, especially after being the first state to implement VAT. "Karnataka should have been first to have agreed to implement GST, especially after the state was first to implement VAT in the country... But this did not happen... This is one of the examples where it hurt the image of Karnataka being a progressive state," the BJP leader said.

Kageri also slammed Siddaramaiah for not agreeing to implement GST on earlier occasions despite 50 per cent of the states agreeing to do so. "Everybody knows the hurdles created by your party (Congress) in parliament to stall the bill, which was your own baby," he argued.

Taking an indirect dig at BJP-ruled states, Siddaramaiah said as many as 24 states and one union territory have agreed to implement GST, but initially Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were against it.

Siddaramaiah also said since parliament has already passed GST Bill, the state assembly did not have much scope to debate over it because decision-making powers are vested with the GST Council.

However, suggestions submitted by members will be presented during GST Council meetings, he added.

The Chief Minister said he did not attend the GST Council meetings because he did not get time and had deputed Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 18: Two more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Karnataka, taking the tally of infected persons in the state to 13, Health Minister B Sriramulu said on Wednesday.

A 56-year-old man, a resident of Bengaluru had returned to India from the US on March 6 while the second person is a 25-yr-old woman with a travel history to Spain.

"2 more COVID-19 cases have been registered in Bengaluru today, taking the total infected cases to 13. 56-year-old male, resident of Bengaluru returned from the USA on 6th March. Another 25-yr-old female has returned from Spain," Sriramulu said in a post on his Twitter account.

A total of 147 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday.

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News Network
May 3,2020

Bengaluru, May 3: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said that his government has allowed labourers to travel to their hometowns in the state on KSRTC buses free of charge for three days starting on Sunday.

"Labourers have been allowed to travel in KSRTC buses free of charge from the district centres and capital Bengaluru to their hometowns in Karnataka for three days from today," Yediyurappa said.

"The government will bear the cost of travel. The concern is that a large number of labourers should not assemble at any bus stop," he added.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 1, issued an order to extend the ongoing lockdown by two more weeks from May 4 and also allowed the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places, by special trains.

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News Network
January 3,2020

Tumakuru, Jan 3: Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who has drawn flak for the Centre releasing “inadequate” flood relief to the State, on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for additional relief during his speech at a farmers’ convention in Tumakuru.

The Chief Minister even said, “I have brought this to the notice of the Prime Minister three or four times, but till now no additional relief has been sanctioned. I request him with folded hands to release it soon,” in Kannada. The Prime Minister, who spoke later at the event, however, did not respond to the Chief Minister’s request in his speech.

Mr. Yediyurappa said the State had witnessed losses to the tune of over ₹30,000 crore because of floods.

‘Stress on irrigation’

Addressing farmers at one of his main support bases of Tumakuru, the Lingayat strongman advised the Prime Minister that his dream of doubling farmers’ income by 2023 could become a reality only if he focused on “providing scientific price to farm produce, bringing water to farms through irrigation, and by interlinking rivers”.

Mr. Yediyurappa’s remarks made at a programme to release the fourth instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana, a farm subsidy cash transfer scheme of the Union government, have raised eyebrows.

Stressing on the key role of irrigation schemes in farmers’ welfare, he sought a special package of ₹50,000 crore for completion of long-pending projects in Karnataka.

The five-minute-long speech is being seen as an attempt by the Chief Minister to assert himself within the party by publicly putting even the Prime Minister on the mat. This comes in the wake of the BJP suffering defeats in multiple States and the party’s victory in the recent bypolls in the State under Mr. Yediyurappa’s leadership, both of which have only strengthened the Chief Minister, sources in the party said. “We are curious as to how the party high command will now deal with this public assertion in front of the Prime Minister,” a senior party leader said.

The Chief Minister has been reportedly “deeply unhappy” over the delay in the flood relief by the Union government and also the “inadequate” amount released. The Opposition has attacked him over lack of adequate Central relief, which was interpreted as the BJP central leadership’s reported unhappiness with him. The Chief Minister had then said he was doing a “tightrope walk”.

After a delay of over two months, the Centre released ₹1,200 crore as flood relief in October 2019.

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