Rains lash Dakshina Kannada, other parts of Karnataka

Bengaluru, Apr 1: Karnataka government along with BBMP has asked project contractors, builders and developers in the city not to send their labourers to their native place and instead provide them with amenities like food and shelter in this lockdown period.

It was also warned with legal action would be taken against them if they violating the instructions from the government .

Bengaluru, Apr 9:  Ministers and members of Legislature in Karnataka will take a 30 per cent cut each in their salaries and allowances to fund the fight against coronavirus in the state, for a year.

An ordinance to reduce the salaries of ministers and legislators by 30 per cent for one year to meet the exigencies arising out of COVID-19 pandemic was approved by the state cabinet headed by chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday.

"... we have cut by 30 per cent salaries and allowances of all ministers, MLAs, MLCs, also speaker, deputy speaker, chief whip every one for one year from April 1, amounting to Rs 15.36 crore," Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister J C Madhuswamy said.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, he said, "we have the consent from all the political parties for this, so we have passed the ordinance today."

The Union Cabinet on Monday had approved a 30 per cent cut in salaries of all Members of Parliament and a two-year suspension of the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme.

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on Thursday he might not attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, and would most likely visit Delhi this weekend for discussions on the pending cabinet expansion.

He was expected to join Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Mansukh Mandaviya, chief ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab) and Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and over 100 Indian CEOs at WEF’s 50th annual gathering on January 21-24.

“Mostly, I may not go for Davos (meet),” he told reporters on Thursday. Last week, he had said he was not keen on travelling to the Swiss town but was considering it as some chief ministers’ attendance was required at the high-profile event.

Eleven Congress-JD(S) turncoats, who contested the bypolls on BJP tickets and won, reportedly pressured Yediyurappa to take a decision on cabinet expansion before the now-uncertain Davos trip; it was even suggested that he should simply cancel the trip. The newly elected BJP MLAs are widely expected to be inducted as ministers. But officials in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said his disinclination to travel had nothing to do with the cabinet exercise.

“It’s mainly because of his health. That place (Davos) has got temperature of minus 4-6 degrees and it will be quite tedious for Yediyurappa at the age of 76,” one official said. BJP functionaries, however, claimed that he was wary of taking a trip amid tensions in the party. “The new MLAs have been breathing down Yediyurappa’s neck. They have pushed him into a corner, demanding that he complete cabinet expansion before going anywhere,” a senior functionary said.

On Thursday, the chief minister said he had sought a meeting with party bosses in Delhi. “To discuss cabinet expansion and other important issues, I plan to travel to New Delhi on January 11 or 12. However, I am still waiting for an appointment with the BJP national president and prime minister,” he said.

While Yediyurappa, his additional chief secretary P Ravi Kumar and political adviser MB Maramkal may not visit Davos, a 10-member delegation from Karnataka, including Jagadish Shettar, is expected to travel. There are reports ministers’ family members might join the delegation.