Karnataka objects to Maharashtra's case on border issue
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the state has objected to the jurisdiction of Maharashtra in a case pertaining to the border issue.
The neighbouring Maharashtra has locked horn with Karnataka on border row, especially claiming that Belagavi should be merged with it.
According to the chief minister, Maharashtra has filed a case in the Supreme Court in this regard.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the Karnataka government will hire a good lawyer to fight the case.
"We will hire a good lawyer. According to me, there is no case. Maharashtra has filed a case. Our objection is on jurisdiction. Jurisdiction has to be decided first whether they have a locus standi or not, whether they are entitled to file a case or not," the CM said.
Responding to a question on reports that about three crore voters in the state have not been mapped as per the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process undertaken by the Election Commission of India, Siddaramaiah said the Congress has cautioned people about it.
"The SIR exercise must be carried out with utmost caution. We have told our Block Level Agents and voters to be cautious," he said.
The chief minister denied that the Congress is taking the SIR politically.
"The Congress will never indulge in politics over the SIR process being conducted by the Election Commission but our only concern is that genuine voters should not be excluded from the voters’ list," he said.
Responding to the demand that municipal corporation elections be held through ballot papers, he said it is also their (Congress) wish.
Commenting on the Governor returning the bill related to the internal reservation among scheduled castes, Siddaramaiah said appropriate explanations would be provided to the questions raised by the Governor regarding the bill.
Replying to a question on his visit to New Delhi, the CM said he would travel to the national capital if he receives a call from the party leadership.
Asked about mining baron and BJP MLA from Gangavathi G Janardhana Reddy’s charges during a public meeting in Ballari that the Congress government was indulging in looting the state, Siddaramaiah said he has no moral right to say so.
"He (Reddy) was the one who went to jail for looting the state. What moral right does he has to say that? Why was he restricted from entering Ballari? The case against him is still pending before the court," the chief minister said.
The opposition BJP has no job other than lying and misleading people, he said, and added that he will speak in the Assembly when the legislative session starts from January 22.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
