Bribery issue: Gowda accuses BJP of conspiring with Congress

: JD (S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda broke his silence on the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge against his son and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy by accusing a section of the BJP and the Congress of hatching a deep-rooted conspiracy to destabilize the JD (S).

In a four-page letter faxed to newspaper offices in Bangalore from New Delhi, Gowda said a section of the BJP leaders were supporting the Congress party in its bid to weaken the JD (S) and harm his and his family members image.

Though Gowda stood by his beleaguered son Kumaraswamy, who is facing bribery allegations, the former Prime Minister indicated that he had no confidence in the present coalition Government and declared that he would take up a state-wide tour during the first week of August to shore up his party’s image.

“I am anxious to prove to the Congress and the BJP that our party is the only alternative in the State”, Mr Gowda said showing his eagerness for mid-term polls. “We had fought the elections on the principle of keeping equidistant from the BJP and the Congress. But, the people of the State had supported us rather ‘half-heartedly’ during the 2004 elections. This had forced us to align with the Congress first and then with the BJP to form different Governments”, Gowda said.

But, Gowda made it clear that he had to swallow both pain and humiliation for aligning with the Congress and later with the BJP. “I am continuing to do so even now”.

Reposing faith in the style of functioning of his son H D Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of the State, Gowda said a few disgruntled and power-hungry BJP leaders in the state had joined hands with Congress defame the Chief Minister following the tremendous response he received from the people in the first few months.

Meanwhile, Gowda’s open attack against the BJP has not gone down well with the saffron party leadership in the state. “It is hundred per cent lies”, said BJP leader and Minister for Water Resources K S Eshwarappa while speaking to reporters in Mysore on Wednesday.

“There are no sections in the BJP. The entire BJP is one. There is no truth in Gowda’s allegation that a section of the party had conspired against the Chief Minister with the support of the Congress”, he said.

BJP’s Karnataka unit President Sadananda Gowda did not see the need for attaching any importance to Gowda’s allegations as the coalition Government never had the blessing of the former Prime Minister.

“Hence, we have nothing to do with Gowda and his comments. He was always unhappy with his son forming a Government with the BJP”, Sadananda Gowda said.

Karnataka Governor to report to Federal Government on bribery scandal

In a new twist to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the mining scandal, Governor T N Chaturvedi has decided to submit a detailed report to the Federal Government on the mining scandal in Bellary, which has rocked the coalition Government.

Governor Chaturvedi, who had called for a factual report from the Karnataka Government on the charges of bribery levelled against the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy, has now decided to report the matter to the Federal Government.

After receiving a report from the State Government on the bribery charges, the Governor has now sought details from the Department of Mines, Forest, Environment and Revenue to prepare a detailed report on the mining scandal in Bellary. The detailed report will be submitted to the Federal Government shortly.

The Governor’s decision to report the matter to the Federal Government comes in the wake of pressure from the Opposition Congress, which is seeking the dismissal of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition Government in Karnataka on the bribery issue. The Congress has already submitted a memorandum to the Governor detailing the serious nature of allegations against the Chief Minister and called for a CBI probe into the matter.

The Congress party held a huge demonstration in Bangalore on Tuesday, where Congress leaders dubbed the judicial inquiry ordered by the State Government as “eyewash”. The Congress party demanded a CBI probe into the matter as the terms of reference for the judicial probe did not include the bribery charges against the Chief Minister.

But, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, speaking to reporters in Mysore yesterday, claimed that the judicial probe would cover all the charges of “corruption and nepotism” in the mining scandal dating from January 2000. “Hence, the probe will also cover the bribery charge”, he said even as he clarified that there was no truth in the allegation levelled against him by the BJP legislator, who has now been suspended by the party.

Karnataka Chief Minister now faces defamation petition

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is now facing a criminal defamation petition for terming as “insane” the suspended BJP legislator, who had earlier accused him of collecting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from the mining lobby in the iron-ore rich Bellary district in the State.

Reddy’s counsel Venkateshwarulu told reporters that the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Bellary had admitted a criminal defamation suit filed by client against Kumaraswamy and two of his cabinet colleagues. The court has been posted for hearing on July 28.

The defamation petition had been filed by Reddy after the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues described the suspended BJP legislator as “insane”. “The criminal defamation petition has been filed Kumaraswamy, Home Minister M P Prakash and Forest Minister C Chennigappa, all of whom had said that my client (Reddy) had lost his mental balance and hence was making such baseless allegations”, Venkateshwarulu said.

Meanwhile, Reddy told reporters that he had been accused of being “mad, insane and mentally ill” by no less than the State’s Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues. “I challenge them or any doctor to prove that I am mentally ill or suffering from any of these ailments. I have filed the case to protect my self respect and the honour of my family”, Reddy said.

Reddy has chosen to stick to his stand that the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues were involved in the collection of bribe amounting to Rs 1.5 billion from the mining lobby in Bellary district. “I will produce the evidence when a CBI probe is ordered. I will not submit the evidence before others including the judicial commission instituted by the State Government”, the suspended BJP legislator clarified.

Meanwhile, the omission of the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charges against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy from the terms of reference laid down for judicial inquiry into the mining scandal in Karnataka has sparked off a fresh row in the State.

The Opposition Congress staged a demonstration in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue in Bangalore yesterday seeking a CBI probe into the mining scandal. Irked by the absence of any specific reference to the Rs 1.5 billion pay-off to the Chief Minister by the mining lobby in the terms of reference laid down for the judicial probe headed by former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court U L Bhat, the Congress party accused the State Government to trying fool the public.

The brief of the U L Bhat Commission of Inquiry, appointed after much brouhaha over the bribery charges against the Chief Minister, is to merely inquire into illegal mining activities in three districts of Karnataka – Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga.

“The judicial inquiry is just an eye-wash. They want to fool the people of the State by ordering a judicial inquiry. We want a CBI probe into the scandal. A judicial inquiry does not necessarily lead to prosecution of the guilty whereas as CBI probe can”, Kharge said.

Health Ministers of South India to meet on July 30 to check Chikungunya epidemic

Alarming spread of Chikungunya epidemic in peninsular India will be bringing the Health Ministers of four South Indian states together in Bangalore on July 30 to exchange notes on effectively tackling the disease, which has already afflicted close to a million people.

Karnataka’s Minister for Health R Ashok told reporters that the meeting would work out a joint exercise to be carried out for large-scale fogging operations across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to drive out the aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the Chikungunya virus.

The joint meeting of Health Ministers of the four south Indian states will also be a collective effort to seek the Federal Government’s guidelines and financial assistance to contain the disease.

Since it was first detected in late 2005, Karnataka alone has reported about 500,000 cases of Chikungunya while neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu had reported about 200,000 cases each. Maharashtra has also reported about 100,000 cases, officials said.

However, Ashok said the Karnataka Government had been making tireless efforts to contain the disease, which spreading fast in rural areas of the State. Apart from allopathic medicines, the Government was also providing ayurvedic, unani and homeopathy medicine to the affected areas on demand.

Though the Government had deployed more than 850 fogging machines in areas reporting a high incidence of Chikungunya, the epidemic proportions the disease was assuming had forced the authorities to draw up a plan to provide each of the 5,400 gram panchayats in the state with a fogging machine.

With each fogging machine costing anywhere between Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, the Government had released a sum of Rs 84 million for purchase of the machines. In a phased manner, all the 5,400 gram panchayats will be provided with the fogging machines, which also help prevent the spread of other communicable diseases like malaria.

Karnataka’s Additional Director for Health and Family Welfare Dr R Ramesh said disease is found to be rampant in areas suffering from a chronic shortage of water. “Due to lack of regular supply, water is stored in these areas for days on end, providing a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes”, he said.

Though the disease is not considered to be fatal, the symptoms of Chikungunya include fever and pain in the bones and joints. The victims of the disease tend to develop a stooped posture as a result of the arthritic symptoms of Chikungunya, which affects limbs and bones.

RBI to have its own unit to manufacture paper for currency notes

The Reserve Bank of India’s Note Printing Press in Mysore near here will soon have its own unit to manufacture superior quality paper required for printing currency notes.

The RBI had so far been importing special quality paper for printing currency notes from England, Germany and Ukraine. With the Federal Government giving a technical and administrative clearance for setting up a unit to manufacture paper for currency notes at the RBI Note Printing Press in Mysore, the RBI will be saving about Rs 3 billion annually in foreign exchange.

Sharing this information with reporters, President of RBI Note Printing Press Employees Union A Ramdas said England, Germany and Ukraine were procuring cotton from Gadag and Davangere in Karnataka to produce superior quality paper required for printing currency notes by the RBI Note Printing Press.

Instead of incurring a huge import cost, it is feasible to set up a unit to manufacture currency notes at the RBI Note Printing Press in Mysore. “Superior quality paper can be produced in Mysore itself from the cotton grown in Gadag and Davangere in Karnataka”, Ramdas observed.

Apart from saving foreign exchange upto Rs 3 billion, the proposed paper manufacturing unit will employ new technology that will help improve the life expectancy of the new currency notes by three times. “The life of the new currency notes will be thrice superior compared to the notes presently in use”, he said.

He also revealed that the RBI Note Printing Press has chalked out plans to bring out newly designed currency notes with more security features with a view to preventing counterfeiting. The new currency notes are expected to hit the market by next year, Ramdas said.

The decision to set up a unit to manufacture paper for currency notes and incorporate new design with additional security features is aimed at pulling the RBI Note Printing Press in Mysore out of the shadow of the theft of Rs 5 million from the Press last year.

The security at the RBI Note Printing Press had been strengthened after theft of currency was reported. A decision had been taken to install CCTVs at every nook and corner of the Press after a study highlighted lapses in security, Ramdas said.

Omission of reference to bribery charges against CM irks Opposition

The omission of any reference to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charges against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the terms of reference laid down for judicial inquiry into the mining scandal in Karnataka has irked the Opposition Congress.

The coalition Government in Karnataka appointed former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court U L Bhat to head the Commission of Inquiry into the illegal mining in the State and laid down the terms of reference for a probe.

But, the absence of any specific reference to the Rs 1.5 billion pay-off to the Chief Minister and his two of cabinet colleagues in the mining scandal has incensed the Opposition Congress, which has renewed its demand for a CBI probe into the matter.

The brief of the U L Bhat Commission of Inquiry, appointed after much brouhaha over the bribery charges against the Chief Minister, is to merely inquire into illegal mining activities in three districts of Karnataka – Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga.

Congress party’s spokesperson in Karnataka and legislator V S Ugrappa said the glaring omission of any reference to the bribery charges against the Chief Minister is a blatant attempt by the coalition Government to pull wool over the faces of the people in the State. “They are cheating the people of the State”, he said.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President M Mallikarjun Kharge was quick to renew the party’s demand for a CBI probe into the matter after the gazette notification on the terms of reference laid for the U L Bhat Commission of Inquiry was issued.

“The judicial inquiry is just an eye-wash. They want to fool the people of the State by ordering a judicial inquiry. We want a CBI probe into the scandal. A judicial inquiry does not necessarily lead to prosecution of the guilty whereas as CBI probe can”, Kharge said.

Meanwhile, legislator Janardhan Reddy, who was suspended from the BJP after he levelled bribery charges against the Chief Minister, has filed a criminal defamation suit against Kumaraswamy and two of his cabinet colleagues for describing him as “insane”.

Reddy’s lawyer Venkateshwarulu told reporters yesterday that the Judicial First Magistrate’s Court (JFMC) court in Bellary had admitted the criminal defamation petition against the Chief Minister, Home Minister M P Prakash and Forest Minister C Chennigappa.

Reddy has filed a defamation suit against the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues for calling him “insane” when he reiterated his bribery charges in the legislative council.

Chief Minister’s home office struck by golf ball nuisance

The sprawling Golf Course in Bangalore has become a source of nuisance to the people visiting the adjacent home office of Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

With the golf balls struck from the Golf Course situated across the road frequently landing into the premises of the Chief Minister’s home office, the officials had instructed the management of the Golf Course to take necessary steps including raising a barrier that prevents balls from flying out of the Course.

But, on Saturday when more than two thousand people had thronged the Chief Minister’s home office to participate in the Janata Darshan or Public Contact programme, two hard golf balls landed into the compound injuring not just a visitor, but also the Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty Narayanappa.

Narayanappa was busy collecting petitions from visitors to the Chief Minister’s office when a golf ball struck him like a missile. A couple of minutes later, it was the turn of a visitor to be injured by yet another golf ball.

Soon, police rushed to the Golf Course and arrested an accountant of the Golf Course. The Golf Course management was taken to task for its failure to comply with the officials instructions to take steps and prevent golf balls from landing into the Chief Minister’s home office. The accountant was, however, released later. But, the police has warned the Golf Course management of serious action if a barrier is not erected forthwith to stop the menace of golf balls.

Siddaramaiah joins Congress, blasts Gowda for joining hands with BJP

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah began a new political innings on Saturday by formally joining the Congress fold in the presence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

According to reports reaching here, Siddaramaiah called on Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi and had a 25-minute-long meeting with the Congress President to finalize the formalities of his entry into the Congress fold.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader in charge of Karnataka A K Antony and senior Congress leaders from Karnataka including leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Dharam Singh were present on the occasion.

Siddaramaiah, who had resigned from the Karnataka Assembly as a JD (S) member earlier this week, has assured the Congress leadership that more JD (S) legislators will switch loyalties shortly casting a shadow over the political future of the JD (S) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

A large number of JD (S) rebels, including eight legislators, are expected to join the Congress party at an impressive rally in Karnataka next month to be attended Sonia Gandhi. “I am joining Congress alone now. There are more JD (S) members, who want to join along with me. They will join the party officially at a public rally to be held in the last week of August”, Siddaramaiah said.

On the occasion of his induction into the Congress party, Siddaramaiah launched a broadside against JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda for “burying” the ideology of JD (S) by joining hands with “communal” BJP. “The JD (S) has been reduced to a party of Deve Gowda and his son”, Siddaramaiah said.

He claimed that he had decided to join the Congress as it was the only national party, which was fighting communal and fundamentalist forces. “Deve Gowda has betrayed the people of Karnataka by joining hands with the BJP to make his son H D Kumaraswamy the Chief Minister of Karnataka”, said Siddaramaiah, who shared a two-and-a-half decade-long association with Deve Gowda.

SC raps Karnataka Government on BMIC project

The coalition Government in Karnataka, which is already besieged by bribery charges against the Chief Minister, suffered another setback with the Supreme Court lambasting the JD (S)-BJP regime of trying to scuttle the Rs 22.5 billion Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project.

According to reports reaching here, the Supreme Court’s rap on Karnataka Government came during the hearing of a petition filed by the promoter of BMIC project Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) challenging the judicial inquiry into the infrastructure project.

After an angry Supreme Court took the Karnataka Government to task for posing hurdles in the implementation of the BMIC project, which envisages the construction of a world class 111-km-long highway between Bangalore and Mysore, the senior counsel for Karnataka Government M L Verma gave an undertaking that the Government will not proceed with the judicial inquiry.

The Karnataka Government had ordered a judicial probe earlier this month to probe the allocation of excess land to NICE for implementation of the BMIC project.

But, the division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice C K Thakker observed that Karnataka Government was acting with a malafide intention. “It is trying to scuttle the project despite the judgements by High Court and Supreme Court. Please tell your Government to keep politics away from some projects keep politics away from courts”, the bench told senior counsel M L Verma.

The Supreme Court also took serious exception to the “reckless and irresponsible” statement made by JD (S) MLA Rajanna in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The Division bench wondered whether there were no saner elements in the Assembly, who could prevail on the ruling party legislator to exercise restraint.

Though the Karnataka Government tried to pacify the Bench by saying that the legislator’s controversial remarks had been expunged, the Bench observed that the legislator had cast wild aspersions on the judiciary. “The proceedings were telecast live. By the time, they were expunged, the damage had been done”, the Bench noted.

Earlier, counsel for NICE pleaded before the Supreme Court that it was a case of complete breakdown of constitutional machinery in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, putting up a brave front, told reporters that the Supreme Court’s observations did not amount to a “setback” to the State Government. “We are only deferring the judicial probe into the BMIC till the Supreme Court disposes off the case”, he said.

The judicial probe into BMIC was to be headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice B C Patel.

Karnataka Government orders judicial probe into bribery charges against CM

The coalition Government in Karnataka has decided to hold a judicial probe into the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge levelled against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and two of his Cabinet colleagues by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy.

The decision to order a judicial probe was taken at an emergency meeting of coalition Cabinet in Bangalore late on Friday evening, two days after the BJP legislator repeated the bribery charge on the floor of the Legislative Council, sending the five-month-old JD (S)-BJP coalition Government into a tailspin.

Emerging from the Cabinet meeting, Karnataka’s Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti said the judicial probe, apart from investigating the bribery charge, will also inquire into all mining activities, including illegal mines, in the state since January 2000. “The inquiry will also investigate the charges of corruption and favouritism in granting licenses to mine owners that have been raised”, he said.

The terms of reference of the judicial probe and whether a sitting or a retired judge of the High Court or Supreme Court would head it will be announced in a week’s time. The probe will cover all the irregularities and scandals in the mining sector since January 2000, Horatti said while briefing reporters.

Horatti said the cabinet decision to order a judicial probe into the bribery charges against the Chief Minister, Home Minister M P Prakash and Forest Minister C Chennigappa, all of whom belong to the JD (S), was in line with the resolution adopted at the co-ordination committee meeting of the coalition partners JD (S) and BJP.

BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy’s allegation that the Chief Minister and his two cabinet colleagues had collected a whopping Rs 1.5 billion from the mine operators in iron ore- rich belt of Bellary district in Central Karnataka has not only created a political sensation in the state, but threatens the camaraderie between the coalition partners BJP and JD (S).

Meanwhile, the pressure on Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi to sack the coalition Government on the issue has increased with former President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Janardhan Poojary seeking the dismissal of the Government to pave the way for mid-term elections in the state.

Tipu Sultan pioneered rocket technology in India - DRDO

Eighteenth century warrior king Tipu Sultan will be officially recognized by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as the pioneer of rocket technology.

Chief Controller of Research and Development at DRDO Sivathanu Pillai told reporters after inspecting the rocket court at Tipu Sultan’s fort in Srirangapatna near here that “the time had come to tell the world that India pioneered rocket technology and Srirangapatna was its birthplace”.

Pillai went around various sites associated with Tipu Sultan’s rocket and missile technology activities at Srirangapatna on Thursday evening at the instance of President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who is himself a rocket scientist.

“I am convinced that Srirangapatna is the birthplace of modern rocket science and technology”, he said. Pillai first visited the rocket and missile launching pad attached to ramparts of the fort and the ammunition depot and later went to the ammunition-manufacturing unit in the fort.

Pillai, who played a key role in the development of Brahmos missile, said there was a growing consensus among scientists world wide about India’s progress in rocket science during the period of Tipu Sultan. He said DRDO would submit the impressions of his visit at a meeting of rocket scientists to be convened in the next few months.

DRDO would produce documents as evidence to prove the scientific principles followed in producing rockets during the time of Tipu Sultan, more than two centuries ago. An analysis of a rocket used by Tipu Sultan’s army, which is now exhibited in the artillery museum in London, proved that it was advanced and had a range of nearly 2 kms, he said.

“It is an important milestone in the history of rocket and we are intrigued as to how the idea of a rocket crystallized in the late eighteenth century for which research must have been conducted much earlier”, Pillai said.

The veteran scientist from DRDO, who also saw the paintings of Mysore War as represented by the artists of the era, said Tipu Sultan was the first to have a full-fledged rocket force with 6,000 personnel and 27 brigades in his army in 1792.

Though Pillai did not appear satisfied with the conservation of Tipu Sultan’s fort, he refused to comment on the deplorable condition of the rocket court, which had become an eye-sore due to absence of maintenance. “I am here purely on an academic mission. It will not be fair on my part to comment on the maintenance of the structures”, he said.

Security stepped up in Bangalore after recovery of bomb from a bus

Security in Bangalore was put on a high alert after a crude bomb was recovered from an empty bus stationed at the City bus stand late on Thursday night.

Police said the conductor of a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus found a suspicious object under the last seat around midnight. Soon after he brought it to the notice of the police outpost nearby, a bomb disposal squad with sniffer dogs was rushed to the spot.

After recovering the bomb, the police confirmed that it was a crude bomb, containing gelatin. The bomb, however, had no timer attached to it. The bomb was taken to an isolated spot on the outskirts of Bangalore and defused.

Though the authorities said the bomb was very rudimentary and posed no serious threat, security has been stepped up in the City. A vigil has been mounted at all the bus stations, railway stations and other sensitive places in the City.

Though there have been a spate of bomb threats and hoaxes all over the country since the serial blasts in Mumbai on July 11, the incident in Bangalore is the first one in which an explosive device was found.

It may be mentioned here that terrorists had struck at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore during December 2005, claiming the life of one scientist.

Karnataka Governor seeks report from Government on bribery charges against CM

Under pressure from the Opposition Congress, Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi has sought a report from the coalition Government on the charges of bribery levelled against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and two of his cabinet colleagues by the suspended BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy.

According to a Raj Bhavan communiqué, the Governor has asked Kumaraswamy to send a “factual report and his comments” on the charges levelled against him.

The Governor’s action comes in the wake a memorandum submitted to him by the Congress party on Thursday seeking the dismissal of the JD (S)-BJP coalition Government in Karnataka and the institution of a CBI probe into the allegation that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was involved in the collection of bribe amounting to Rs 1.5 billion from mine owners in Bellary district.

The Governor has also forwarded a copy of the memorandum submitted by the Congress party to the Chief Minister while seeking a factual report and his comments on the matter, the Raj Bhavan communiqué added. Karnataka’s Chief Secretary B K Das is expected to send a report to the Governor soon.

Meanwhile, the coalition Government has decided to slap a criminal defamation case against Janardhan Reddy for accusing the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues of collecting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from the mine owners in Bellary district.

Even as the coalition Government is expected to take a decision on the nature of probe into the bribery charges against the Chief Minister at a Cabinet meeting scheduled late on Friday, a section of BJP has opposed the “hasty” action taken against its legislator Janardhan Reddy.

Though the party is yet to serve a notice of suspension on Reddy, a section of the party leadership has complained against the action taken against its legislator for exposing corruption. BJP’s Central leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Taverchand Gehlot are expected to arrive in Bangalore to set in motion a damage control exercise.

In Bellary, Janardhan Reddy repeated his bribery charge and termed the Chief Minister and party’s Ministers as “criminals”. He has also threatened to file a defamation suit against the Chief Minister for calling him a person, who has lost “mental balance”.

Janardhan Reddy, who is yet to receive the suspension notice, received the full support of his partymen in his home-district. The party’s Bellary district office-bearers have decided to stand by him and oppose his suspension from the party.

BJP suspends its legislator for leveling bribery charges against Karnataka CM

With a view to averting a possible threat to the coalition Government in Karnataka, the BJP suspended its legislator Janardhan Reddy hours after he accused Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and two other JD (S) Ministers of collecting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from mine owners in Bellary district.

BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters that Janardhan Reddy, who is also the President of BJP’s Bellary district has been suspended from the primary membership of the party for violating party discipline. The BJP state unit’s decision to keep Janardhan Reddy under suspension had been conveyed to the party’s central leadership in New Delhi.

Reddy, a BJP member of the Legislative Council, had retracted his bribery charge against the Chief Minister earlier this week, succumbing to pressure from the party leadership. But, on Wednesday, he dropped a bombshell by repeating his allegation in the Legislative Council, plunging the five-month-old JD (S)-BJP coalition Government into a crisis.

Even as the Opposition Congress leaders met Governor T N Chaturvedi on Thursday to press for a CBI probe into the bribery episode involving the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Dharam Singh and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President M Mallikarjun Kharge led a large group of Congressmen to Raj Bhavan in Bangalore to press for action against the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters, Dharam Singh said H D Kumaraswamy had no right to continue as Chief Minister in the wake of bribery charges levelled against him. A CBI probe should be ordered into the episode and the Kumaraswamy should quit as Chief Minister pending a probe into bribery charges.

The Congress leaders have apprehended a threat to the life of Janardhan Reddy and urged the Government to extend police protection to the BJP legislator.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy convened a meeting of JD (S) Legislature Party in Bangalore yesterday and decided to file a defamation case against Janardhan Reddy for leveling bribery charges against him and two other ministerial colleagues – Forest Minister C Chennigappa and Home Minister M P Prakash.

The JD (S) also sought to bring pressure on its coalition partner BJP to drop its Minister B Sriramulu, also hailing from Bellary, for reportedly instigating Janardhan Reddy to level accusations against the Chief Minister and two JD (S) Ministers.

The BJP, which held meeting in Bangalore, however refused to accommodate the demand of the JD (S) to drop Sriramulu from the coalition Ministry. However, the party leaders assured to consider a proposal to expel Janardhan Reddy from the party and salvage the coalition Government.

Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, however, sought to clarify that the bribery charges against the Chief Minister by its legislator will not rock the coalition Government. “The Government is stable. This episode will not affect the Government”, he told reporters.

BJP legisator repeats bribery charge against CM, ruling coalition caught unawares

The ruling JD (S)-BJP coalition in Karnataka suffered a major shock when BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy reiterated his charge that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had collected a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from the mine owners in the State’s Bellary district.

Reddy’s statement, which came about after much coaxing by the Opposition Congress members in the Legislative Council, caught the ruling coalition unawares. Noisy scenes were witnessed in the House soon after Reddy repeated his charge, forcing Chairman Sachchidanand Khot to adjourn the House.

When the House was discussing issues pertaining to privileges of members of the legislative council on Wednesday, the Opposition Congress members tried to lure Janardhan Reddy into participating in the debate when they found him trying to make a statement.

Though the ruling JD (S) and BJP members were trying to prevent Reddy from speaking, several Congress members urged the Chairman to allow the BJP legislator to speak. The Chairman permitted Reddy to speak after the Congress members brought much pressure on him. But, the Chairman asked Reddy to restrict his statement to the on-going debate on privileges of legislative council members.

But, Reddy referred to challenge posed to him by Congress members, during the proceedings a day earlier to come clean on the Bellary bribery episode, and stunned the House by repeating the allegation that the Chief Minister was involved in the matter.

Even as the Chairman was heard asking Reddy not to raise the bribery issue, the BJP member, who was apparently angry, over the attempts to gag him, said “Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Forest Minister C Chennigappa are involved in the collection of bribe amounting to Rs 1.5 billion from the mine owners of Bellary. There is no doubt about it”, he said.

Reddy’s reiteration of the charge against the Chief Minister comes within days after he retracted his statement at a media conference to temporarily put the lid on a controversy that proved to be a major embarrassment to the ruling JD (S)-BJP coalition.

Soon after Reddy repeated the charge, there was chaos in the House. Even as the Congress members were trying poke fun at the JD (S) and BJP members in the House for trying to gag Reddy, the Chairman adjourned the House.

But, Reddy addressed a crowded press conference in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha – the State Secretariat – and said the Chief Minister and his aides were blackmailing the mine owners in Bellary.

Reddy said that the Chief Minister, his family members, Forest Minister C Chennigappa and Home Minister M P Prakash had collected bribe from mine owners in Bellary district. “Now, they are blackmailing the mine owners, threatening to ban mining only to collect more bribe”, he said.

He said Home Minister M P Prakash’s son M P Ravi too was collecting money from a mining company. Reddy described the Home Minister as a “Tiger in the garb of cow”. The JD (S) was converting Karnataka into a Bihar, he alleged.

Woman priest at Ayyappa Temple in Karnataka

Amidst the huge uproar over Kannada actress Jayamala’s claims to entered the sanctum sanctorum of Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala in Kerala, the existence of an Ayyappa Temple in Karnataka’s Kolar district, where priest is a woman, has come to light.

Built on a four-acre plot, the Ayyappa Temple in Kolar does not impose any restrictions on entry of women into its premises. The chief priest of the Ayyappa Temple is not only a woman, but also a Dalit.

The priestess Shanta Kumari, who also happens to be an officer of Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS), claims to have constructed the Ayyappa Temple along with her husband after the deity came in her dreams six years ago. “After our return from Sabarimala, the deity came in my dream and asked me to construct the Temple”, Shanta Kumari said.

Shanta Kumari does not only manage the Temple’s affairs, but also worships the deity in the sanctum sanctorum of the Temple every day.

Hundreds of devotees have been thronging the Ayyappa Temple in Kolar, situated at a distance of about 100 kms from Bangalore. Though entry of women into the Temple is not prohibited, women aged between 10 and 50 years have to take permission of the authorities before entering the Temple premises.

“When God is with us, nobody will raise objections”, Shanta Kumari said when her attention was drawn to the furore over entry of women in the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala.

When she decided to construct an Ayyappa Temple, Shanta Kumari said she did not take the services of priests, craftsmen or engineers. “I constructed the Temple with the help of ordinary labourers with the instructions of Lord Ayyappa, my husband and myself. I have taken the role of a mother. I not only worship the deity, but also all other work of the Temple”, she said.

The Temple has been named Shanta Malai Ayyappa Temple. The Temple also proclaims that Ayyappa is the third son of Shanta Kumari and her husband.

Peeping Tom arrested for capturing bathing girl in cell phone

A senior manager of a private insurance company in Bangalore was arrested for taking photographs of a teenage girl while she was bathing.

Police said 40- year-old Sandeep Dingri, a native of Chennai, is employed with a private insurance company, drawing a monthly salary of Rs 150,000. He is staying in a rented accommodation at the up-market Residency Road.

Earlier, this week the landlord’s neice, studying in a degree college in Bangalore, was having a bath around 8 am. Dingri placed a few boxes on the floor to reach the ventilator of the bathroom and began clicking photographs of the bathing girl.

The girl, on hearing the sound of “clicks”, saw Dingri peering through the ventilator and began shouting. Soon, the family members caught hold of Dingri, beat him up and lodged a case with the Ashok Nagar police station in Bangalore.
The police confiscated Dingri’s handset and took him into custody. He was, however, released on bail after he was produced before a City court.

Siddaramaiah resigns from Karnataka Assembly

Rebel JD (S) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resigned from the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday evening and left for New Delhi to hold talks with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Siddaramaiah, who is tipped to join the Congress party, submitted his resignation letter to the Speaker of Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly Krishna after he was denied a chance to a statement in the House outlining the reasons for his decision to quit the Assembly.

When the Assembly met on Tuesday morning, Siddaramaiah renewed his plea with the Speaker to give him a chance to make his resignation statement on the floor of House. The Congress party too rallied behind Siddaramaiah and accused the Speaker, who belongs to the JD (S), of showing “partiality” while conducting the proceedings of the august House.

With the Speaker making it clear that he will not change his ruling in the matter, Siddaramaiah and the Congress walked out of the House. Later, on Tuesday afternoon Mr Siddaramaiah went to the Speaker’s chamber and submitted his resignation from the Assembly.

He left for New Delhi, where he is scheduled to meet senior Congress leaders and formalize his entry into the Congress fold.

Nun denounces holy mission, ties nuptial knot

A rare incident of a Christian nun denouncing her holy mission to tie the nuptial knot with her heart throb has been reported from Doranahalli village in Karnataka’s Mysore district.

Balakumari, a nun at the Joseph Maria Jesus Institute, was in love with Harish, an employee of the Institute. Balakumari was converted to Hinduism and was married to Harish at a ceremony held at Arya Samaj in Mysore.

Balakumari, daughter of Maria Dasa, a resident of Bangalore, had joined the Joseph Maria Jesus Institute three years ago. Love blossomed between her and Harish at the Institute.

The two took help of Hindu organizations, which held rituals to convert Balakumari into a Hindu and name her Shriratha. The wedding rituals were also held as per the Hindu customs.

Bangalore autodriver tries to rape Australian woman

An autorickshaw driver in Bangalore made a vain bid to rape a 21-year-old Australian lady after misleading her and taking her to an isolated farm on the outskirts of the City.

Though the Australian lady thwarted the unidentified autorickshaw driver’s attempts to outrage her modesty, she lost her handbag containing a camera and cash of Rs 3,000 in the process.

Police said the 21-year-old Australian lady, an evangelist, boarded an autorickshaw from a Church in Bangalore after participating in a preaching session. She asked the autorickshaw driver to take her to the main bus stand in Majestic area of the City as she planned to take a bus to Chennai.

But, the autorickshaw driver, instead, took her to a farm near Chikkajala on the outskirts of Bangalore and tried to rape her at knife-point. The lady, however, thwarted the drivers’ attempts and escaped from his clutches.

She reached the nearest police station and lodged a complaint. She was immediately subjected to a medical examination in a nearby hospital.

The police are hunting for the autorickshaw driver. The failure of the Australian woman to note down the registration number of the autorickshaw has made the task of Bangalore police all the more difficult.