Bengaluru, Oct 23: Former Prime Minister H DDeve Gowda and ex-Chief Ministers H D Kumaraswamy andSiddaramaiah welcomed the Delhi HighCourt order on Wednesday granting bail to Congress leader D K Shivakumar in a money laundering case, filed by the Enforcement Directorate.

As the news about Shivakumar getting bail broke, his supporters and Congress workers celebrated by bursting crackers and distributing sweets in Ramanagara, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Kanakapura, Mandya and near his Bengaluru residence.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar has increased common man's trust in country's judicial system. I welcome the court's decision," Gowda tweeted.

Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA, was arrested by the EDon September 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"Getting bail from Delhi high court is happy news," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Bagalkote.

He alleged that Shivakumar was being politically targeted.

"...let them (ED) investigate, but sending to jail duringinvestigation is not right. On proving to be guilty one can besent to jail, but sending while the investigation is still onis not right. Vengeance politics is not right..," he added.

The 57-year-old Shivakumar is under judicial custody and presently lodged in Tihar jail.

Both the Congress and Shivakumar have claimed he was beingtargeted by the BJP-led government at the Centre by "misusing" investigating agencies.

"Delhi High Court granting bail to D K Shivakumar is a matter of happiness. On Monday I had met Shivakumar and tried to boost his courage, and expressed hope about him getting bail," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

The JD(S) leader who met Shivakumar at Tihar jail on Monday had said that the Congress leader was "bold" to fight "vengeance politics".

Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy, both Vokkaliga strong men, have been bitter political opponents in the old Mysuru region,until they came together for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, after 2018 assembly polls.

Shivakumar was a key minister in the Kumaraswamy cabinet and played a major rule in the stability of the coalition government until it collapsed in July, following resignation of several MLAs of the two parties, eventually leading to installation of the BJP government.

His arrest had lead to widespread protests, especially in Ramanagara, Bengaluru rural, Mandya and other parts of old Mysuru region.

It had even taken a caste colour with thousands of people belonging to the Vokkaliga community taking out a rally recently in Bengaluru protesting the arrest and expressing solidarity with him.

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.



Mumbai, Dec 9: The rupee saw its steepest fall in over a month and plunged 20 paise to settle at lowest-ever level of 84.86 against the US dollar on Monday, amid volatile geopolitical situation and muted trend in domestic equities.

Forex traders said the rupee remains in a weakening mode due to dollar demand from importers and foreign banks.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.70 and touched the lowest level of 84.86 against the greenback during intra-day trade. The unit ended the session at its all-time low level of 84.86 against the dollar, registering a sharp fall of 20 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee appreciated by 5 paise to settle at 84.66 against the US dollar.

The rupee's previous lowest closing level was at 84.75 against dollar on December 4, while the steepest fall was recorded on November 6 when it had closed 22 paise down from preceding session.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.09 per cent at 105.96.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged 0.89 per cent to USD 71.75 per barrel in futures trade.

According to analysts, geopolitical uncertainties after rebels ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad pressured the rupee, while investors were also cautious ahead of the Industrial Production (IIP) and CPI data at the domestic macroeconomic front.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday kept its key interest rate unchanged citing inflation risks, but cut the Cash Reserve Ratio that banks are required to park with the central bank, boosting money with lenders to support a slowing economy.

Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said FII activity turned mixed, with bouts of selling observed in Indian capital markets.

He said geopolitical tensions escalated with fresh political turmoil in Syria, where rebels ousted the Bashar Assad's regime, ending a 50-year rule.

"This development has heightened political uncertainty in the Middle East, adding pressure to emerging market currencies, including the rupee," Trivedi said.

Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said rupee ended the day weaker as demand exceeded supplies.

"RBI kept selling US dollars despite the fact that their reserves were slowly depleting. Market now awaits the release of US CPI on December 11 and while it embarks on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on December 18," he added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex closed 200.66 points, or 0.25 per cent lower, at 81,508.46 points. The Nifty fell 58.80 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 24,619.00 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused Rs 724.27 crore in the capital markets on net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, India's forex reserves increased by USD 1.51 billion to USD 658.091 billion for the week ended November 29, the RBI said on Friday.

The overall reserves had dropped by USD 1.31 billion to USD 656.582 billion in the previous reporting week.