Modi plays nationalism card, rakes up surgical strike in Karnataka

Bengaluru,  Jul 22: Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the state government should give details of the amount it spent on migrants and labourers during the coronavirus crisis if it is transparent.

"The image of Karnataka has come to a very rotten position. We all know that Karnataka has failed in sorting out the problem. Let them (the state government) tell what has been the amount spent on the labour, migrants, food kits on the health department. We want an account (of the expenditure) if they are so transparent," Shivakumar said.

He said that the state government should have approached the hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients and if any hospital refused, a message should have been given that the government would take it over.

He also accused the state government of corruption.

Jun 19: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray should sign an agreement with neighbouring Karnataka to avoid a repeat of flood in part of the state like it happened in August last year.

In August 2019, Kolhapur, Sangli districts and some other parts of the state faced unprecedented floods triggered by huge release of water from dams in western Maharashtra and from the Almatti dam in Karnataka.

Fadnavis said, The Maharashtra chief minister should hold an urgent meeting with the Karnataka chief minister and enter into an agreement over-discharge of water from the Almatti dam located on the border of both the states."

If water is not released from the Almatti dam in time, it will cause flooding in border areas of Maharashtra such as Kolhapur and Sangli.

"A pact between the two states would benefit both as it would help in keeping water levels in control, the former chief minister said.

The dams in the state already have sizeable water stock. It would be better if the chief minster schedules a meeting with the Karnataka chief minister regarding the same (agreement), the Leader of Opposition in the assembly said.

Davangere, Jan 15: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on January 14 threatened to resign when the seer of 'Panchamasali Guru Peetha' warned that the community will leave him, if a BJP MLA from the community is not made the minister during the upcoming cabinet expansion.

The chief minister, who is awaiting the BJP high command's nod to expand his cabinet, amid intense lobbying by the aspirants, wanted the seer Vachanananda swamiji and the 'Panchamasali' community to understand his "situation." Yediyurappa pointed out that he has come to power because of the Congress-JD(S) legislators who rebelled against the then coalition government.

The incident took place when Vachanananda swamiji, while addressing an event at Harihara, near here, said "chief minister, you are a good person, Murugesh Nirani (BJP MLA)has helped you a lot, he has stood by you..if you leave his hands this time, the united Panchamasali community will leave your hands." As the swamiji was making this statement, Yediyurappa, who was seated next to him, rose and threatened to leave the stage.

"If you speak like this I will go away...what are you speaking...kindly pardon me, I will leave, you should not speak like this, if you speak like this I can't work..you can give me suggestions, you cannot threaten me," he said, as the swamiji tried to convince Yediyurappa and asked him to take his seat.

As Yediyurappa acceded to his request, the seer said he was not threatening him but was putting forward the rights of the community. The chief minister, who was visibly upset, was seen talking to Home minister Basavaraj Bommai next to him, who even tried to convince the seer not to continue with the topic. Nirani, a MLA from Bilgi who was Industries minister in the previous Yediyurappa government, was seated on the stage when the incident occurred.

Later addressing the event, Yediyurappa said he was not "selfish" and was even ready to resign.

"Vachanananda swamiji has spoken, through you I request him to understand my situation also. If 17 legislators (Congress-JDS), few even as ministers, had not resigned and stayed away, Yediyurappa could not have occupied this Chief Minister position.

You (swamiji) need not make people raise their hands on any demand, if you tell me, I'm ready to listen to you," he said.

Stating that he was ready to take suggestions from the swamiji on all issues, including on how to run the administration for the next 3 years, Yediyurappa said "I'm ready to bow my head and listen to it, if you don't want I'm even ready to resign and go home, I'm not someone who wants to stick to the chair."

Further noting that if he says that the financial condition of the state is not good it will become headline in papers tomorrow, he said he will have to wait till March for the situation to improve.

"I dont have selfishness, I'm aware that if the Panchamasali-Lingayat community had not stood by me, I could have not sat on this chair (CM)... but kindly understand my situation also," he added.

Yediyurappa is expected to expand his ministry later this month after discussing with BJP national president Amit Shah during his visit to the state on January 18.

As the chief minister has already made it clear that 11 of the disqualified JDS-Congress MLAs who got re-elected in the bypolls on BJP tickets will be made ministers, lobbying has been on within the party for the remaining ministerial berths.

Currently there are 18 Ministers, including the chief minister in the cabinet that has a sanctioned strength of 34.

The cabinet expansion will not be an easy task for the chief minister as he will have to strike a balance by accommodating the victorious disqualified legislators as promised and also make place for the old guard, upset at being "neglected" in the first round of the induction exercise.

He also has to give adequate representation to various castes and regions in his cabinet and also deal with allocation of key portfolios.