PM can't intervene in inter-state water dispute, says BJP

Bengaluru, Jan 24: Middle East based prestigious LuLu Group has come forward to invest $300 million in Karnataka in the retail, logistics and hospitality sectors.

As part of this, the first LuLu mall will commence operations in Bengaluru’s Rajajinagar area by August.

LuLu’s first mall in India, in Cochin, is seen as a huge success. It’s not clear how that mall is doing financially, but it became so popular that it had an adverse effect on almost every other mall in the city.

Lulu’s investment plan for Karnataka was communicated during a discussion between chief minister BS Yediyurappa and Yusuff Ali MA, chairman and managing director of Lulu Group, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The company will also set up two five-star hotels in Bengaluru through Twenty14 Holdings, its hospitality arm, and a modern logistics centre in the Uttara Kannada region.

Lulu Group’s retail initiative Tablez brought Toys `R’ Us, one of the world’s largest toy store chains, to Bengaluru in 2017. Started in the Phoenix Mall in Whitefield, it competes with Reliance-owned Hamleys.

Tablez has also brought in other international brands such as American ice cream parlour chain Cold Stone Creamery, South Africa based flame-grilled chicken concept Galito’s, and Tablez’ own brand Bloomsbury’s, a boutique cafe and bakery. It has also launched Spanish fashion brands Springfield and Women ’secret.

Bengaluru, Feb 19: Playing down the simmering discontent among the disgruntled legislators who missed a cabinet berth again, Karnataka BJP on Tuesday denied any revolt brewing against Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

"An unsigned letter in Kannada circulating in the social media is bogus, as it was fabricated in the name of Santosh, a private secretary to Yediyurappa. No revolt is brewing against the Chief Minister," party spokesman G. Madhusudhana told news agency here.

In the second cabinet expansion on February 6, only 10 newly-elected legislators, who defected from the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in July, were inducted, leaving the party's many aspiring lawmakers miffed.

"The talk of about 20 loyal MLAs ganging up against Yediyurappa is a speculation as rumour mills are working overtime. No rebellion is brewing against the Chief Minister," asserted the official.

On the charge that Yediyurappa's younger son B.Y. Vijayandra was acting like a 'super or de facto CM' and medalling in the state administration, Madhusudhana said the latter was only assisting his father in party activities as he was also a party worker.

"As Yediyurappa is 76 years old and ageing, Vijayandra is helping his father in party affairs so that he (Chief Minister) could be free to attend to administration," Madhusudhana said.

Yediyurappa's elder son B.Y. Raghavendra is a three-time BJP Lok Sabha member from Shimoga in the state's Malnad area.

With six cabinet posts vacant in the 34-member ministry, many legislators, including eight-time MLA Umesh Katti, are upset that they have not been rewarded for their loyalty to the party even six months after the BJP returned to power again in the southern state.

On the purported meeting of about 20 BJP MLAs at the residence of state Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar here on Monday, Madhusudhana said it was a "get-together" as they were all in Bengaluru again to attend the budget session of the state legislature which began on Monday.

"There is no crisis in the party. Our government is stable and will complete the remaining three-year term in office till May 2023," he added.

New Delhi, Feb 12: Cooking gas LPG price on Wednesday was hiked by a steep Rs 144.5 per cylinder due to spurt in benchmark global rates of the fuel.

But to insulate domestic users, the government almost doubled the subsidy it provides on the fuel to keep per cylinder outgo almost unchanged.

LPG price was increased to Rs 858.50 per 14.2 kg cylinder from Rs 714 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned oil firms.

This is the steepest hike in rates since January 2014 when prices had gone up by Rs 220 per cylinder to Rs 1,241.

Domestic LPG users, who are entitled to buy 12 bottles of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates in a year, will get more subsidy.

The government subsidy payout to domestic users has been increased from Rs 153.86 per cylinder to Rs 291.48, industry officials said.

For Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries, the subsidy has increased from Rs 174.86 to Rs 312.48 per cylinder.

After accounting for the subsidy that is paid directly into the bank accounts of LPG users, a 14.2-kg cylinder would cost Rs 567.02 for domestic users and Rs 546.02 for PMUY users.

The government gave out 8 crore free LPG connections to poor women under PMUY to increase coverage of environment-friendly fuel in kitchens.

Normally, LPG rates are revised on 1st of every month but this time it took almost two weeks for the revision to take place - a phenomenon which industry officials said was due to approvals needed for such a big jump in subsidy outgo.

Others said the decision to defer the increase could have been because of assembly elections in Delhi. Delhi voted on February 8.