Gutkha scam: Stalin seeks sacking of Minister, DGP
Chennai, Sep 7 : DMK President M.K. Stalin on Friday expressed shock that no action has been taken against Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister C. Vijaya Baskar and DGP T.K. Rajendran after CBI raids related to the gutkha scam and again demanded their sacking as well as arrest.
Stalin said he was shocked over the "inaction" of the Tamil Nadu government and Governor Banwarilal Purohit in moving against the two.
It is shocking that even after the CBI raids at the residences of Baskar and Rajendran the government had not dismissed them and even the Governor had not taken any action, he said in a statement here.
The DMK leader said it was not clear why Baskar and Rajendran, who are accused of accepting bribes from a gutka manufacturer, have not been arrested yet while bribe-giver gutkha manufacturer A.V. Mahdava Rao, intermediary and government officials were arrested by CBI on Thursday.
On Septembr 5, the Central Bureau of Investigation raided the houses of Baskar, Rajendran, gutkha manufacturer Rao and several state and central government officials in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as a part of investigating the alleged payment and receipt of bribes.
Stalin said that as per a diary noting by Rao a bribe of Rs 60 lakh was allegedly paid on April 21, May 20 and June 20 in 2016 to 'CP'.
He alleged that Rao told Income Tax officials that 'CP' stood for Commissioner of Police.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly said that it was Rajendran who was then the Commissioner of Police in Chennai.
Stalin said that another diary noting mentioned Rs 56 lakh paid to 'HM' between April 1, 2016 and June 15, 2016 and as per Rao 'HM' means Health Minister.
Citing other diary entries, Stalin said Rs 20 lakh was given to a Joint Police Commissioner on November 4, 2015, December 10, 2015 and Jauary 2, 2016.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
PUC-2 pass percentage stands at 81.58 per cent in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Students across Karnataka scored high marks in the PUC-2 Examination-1 for 2026, to which the results were announced on Thursday. The overall pass percentage stood at 81.58 per cent.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) released the combination-wise list of toppers for various streams.
The Pre-University College-2 (PUC-2) Exam-1 was conducted from February 28 to March 17 at 1,217 Examination Centers across the state.
A total of 6,94,545 students appeared for the examination this year, of whom 5,66,608 cleared it.
Girls outperformed boys, with a pass percentage of 88.70 per cent compared to 83.65 per cent among boys.
Among college categories, residential PU colleges topped with 93.99 per cent results, followed by unaided colleges at 90.73 per cent, aided colleges at 78.72 per cent, and government colleges trailing at 57.11 per cent.
In terms of categories, General and 3A segments recorded the highest pass percentages at 92.69 per cent and 92.22 per cent respectively, while SC and ST categories also saw marked improvement over the previous year.
Medium-wise results indicated that English medium students performed better with 90.63 per cent pass rate, compared to 76.41 per cent in Kannada medium.
A total of 1,70,529 students secured distinction (85 per cent and above), while 2,95,385 students passed in first class.
The Board said students can access their results on the official portal and through mobile applications.
The PUC-2 Examination-2 is scheduled to be held from April 30 to May 13, 2026, with online registration open till April 17.
The Board has also enabled online applications for scanned copies of answer scripts from April 10 to April 15, and revaluation applications between April 12 and April 17, with fees fixed at Rs 530 per subject for scanned copies and Rs 1,670 for revaluation.
