Fraud begins at Talapady toll plaza: Beware of wrong receipts!

Bengaluru: As Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has granted permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA site allotment scam, senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal will arrive in Bengaluru on August 19, sources in the chief minister's office said on Sunday.

The two top Supreme Court lawyers will meet the Karnataka chief minister and may appear on his behalf in the special court for public representatives, the sources added.

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge refused to name the lawyers but dropped hints that constitutional experts will be flown in to Bengaluru.

“We will tackle it. We have the best constitutional experts being flown in. We have a lot of people within the state who are helping the government with this and we will take it up,” Kharge told reporters here.

The chief minister is facing a legal hurdle after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted permission on Saturday to prosecute him in the alleged alternative site scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority on a complaint given by three activists.

The alleged scam relates to the allotment of sites to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area against the 'illegal acquisition' of her land measuring 3 acres, 16 guntas in Kesarur.

While the opposition BJP and its ally JD(S) have cried foul, the chief minister has refuted the charge saying it is baseless and malicious to defame him and destabilise the Congress government in the state.

Udupi: In a heart-wrenching incident that has left the community in mourning, a bright young student from a local private college tragically lost his life after falling from a moving bus in Udupi’s Karkala taluk on Wednesday, August 21.

Janit Shetty, a 19-year-old second-year BSc student, was heading from Karkala to Mangaluru when the unthinkable happened. In a cruel twist of fate, he was thrown from the private bus onto the unforgiving road, where he was fatally struck by the bus's back wheels.

Despite the frantic efforts of bystanders and medical professionals, who provided first aid at a nearby hospital and rushed him to Manipal for advanced treatment, Janit’s injuries were too severe. His life, full of dreams and aspirations, was tragically cut short.

The loss is profoundly felt by his grieving mother and younger sister, who now face an unimaginable void in their lives. The entire community shares in their sorrow, mourning the loss of a young life taken far too soon.

Bengaluru, Aug 18: Former Chief Minister and Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday denied any role of the Bharatiya Janata Party led Union Government in grant of prosecution by Governor of Karnataka against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with alleged irregularities in distribution of plots to wife of Chief Minister by Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in Mysuru city.

“Why drag the Union Government into the sanction of prosecution?” he questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and pointed “Why not prosecution sanctioned against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin or against Telangana Chief Minister?”

Kumaraswamy reacted to accusations made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday wherein he alleged “a big conspiracy has been hatched against me by the Union Government, H.D. Kumaraswamy, BJP leaders R. Ashok and B.Y. Vijayendra to bring down his Government through misuse of the Governor's office.”

In turn, he said, a conspiracy has been hatched by his own men in the party to bring Siddaramaiah's downfall and in an oblique reference to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, the Union Minister, told Siddaramaiah that Shivakumar posed a threat to him.

In reply to a query that the Governor had kept his prosecution request pending, Kumaraswamy stated “The matter is before the Supreme Court. There is no need for prosecution in an illegal iron ore mining case.” He asked, “Let the State Government knock the doors of the Supreme Court.”

Kumaraswamy said he will not demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah or expect Siddaramaiah to step down voluntarily.

He criticized the Congress leaders for holding a protest in Karnataka on Monday against the Governor's decision to grant prosecution of the Chief Minister and questioned “What for the protest?”