BJP govt will complete full term, say Karnataka Ministers
Bengaluru, Sep 3: Amid repeated claims by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the BJP government in Karnataka was short lived, several Ministers on Tuesday asserted that the administration under Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's leadership would complete its full term.
The ministers also expressed confidence about the BJP coming back to power after the next assembly election.
"I want to say- just as the Narendra Modi government completed its five year term in the county and got elected once again,in the same way we will complete the term under Yediyurappa's leadership.
The next government will also be BJP," Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol told reporters.
Continuing to express doubts over the longevity of the BJP government, Siddaramaiah, who is the Congress Legislature Party leader, had recently asked his party workers to prepare for assembly polls.
Housing minister V Somanna said the government would complete its term and get the blessings of the people once again in the next elections under Yediyurappa's leadership.
"Siddaramaiah is an experienced politician. I don't know what his perspective is. As far as I know, this government has three year ten months time.
We will complete the term andfight the election under Yediyurappa's leadership to get the blessings of the people once again," Somanna told reporters.
He said the people of the state did not desire any election soon
As the Yediyurappa-led BJP government completed one month in office recently, Siddaramaiah had claimed that it may last one year at the most.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka hit back at Siddaramaiah, saying he was making such comments as he was unable to digest not being in power.
"He (Siddaramaiah) is unable to digest that his government has gone. He is unable to stay without power. He is saying all this out of his grief over losing power. There is no truth in what he is saying," he said.
Ashoka said Yediyurappa would be Chief Minister for three years and 10 months and honest efforts would be made to give good administration to the people.
Following the collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Yediyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister onJuly 26 and subsequently proved his majority on the floor of the assembly on July 29.
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as CM, Yediyurappa expanded his cabinet on August20 by inducting 17 Ministers, and a week after that allocated portfolios to them.
Both the cabinet expansion and allocation of portfolios thereafter, that saw appointment of three deputy Chief Ministers, had lead to discontent within the BJP.
Siddaramaiah has been repeatedly saying that the BJP government cannot survive for long as it has come to power with the help of 17 Congress-JD(S) disqualified MLAs.
Alleging that 17 of them favoured BJP for the sake of "power", Siddaramaaih has said, "With those who are not committed to a party's principles and programmes, with those who don't have political values if you form a government, how long can it survive?"
The absence of 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs during the trust vote had led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy headed coalition government in July and helped the BJP come to power.
The then assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law, which they have challenged in the Supreme Court.
On getting relief from the apex court, some of them would be inducted into the cabinet as per the arrangement agreed upon, BJP sources have said.
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.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
