What helped in breaking logjam over Karnataka CM pick?

News Network
May 18, 2023

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Bengaluru, May 18: Several top Congress leaders from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.

Ever since the Karnataka Assembly results were declared on May 13, both the leaders started garnering support of MLAs close to them while mustering support for themselves.

The supporters of both, meanwhile, started building up the momentum in support of their respective leader and a poster war erupted.

As the race for the top post heated up, Kharge appointed three observers -- Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria -- and the first meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was convened on May 14. Supporters of both the leaders continued to raise the pitch by raising slogans in support of their leaders outside the CLP meeting venue.

All Congress MLAs authorised the party chief to appoint a leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), who would also be the new chief minister.

Keeping the consultation process alive, the newly-elected MLAs had authorised Kharge to appoint the new CLP leader, after which the scene shifted from Bengaluru to Delhi. The observers also held one-on-one consultations with all MLAs and sought a secret ballot from all of them, the results of which were tabulated and shared with party chief the next day.

In the national capital, the three observers along with party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala arrived and held a meeting with Kharge.

With Siddaramaiah emerging as the frontrunner in the race and after the report of observers, the party leadership asked him and Shivakumar to arrive in Delhi for further consultations. While Siddaramaih arrived on Monday evening, Shivakumar cancelled the meeting citing health issues.

This complicated the situation for the party as it hardened its stand against Shivakumar, who arrived the next day.

Tuesday saw the entry of Rahul Gandhi in the consultation process, who drove down to Kharge's residence and held a meeting on the Karnataka government formation for over an hour-and-a-half.

A series of fresh consultations started once again with Kharge meeting both of them separately, as also with the two general secretaries on Tuesday.

The final round of talks started on Wednesday when both the leaders met Rahul Gandhi at his residence. In the meantime, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah also spoke to Sonia Gandhi, who was away in Shimla on a vacation. Sonia also asked Shivakumar to speak to Kharge and Rahul to sort out the matter, sources said.

The hectic parleys continued from Monday and went on till the wee hours of Thursday to break the deadlock in deciding on the Congress' chief ministerial pick in Karnataka as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar presenting their cases before the top brass.

The leadership issue in Karnataka lingered as Shivakumar had dug his heels in and asserted that he be made the chief minister as the party staged a stunning victory in the southern state under his presidency.

Sources said after Rahul Gandhi told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as chief minister, whose leadership abilities and mass support helped him clinch the top post.

The decision, sources said, was chalked out in the wee hours of Thursday when all parties agreed to accomodate confidantes of both the leaders and asked Shivakumar to continue on the post of state Congress chief till the next year's Parliamentary elections.

To maintain his number 2 position in the Karnataka government, Shivakumar was made the only deputy chief minister.

The chief minister and his deputy along with over 20 ministers in the cabinet would take oath on May 20 in Bengaluru, where leaders of several political parties would also be invited.

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News Network
October 28,2024

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday undertook fresh searches in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) linked money laundering case in which it has booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, official sources said.

About seven-eight premises in Bengaluru and Mysuru are being covered, the sources said.

The federal agency had conducted the first round of raids in this case on October 18 when it searched the MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations.

It also questioned some lower-rank officials of the MUDA at its Bengaluru zonal office last week.

The ED has filed a enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of a Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah is facing Lokayukta and ED probes into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named as other accused in the case by the two probe agencies.

Parvathi was recently questioned by the Lokayukta.

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News Network
October 29,2024

Nagpur: Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur have identified 35-year-old Jagdish Uikey from Gondia as the man behind a series of hoax bomb threats that caused widespread panic, flight delays, and increased security at various establishments across the state, officials revealed.

Uikey, an author who wrote a book on terrorism and was previously arrested in 2021, is now on the run after police traced the recent hoax emails to him, confirmed a senior police official. The investigation, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shweta Khedkar, uncovered substantial evidence linking Uikey to the threatening emails.

These emails were sent to multiple government agencies, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Railway Minister, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, airline offices, the Director General of Police (DGP), and the Railway Protection Force (RPF). On October 21, Uikey even emailed Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, leading to heightened security at railway stations.

On Monday, the Nagpur police intensified security around Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis's residence after Uikey’s email threatened a protest unless he could present his findings on a secret terror code he claimed to have deciphered. He also requested a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss his information on terror threats.

In the 13 days leading up to October 26, Indian carriers received over 300 hoax bomb threats, with about 50 flights— including those of IndiGo and Air India— targeted on October 22 alone, sources said.

A special team has been deployed to locate and arrest Uikey, and authorities remain confident that he will be apprehended soon.

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News Network
October 29,2024

Mangaluru: A fraud case involving ₹43.32 lakh has been reported at the CEN station, where an individual was deceived under the guise of investment opportunities. 

The victim was promised high returns from stock and Initial Public Offering (IPO) transactions.

According to the complaint, the victim received a WhatsApp message on September 25 from an unknown sender identifying himself as Manju Pachisi, an Assistant at IIFL Securities Limited. 

The sender encouraged the victim to invest by sharing an online link, claiming significant profits could be earned from stock and IPO transactions.

Additionally, another link was sent via the Telegram app. Trusting the information, the victim transferred a total of ₹43.32 lakh in phases between September 26 and October 23. 

However, when he attempted to withdraw his funds, he was informed that he needed to pay a 25 percent commission. Realizing he had been duped, the victim promptly filed a complaint with the authorities.

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