Correspondence from govt to Guv only after Cabinet consent, govt tells CS, Secretaries
Bengaluru, Sep 26: Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday directed the Chief Secretary and the Secretaries that any correspondence from the government to the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot as sought by the latter, should be sent only after its consent.
"The Governor is repeatedly writing letters (to govt), in what seems to be a behaviour of impatience, seeking information with an instruction that they be sent immediately. After verifying all the rules the Cabinet has directed the Chief Secretary and Secretaries to place it before the Cabinet and to proceed further as per the decision of the cabinet, while sending any information to the Governor," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said it used to be routinely sent by the Chief Secretary earlier, but here on any correspondence between the government and the Governor on any of his queries, will be sent only after the Cabinet takes decision on it.
Citing the Governor's recent letter to the government, wanting to know how certain "confidential material" between Raj Bhavan and Lokayukta was leaked, the Minister said, "where were those papers and how they were leaked, it is for the Governor now to give permission for probe and pinpoint who are the people concerned in the Raj Bhavan itself."
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Alleging that the concerned documents were at the Raj Bhavan for months in violation of law, but the blame was put on the government, he said, "Day in and day out it is being told that the government is leaking the information, is the government responsible for the leakage of the information, for which the Governor is attacking the government (that it) has irresponsibly done it...?"
The Governor had written to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh August 28, expressing "perplexity", as to how the government came to know about the "confidential material" relating to Lokayukta's request to him seeking prosecution or investigation sanction against some opposition leaders.
In the letter to the Chief Secretary, the Governor had sought a prompt and early reply along with Cabinet note/supporting documents and the source of documents/ information in this regard.
An inquiry was conducted following the Governor's letter, Patil said, adding, on September six, the Director General of Police wrote a letter to the Raj Bhavan enclosing the report received from the in-charge Inspector General of Police, Special Investigation Team, Karnataka Lokayukta, for further necessary action and appropriate decision.
As per the report by the IG, SIT Lokayukta, he said, "the proposal and related documents (seeking sanction for prosecution against a few opposition leaders) were in Raj Bhavan secretariat from November 24, 2023 to August 8, 2024, for about ten months, which is in violation of Section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates that the decision regarding prosecution must be taken within a period of four months by the competent authority."
The documents were in possession of the Raj Bhavan Secretariat when reports regarding it appeared in the media, Patil, reading from the IG's letter, said: "....in order to unearth the point of leakage, it is necessary to probe the custody of documents in Raj Bhavan Secretariat in eight months...."
The letter by the IG then notes that the letter of the Special Secretary to the Governor (seeking certain clarification from Lokayukta) written on July 29, 2024 along with documents was received in SIT office on August 8 and it took ten days to reach SIT office in Bengaluru from Raj Bhavan Secretariat.
The possession and the custody of the documents during this period needs to be clarified, the IG in his letter has further said, adding, "the events from the creation of the letter on July 29 by the Special Secretary to the receipt of documents in the SIT office on August 8 needs to be probed into, to identify the point of leakage."
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Rupee rises 10 paise to 92.41/USD; faces risks from rising global tensions
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 10 paise to 92.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, even as the USD/INR pair faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the US-Iran conflict.
Forex traders said the rupee is likely to see high volatility intra-day as the deadline for RBI's instructions to banks to curb their overnight positions to USD 100 million closes today.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.58 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.41 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 10 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled with a marginal gain of 3 paise at 92.51 against the US dollar.
"An estimated 80–85 per cent of these positions have already been unwound, which means the bulk of this supportive flow is now behind us. In simple terms, the cushion that held the rupee steady is beginning to thin, and this is where the story starts to shift," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
Pabari further noted that looking ahead, the picture for the rupee appears to be changing. "With most of the NOP-related support now fading and global uncertainties still elevated, the scope for further strength seems limited. USDINR is likely to find a base in the 92.20–92.50 zone, with a gradual move higher towards 93.50–94.00 levels," he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was higher by 0.07 per cent at 98.69 as the safe-haven demand has come down after the ceasefire, but as the ceasefire is fragile, the US dollar is getting bids at lower levels.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.51 per cent at USD 96.44 per barrel in futures trade, as the ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz opening is keeping the oil trade well bid.
Pabari further noted that just as domestic support begins to fade, the global backdrop is turning uneasy again. "The World Bank has flagged that India's growth for FY27, expected at 6.6 per cent, faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the Iran conflict," he said.
According to Pabari, India continues to have strong buffers in the form of forex reserves and a stable banking system, but pressure points are slowly beginning to build.
On the domestic equity market front, the stock markets witnessed a rebound in early trade. The 30-share Sensex jumped 630.08 points to 77,261.73, while the Nifty climbed 203.6 points to 23,978.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
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