Know your minister: A look at the 24 MLAs sworn-in to the Karnataka cabinet today
Bengaluru (PTI): Within a week of assuming power, the Congress government in Karnataka has expanded its cabinet on Saturday, filling all posts.
Among those who got ministerial posts include sons of two former chief ministers -- R Gundu Rao's son Dinesh Gundu Rao and S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa.
The party also gave a chance to several former ministers and veteran Congress leaders in its second list.
Here is a brief description of the 24 ministers who took the oath of office and secrecy on Saturday:
► H K Patil is a staunch Congress man and a seasoned politician. The 69-year-old MLA was elected from Gadag constituency. He has held portfolios of textile, water resources, agriculture, law and parliamentary affairs as well as rural development and panchayat raj. He comes from a political family; his father K H Patil was also an MLA from the same constituency.
►Krishna Byre Gowda is a five-time MLA twice from Vemgal in Kolar and thrice from Byatarayanapura in Bengaluru city. The 50-year-old legislator was a minister for rural development and panchayat raj. He also held the portfolio of agriculture, and law and parliamentary affairs. He holds an MA in international affairs from the School of International Service at American University in Washington DC.
►N Cheluvarayaswamy switched from JD(S) to Congress in 2018 ahead of the Assembly elections. He lost that election. He is a four-time MLA from Nagamangala. He was a Lok Sabha member in 2009 but resigned in 2013 to contest in the Assembly poll on a JD(S) ticket from his favourite seat Nagamangala.
►K Venkatesh is a five-time MLA from Periyapatna. The 75-year-old Congress MLA was previously with the Janata Dal. He later joined the Congress and became an MLA in 2013. In 2018, he lost to K Mahadeva of the JD(S). He bounced back by winning the recent 2023 election.
►Dr H C Mahadevappa is an MBBS doctor from JJM Medical College. Belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, the 70-year-old MLA from T Narasipur was previously with the JD(S) and switched over to the Congress. He was the Public Works Minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government.
►Congress working president Eshwar Khandre comes from a political family. His father Bheemanna Khandre was also a minister in the Karnataka government. The 61-year-old leader is an engineering graduate and also a four-time MLA from Bhalki in Bidar constituency.
►Former state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao comes from an illustrious family. His father late R Gundu Rao was the chief minister from 1980 to 1983. A BE from BMS College, Rao continued his winning streak without any break for the sixth time in 2023. He was the food and civil supplies minister from 2015 to 2016.
►Kyathasandra N Rajanna is a 72-year-old leader from the Scheduled Tribe community. He is an advocate and agriculturist. He was elected as MLA once from Madhugiri Assembly constituency in 2013.
►Sharanabasappa Darshanapur is a five-time MLA from Shahapur constituency in Yadgir district. The 62-year-old leader is a BE graduate in civil engineering. His father Bapugouda Darshanapur was a three-time MLA from Shahapur and was also a minister in the Karnataka government.
►Shivanand Patil, a four-time MLA from Basavana Bagewadi, was minister for health and family welfare from 2018 to 2019 in the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.
►Ramappa Balappa Timmapur is a three-time MLA from Mudhol. In 2023, he won by defeating sitting minister Govind Karjol, who was a five-time MLA from the same constituency. Timmapur was the minister for sugar, port and inland transport of Karnataka.
►S S Mallikarjun is an educationist who won the election from Davangere North. He is the son of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, the 92-year-old MLA from Davangere South. He is also the chairman of the prestigious SS Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, Davangere.
►The 52-year-old MLA Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi is a three-time MLA from Kanakagiri constituency in Koppal district.
►Dr Sharanaprakash Patil is a doctor by profession and a four-time MLA from Sedam constituency in Kalaburagi district.
►Mankal S Vaidya was elected twice from Bhatkal-Honnavar constituency in the coastal district of Uttara Kannada.
►Laxmi Hebbalkar is a 48-year-old MLA from Belagavi rural. She won from the constituency for the second time. She is considered to be close to deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar.
►Rahim Khan, the 57-year-old MLA from Bidar North constituency, was the youth empowerment and sports minister in the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.
►D Sudhakar is a three-time MLA from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district. The 62-year-old Congress legislator had served as minister for social welfare of Karnataka from 2008 to 2009.
►Santosh Lad is an MLA from Kalghatgi constituency in Dharwad district. The 48-year-old holds a BCom and comes from a business family.
►N S Boseraju, a Congress national secretary, is not a member of legislative council or the legislative assembly. He is considered to be close to the Congress high command. His candidature was finalised in the last minute after much deliberation.
►Suresha B S is a two-time MLA who made it to the Karnataka cabinet.
►Madhu Bangarappa is the son of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa. Previously associated with JD(S), the 56-year-old legislator the 2023 Assembly election by defeating his brother Kumar Bangarappa of the BJP from Soraba assembly constituency in Shivamogga district.
►Dr M C Sudhakar is an MLA from Chintamani Assembly constituency in Chikkaballapura district. The 54-year-old legislator made it to the Karnataka Assembly for a third time. He is a dental surgeon.
►B Nagendra is a Congress MLA from Ballari constituency. He is a 'giant killer' who defeated former minister B Sriramulu in the recently concluded Assembly election from Ballari Rural constituency.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
