Bangalore, The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed an FIR against former Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa, his two sons and a son-in-law in connection with the payments made by a mine operator to firms run by the BJP strongman's kin. The FIR was filed in the office of the special CBI (XXI city and sessions) court judge Venkata Sudarshan. Mine operator Praveen Chandra had allegedly paid Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3.5 crore to firms run by BSY's son-in-law, R Sohan Kumar, and sons Raghavendra and Vijayendra, respectively, in return for obtaining lease. The FIR follows a directive from the Supreme Court to the CBI to probe the allegation and will mark the commencement of the central agency's investigation into the issue. Praveen Chandra, too, has been named in the FIR filed under the Mines and Minerals (Development and. Regulation) Act, 2010, besides Sections 210, 409, 419 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and various clauses of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The SC has ordered the CBI to look into the payments made to a trust run by BSY's sons by South West Mining Company in return of favours. The CBI is expected to file an FIR in this regard ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, The Janata Dal (U), joined by its arch political rival RJD, on Thursday criticized Karnataka Police and central agencies for arresting Muslim youths on terror charges from different parts of Bihar "without informing the local police". Raising the issue during zero hour in Rajya Sabha, JD(U) member Shivanand Tiwari demanded action by the home ministry against the agencies responsible for such arrests which were made without taking the state police into the loop. He said even after the recent meeting on NCTC, where everyone spoke about cooperation and coordination, Karnataka Police picked up many youths from certain areas of Bihar in a unilateral action. "Why didn't the Karnataka Police inform Bihar Police? Is not such an act questionable?" asked Tiwari. Supporting the contention, RJD member Ram Kripal Yadav said it was condemnable that "we are treating Muslims as terrorists without concrete evidence". An eight-member team of Karnataka Police had arrested Chinnaswamy Stadium blast suspect Mohammad Kafeel Akhtar alias Kafeel from Barsamela village under Keoti police station area in Darbhanga district on Sunday. Akhtar is an Islamic Studies teacher at ...
Read Full Story

Patna, The Karnataka police have arrested a suspected terrorist from Bihar's Darbhanga district, prompting chief minister Nitish Kumar to raise objection against the unilateral police action. The police team from Karnataka arrested Kafil Ahmed from Barasmela village two days ago in connection with the 2010 Chinnaswamy Stadium twin blasts, superintendent of police Garima Malik said. Fifteen people were injured when two low-intensity bombs exploded outside a packed Chinnaswamy cricket stadium on April 17, 2010. "The Karnataka police did not contact the local police nor inform us about the arrest of Ahmed," the SP said, adding that the Darbhanga police came to know about the arrest of the suspected terrorist from his family. In Patna, chief minister Nitish Kumar said, "The Karnakata police has brazenly violated an established law about giving prior information to the local police about arrest of a person from its jurisdiction." The Bihar DGP has lodged a strong protest with his Karnataka counterpart, Kumar told reporters. The chief minister said that he had sought a report from the Darbhanga SP and on the basis of it, a formal protest will be lodged with the ...
Read Full Story

Bangalore, Prospects of B S Yeddyurappa's return as Karnataka chief minister have brightened, with the BJP leadership appearing to concede it will be difficult to ignore the claim of the Lingayat strongman. Sources in the BJP conceded that the number of MLAs supporting Yeddyurappa's return as CM has swelled, putting the leadership in a bind, wary that his re-installation may be cited by rivals to mock the party's anti-corruption credentials. While the party wants to put off the decision on leadership change, Yeddyurappa's supporters, brandishing the HC order which quashed the proceedings initiated by the Lokayukta, are insistent that the 48-hour deadline on convening the legislature party meeting and thereby formally electing him as the leader must be complied with. Yeddyurappa has holed up in a resort on the outskirts of Bangalore along with nearly 70 MLAs, creating uncertainty over whether CM Sadananda Gowda gets to present the budget on Wednesday. In Delhi, MPs supporting his return met leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley to argue for an early decision. Although BJP chief Nitin Gadkari has asserted that "no decision will be made under pressure", and ...
Read Full Story

Bangalore, The DV Sadananda Gowda-led BJP government in Karnataka was on the brink of a crisis with BS Yeddyurappa shepherding 55 loyalist-MLAs to a resort in the outskirts of the city late on Sunday, setting a 48-hour deadline for the party high command to reinstate him as chief minister. With a dozen ministers among his supporters and half of the state MPs backing him, the victory sign Yeddyurappa flashed as he left for the resort showed his determination. But an unfazed Sadananda Gowda told reporters in Tumkur: "The issue of change in leadership is left to the central party leadership and I will present the budget on March 21. A copy of the budget is already in press." Yeddyurappa, who has backtracked after threatening a revolt many times, has chosen to make it clear that he means business this time. Playing the numbers game, he said 15 more MLAs would join him on Monday morning. He is backed by Lingayat strongman and minister Jagadish Shettar and ministers C M Udasi, Basavaraj Bommai, Shobha Karandlaje and V Somanna among others. What if the high command turns down his demand? "Wait for 48 hours. Everything will be settled,'' said a beaming Yeddyurappa. A report ...
Read Full Story

BANGALORE: Facing a fresh come back bid by B S Yeddyurappa after the Karnataka High Court gave him a clean chit in an illegal mining case, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Thursday said the BJP central leadership would decide on the future of his predecessor. Losing no time after the verdict came last evening, Yeddyurappa dispatched a copy of the judgement to party President Nitin Gadkari, who recently had rebuked him for mounting pressure for his reinstatement as chief minister and indicated he had to come clean in the corruption cases. Sources close to Yeddyurappa said he had only sent the judgement copy to Gadkari, but it is seen as a reminder about the party's promise that justice would be rendered to him once he was cleared of the charges. Gowda said he would not like to comment on the issue of Yeddyurappa's reinstatement. "When our leader Nitin Gadkari had come here recently, he had categorically asked us not to discuss this issue. We are bound by the instructions given by our high command and are going to follow it." "I therefore do not wish to comment on the issue. The decision will be taken by the high command," Gowda, who succeeded Yeddyurappa after he ...
Read Full Story

Bangalore, BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Friday dismissed the reports that there was any crisis in the party in Karnataka over BS Yeddyurappa's ultimatum to reinstate him as the chief minister of the state. However, Gadkari said that question of changing Sadananda Gowda as chief minister does not arise. However, the party high command, though sympathetic towards Yeddyurappa's plight, appears in no mood to bow down to pressure tactics being employed by him. But he has assured Yeddyurappa to give a suitable party post in Karnataka. As far as the issue of him getting a suitable post, justice would be done to him soon, Gadkari reportedly told the Shimoga strongman. According to reports, Gadkari has made it clear to Yeddyurappa that DV Sadananda Gowda would continue to be the chief minister, at least till his name is cleared of the corruption charges. Gadkari who was in Bangalore to chair take part in a 'chintan-manthan' or brainstorming session with legislators, held a series of meeting to find a way out of the sudden rebellion by Yeddyurappa. The BJP chief also had separate meetings with chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, state BJP chief KS Eshwarappa and other leaders ...
Read Full Story

Bangalore, Senior BJP leader and Karnataka higher education minister V S Acharya collapsed while attending a function and died here on Tuesday. Acharya, 71, was soon after rushed to a hospital, officials said. He is survived by wife, four sons and a daughter. He was not keeping well for some time. "He (Acharya) is no more with us", chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, said as he rushed to the hospital to pay his last respects. A member of the legislative council, he also held the portfolios of planning and statistics, information technology and biotechnology. A registered medical practitioner, Acharya, born on July 6, 1940, started his political career in the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh and was president of Udupi city municipality from 1968 to 1976. Acharya had served as home minister in the B S Yeddyurappa ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, The Karnataka government's "gesture" to AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in seeking the resignation of the special prosecutor in her graft cases has gone down well with the leader, and an alliance may fructify if the saffron party poses a credible challenge to the Congress. The political subtext of the controversy surrounding Karnataka attorney general B V Acharya's sudden resignation is being read in the context of persistent BJP efforts to woo Tamil Nadu chief minister as a likely ally in the next parliamentary polls, although Jayalalithaa is offering no clue to her response. While it is fairly obvious that Amma will take a call closer to the election, the party does not seem to think that UPA-II's decline is easily reversible. There is a growing feeling that the current round of assembly polls, including the Uttar Pradesh election, may leave Congress as wobbly as it has been through last year. Till there is clarity in the political scene, AIADMK is expected to continue its cooperation in Parliament with BJP as part of its strategy to link up with Opposition groups as long as DMK remains a member of UPA-II. Jayalalithaa has said that her earlier offer of an ...
Read Full Story

Moga, February 4 (Doaba News Service)- Rice traders in the state have been importing raw rice of poor quality from outside states and mixing it with locally produced rice, the milling of which is in progress these days. It’s strange that this is being done at a time when the state already has a buffer stock of rice over 80 lakh metric tonnes and paddy 95 lakh metric tonnes under the milling process in the state. But rice millers are allegedly mixing quantities of low-priced rice grains imported from other states with FCI stocks and selling the better rice in the open market at higher prices. The entire procurement of paddy in Punjab is sent to private millers for cleaning, shelling and polishing of grains. Millers return the finished product back to the FCI for the central pool. It is learnt that during the past two months, after the rice milling process began in the state, raw rice of various varieties worth crores of rupees is being imported from other states like Bihar, UP, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka by rice millers/traders, the maximum quantities of which are mixed in locally milled rice, and is being given to FCI stocks. This practice is going on particularly in ...
Read Full Story