Volcano waiting to erupt in Cong- JD(S) alliance: BSY

Bengaluru, Apr 11: The coronavirus-driven lockdown will continue for another 15 days, but relaxations will be allowed in a graded manner, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said after a four-hour-long video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

“Agriculture and industrial sectors will be given relaxation. Government offices will be allowed to work with partial strength. But the PM said detailed guidelines will be issued in two days,” Yediyurappa said, briefing reporters. 

“Importantly, the lockdown for the next two weeks will be different than how it was in the past three weeks. The Centre, keeping in mind economic activities, especially agriculture, industry and employment of labourers, the Centre will tell us what needs to be done,” the CM said.
 
According to Yediyurappa, PM Modi told all chief ministers that the next 2-3 weeks will be critical. “The next few weeks will decide whether or not we have succeeded. If the situation worsens, we have to face the crisis,” Yediyurappa said, quoting Modi. 

Apparently, Modi sought details on the COVID-19 situation from 12-13 states where the situation is grave. “He did not take a report from Karnataka,” Yediyurappa said. “This morning, seven new cases were reported in the state, taking our tally to 214. Nationally, we were in the third place; we’re now 11th,” he said, hailing the efforts of officials involved in fighting the pandemic. 

The CM said it was “inevitable” to continue the lockdown for another 15 days. “But for citizens to get essential supplies, there’s no bar on them going by walk alone. Also, we will see to it that agricultural activities are not affected anywhere,” Yediyurappa said.

Bengaluru, Jan 11: India’s second-biggest IT company, Infosys Ltd, said it found no evidence of financial misconduct by its executives following a investigation into whistleblower complaints.

Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys, which earlier on Friday raised its revenue forecasts due to upbeat demand from Western clients, said an audit committee report exonerated Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh and Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy of all allegations, including accusations that the duo prevented employees from presenting data on large deals.

“I’m very happy that CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy have emerged from this stronger,” Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani told reporters. “The last two years since Salil has been here the company has changed dramatically for the better.”

Parekh took over as Infosys CEO in January 2018, after his predecessor Vishal Sikka quit following a public row with the company’s founder executives amid whistleblower allegations of wrongdoing.

The company earlier said it expected revenue to grow between 10 per cent and 10.5 per cent on a constant currency basis in the year ending March 2020, compared with its previous forecast of between 9 per cent and 10 per cent.

“We continue to see momentum in the market and we have an extremely robust pipeline driven by segment leaders,” CEO Parekh told a news conference.

“With the strength of large deal wins and digital momentum, we were able to clearly see that we have support to raise our guidance.”

Bengaluru, Jun 22: Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad and BJP’s MTB Nagaraj, one of the defectors who helped the saffron party come to power in Karnataka, were unanimously elected to the Legislative Council along with five others on Monday. 

All seven were declared as “duly elected” by Legislative Assembly Secretary MK Vishalakshi, the returning officer for the biennial election to the Legislative Council. 

Hariprasad and Naseer Ahmed of the Congress, Nagaraj, R Shankar, Prathap Simha Nayak and Sunil Vallyapur of the BJP and Govinda Raju of the JD(S) are now MLCs. 

While Ahmed was an incumbent who will get another term, the six others will replace Jayamma, MC Venugopal, NS Bore Raju, HM Revanna and TA Sharavana and DU Mallikarjuna whose term ends June 30. 

While an election was scheduled June 29, it was not necessary as only seven candidates were in the fray for the seven seats on Monday, which was the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The nominations of A Yadavanahalli PC Krishnegowda and Mandikkal Nagaraja were rejected. 

With their rejection as MLCs, Nagaraj and Shankar - who jumped ship to the BJP last year - will now look to become ministers in Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s Cabinet. Both Nagaraj and Shankar were ministers when they resigned and defected from the Congress-JD(S) coalition. While Nagaraj lost the December 2019 bypolls, Shankar did not contest. 

Nagaraj, Shankar and Vallyapure were Yediyurappa’s picks for the Council, whereas Nayak is said to have been backed by BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel. 

There were many aspirants in the Congress for the Council berths, but Hariprasad and Ahmed were picked, given their experience. Hariprasad is widely believed to counter Siddaramaiah, who leads the party in the Assembly. 

Raju of the JD(S) runs a poultry business in Kolar and the choice of a fresh face is seen as the party leadership steering clear of any trouble as there were many asking for the ticket.