Belagavi, Dec 12: Senior Legislator K Pratapchandra Shetty of Congress was unanimously elected as Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman here on Wednesday during the ongoing Winter Session at Suvarna Vikas Soudha.
Mr Shetty was the lone candidate who had filed his nomination papers yesterday. The senior leader from Udupi has been a four-time MLA and three time MLC.
Senior member of the house and former Minister S R Patil and Allam Veerbhadrappa, both from Congress proposed Mr Shetty's name.
Bengaluru, Jan 17: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa is likely to induct new ministers into his cabinet only after he returns from Davos, Switzerland, on January 25.
Yediyurappa will leave for Davos on January 19 to participate in the World Economic Forum’s 50th annual meet.
Sources say Yediyurappa is keen on expanding his cabinet before he leaves for Davos and is still trying to secure the green signal from BJP national president Amit Shah. However, Shah has cold-shouldered Yediyurappa’s several requests for a meeting to discuss the issue.
Shah is scheduled to visit Karnataka on January 18 to participate in a pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act rally in Hubballi and the CM plans to corner him there. But, given the time constraint, Yediyurappa is likely to put off the exercise till he returns from Davos even if Shah extends approval.
“Even if Shah gives the green signal, Yediyurappa will have less than 24 hours to expand his cabinet,” a source said. “It is highly unlikely he will rush through the process of inducting ministers. Also, his presence is required to douse disgruntlement which is bound to arise once the new ministers are sworn in.”
The CM and the party high command are on different pages as far as cabinet expansion is concerned. While Yediyurappa is hell-bent on keeping his promise of inducting all the newly elected MLAs, who switched from Congress and JD(S) to the BJP, Shah is keen on sharing vacant berths equally between loyal MLAs and the new entrants. There are 16 cabinet berths vacant.
Shah, sources said, is of the opinion that giving 12 berths to the turncoats will lead to heartburn among loyalists and it will impact the party’s prospects in the next election. “Moreover, he is of the opinion that none of the turncoats have mass appeal, nor do they have any administrative experience. This, he thinks, will impact governance,” said a source.
This has resulted in a deadlock and the issue has dragged on for a month now.
Bengaluru, Mar 6: School children in Karnataka will have 'bag-free' days on two Saturdays in a month as part of efforts to create a joyful learning experience, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced on Thursday. By making two Saturdays in a month as bag-free days, "Sambhrama Shanivara" will be observed with the objective of creating a joyful learning experience by reducing the burden of text books, he said, presenting the 2020-21 budget in the state assembly.
"The main purpose of such days is to create awareness, by means of activities, on topics that are necessary for students to be ideal citizens," he added.
He also said for the first time in the history of the state his government presented a "child budget", making it a special feature of the budget.
All the policies and programmes for the development of children below the age of 18 are consolidated and presented in this budget and as many as 279 programmes involving Rs.36,340crore, which is 15.28 per cent of the total volume of the Budget, have been earmarked.
English medium of instruction would be given along with Urdu in 400 government Urdu schools and Rs one crore will be provided during 2020-21 for this purpose, Mr Yediyurappa said.
For the education of children of auto drivers, up to Rs 2,000 would be provided annually to each family. For this purpose, Rs 40 crore will be provided in the coming fiscal, the Chief Minister added.
Uppinangady, Feb 16: Eleven people were injured, when a private bus in which they were travelling, toppled near Kodikal on Sunday, police said.
According to Police, more than 20 people were travelling in the bus towards Puttur from Sakleshpur when the mishap took place.
All the inmates were on their way to attend a wedding.
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CONGRATULATIONS AND ALL THE BEST ON THE OCCASSION OF ELECTED KARNATAKA SPEAKER.
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