Deputy CM Shivakumar urges discipline amid Cong MLAs' Delhi visit, seeks report
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Bengaluru (PTI):Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday urged Congress legislators to maintain party discipline amid their visits to New Delhi to lobby for a cabinet reshuffle, cautioning against making public statements that could harm the party’s image.
Addressing reporters here, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, said there was nothing wrong in MLAs meeting the party high command but stressed that the timing and manner of their demands were important.
“Yes, all of them have gone. The Chief Minister has said something, but all of them should maintain discipline. Everyone must maintain party discipline. They must respect the party. They should not sit before the media and damage the party’s name,” Shivakumar said.
He added that everyone’s future lies in the party, not in the media.
"In the media, you may say whatever you want in your own way. So I appeal to all my MLAs that meeting party high command is not wrong, but if unnecessary statements are made, we will have to act.”
Responding to a query on whether MLAs had consulted him before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar said some had approached him and were told there was nothing wrong in aspiring for ministerial positions.
“Some of them came and spoke to me, they asked me. I told them there is nothing wrong in going and asking (for ministerial position); it is not that you should not become ministers, nor that first-timers should not become ministers. First-timers can become ministers, second-timers can also become ministers—it has happened before,” he said.
However, he emphasised that the present moment was not appropriate for such demands.
“So we said there is nothing wrong, but this is not the time.”
The Deputy Chief Minister also indicated that he is awaiting formal inputs before taking any action. “Officially, I have asked for a report with various sections. Let me get the report, then I will act on it,” he said.
The remarks come a day after several senior Congress MLAs travelled to New Delhi to seek a cabinet reshuffle and press for ministerial berths, while first-time legislators have also stepped up their demand for representation.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said there was nothing wrong in aspirant legislators visiting Delhi, adding that the decision on cabinet reshuffle rests with the party high command and may have been delayed due to elections in five states and the Budget session.
The developments assume significance amid ongoing discussions within the ruling Congress over a possible cabinet rejig as the government has crossed the halfway mark of its tenure.
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Two incidents of betting over IPL cricket matches in Mysuru: Five men arrested
Mysuru: Police have arrested five people in two separate cases where betting for the IPL cricket matches was going on, and have confiscated various equipment used by the arrested men for the illegal activity.
In the first case, Hebbal Police arrested two men who were reportedly found betting during the IPL cricket matches, and have confiscated one laptop and three mobile phones from the arrested men.
The arrested men are identified as Pradeep (39) and Praful (21) of Naidu Nagar.
The police team is learned to have conducted the operation on the third floor of a hotel within the Hebbal Police Station limits on getting information of betting over the IPL matches going on. The gamblers allegedly were getting citizens to invest money online and betting illegally on IPL matches over mobile phones and laptops in order to illegally earning money from them.
Pradeep and Praful were taken into custody by the police who have filed a case and are investigating it.
The second incident occurred near the Town Hall on Thursday, May 7, when Devaraja Police arrested three men who were gambling.
The police have arrested Kumar (33) of Mandimohalla, PV Vinod (32) of Ilava and Likhith Kumar (27) of Paduvarahalli.
The three men were reportedly carrying out their criminal activity inside a car parked behind the Town Hall on Thursday, in order to earn money from the IPL tournament through a mobile phone. They were also found to have gotten citizens to invest money online and off-line in the cricket matches.
They were found and arrested by policemen who were on beat in the area near the Town Hall. In addition, one car, Rs 15,900 in cash and three mobile phones were seized from them.
A case has been registered by the Devaraja Police officers, who are investigating the case.
