Adichunchanagiri seer's 68th birth anniversary celebrated

Bengaluru, Jan 16: Senior Congress leader K J George on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate officials here in connection with a FEMA case.

The former minister is being investigated by the ED for probable violation of provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

The ED had recently issued summons to George.

Speaking to reporters after appearing before the ED, George said he has answered to the officials' queries and will cooperate further also.

"ED had issued me summons, as a law abiding citizen, I have answered and gave documents to whatever they asked.

Further also if they call me...I will cooperate and provide necessary documents," he said, without divulging any details.

George clarified that no summons has been issued by the ED to members of his family.

"If required they (ED officials) will call me again, and I'm ready to cooperate," the congress leader added.

Last year, the president of the Karnataka Rashtra Samithi Ravi Krishna Reddy had complained to the ED seeking a probe into the alleged money laundering and properties held by George and his family members in the United States.

Responding to a question about a defamation case filed by him against those who have levelled the allegations, George said "Just because ED has called me for questioning, I'm not proved guilty."

"Anyone can complain to agencies like the Income Tax or ED or Lokayukta, but my only objection is with going to the press to project someone as guilty," he said.

"...going to the press with an intention to do a propaganda against me..someone who is in public life-- to project me as guilty is wrong, so I have filed defamation case stating the allegations are false," he added.

George is the third senior Congress leader from Karnataka to face an ED probe after D K Shivakumar and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.

Shivakumar was arrested by the agency in a money laundering case and was kept in Tihar Jail, until he got bail in October, while Khan was summoned in connection with the multi-crore IMA group Ponzi scam case.

Bengaluru, Apr 21: The group who had attacked police and healthcare workers at the minority-dominated Padarayanapura in the city on Sunday night had raised slogans ''kill police'' when the team went to quarantine some people, the police alleged in an FIR.

Around 100 to 120 people rushed out onto the road targeting the police and health workers who wanted to pick up primary and secondary contacts of coronavirus patients.

Cases have been registered against the miscreants based on the complaint of police officers.

In one of the FIRs, police sub-inspector Raman Gowda complained that when he went to quarantine 43 people with the healthcare officers, around 120 people rushed out and attacked them.

"The group of people holding sticks and stones rushed from Arafat Nagar," Mr Gowda said.

When he was trying to stop them from destroying a CCTV camera, the mob attacked him shouting slogans ''Kill the police. Don't spare them," he alleged in the FIR.

"They wanted to kill us with stones and sticks and some of our staff sustained injuries," the officer said.

According to police, 59 people have been arrested including A woman who had allegedly masterminded the attack.

Bengaluru, Feb 17: A combative ruling BJP is bracing to face the onslaught of the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in the year's first legislature session beginning on Monday.

"We are ready to counter the opposition parties on any issue they want to raise or discuss, keeping in view the spirit of fairness in a democratic set-up, as we have the numbers to provide a stable government," party's state unit spokesman G. Madhusudhana told news agency here.

Ahead of the 3-day session, the BJP's legislature party met here under the leadership of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to chalk out its strategy to address issues, move bills and present the state budget for fiscal 2020-21.

"We hope the Congress and JD-S members will allow Governor Vajubhai Vala to address the joint session of the legislature on Monday and not disrupt his speech or walkout of the House before he concludes to maintain the dignity of his office," Madhusudhana said after the BJP meeting at a private hotel over dinner.

The legislature will resume the month-long budget session on March 2 with a special discussion for two days on the Constitution, markings the 70th year of its adoption and enforcement.

About 100 legislators, including the three Deputy Chief Ministers, the newly sworn-in cabinet ministers, council members and party's state unit members participated in the 2-hour long meeting.

"Yediyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, will present the state budget for fiscal 2020-21 on March 5, which will be the fifth time as the fourth Chief Minister in over a decade," the official said.

Both the Houses will deliberate on the budget proposals and pass it by March 31.

In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated, the ruling BJP has 117, opposition Congress 68, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 34, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) one, Independents 2 and vacant 2.

Buoyed up by winning 12 of the 15 seats in the December 5 assembly by-elections, the party is confident of passing the finance and other bills, as it has the support of 119 members, including 2 Independents in the lower House.

"There is no threat to our government, which will complete the remaining 3-year term of the Assembly till May 2023. Yediyurappa has already won the majority test on July 29, 2019, three days after he took office for the fourth time," Madhusudhana said.

The Congress, however, asserted that it would raise the alleged misuse of police against the opposition members, anti-CAA protestors and minorities.

"We will question the morality of the government in making a tainted legislator like Anand Singh a forest minister when a dozen illegal mining cases are pending in the courts," a Congress official told news agency.