DK Shivakumar urges Centre to confer Bharat Ratna on late Shivakumara Swami
Vijayapura, Feb 3: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday requested the Union government to confer Bharat Ratna posthumously on Siddaganga Mutt seer Shivakumara Swami.
Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress state president, put forth the demand hours after the Centre announced conferring the highest civilian award on former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.
Speaking to the reporters after offering prayers at the Basavanna temple in Basavana Bagewadi, he said, "I welcome Bharat Ratna for Advani, but I urge the Centre to announce the coveted award to Shivakumara Swami. The seer has made an immense contribution to humanity with initiatives like Anna Dasoha (free commensalities)."
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Shivakumar said the state government had written to the Centre in the past to give Bharat Ratna to the seer, but that the decision is left to the Union government.
The deputy chief minister said Shivakumara Swami was called the "Walking God" and was highly revered by the dominant Lingayat community of Karnataka for his charitable works.
The spiritual leader died at the age of 111 in January 2019 in Tumakuru where his Math was located.
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New application filed in SC against Adani group over US indictment
New Delhi: A fresh application has been submitted to the Supreme Court of India, seeking the inclusion of key documents related to the recent US indictment of the Adani Group. Filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, the petition aims to introduce two critical pieces of evidence into an ongoing case related to the Adani Group's financial practices.
The first document is a formal US court indictment accusing Gautam Adani, his relative Sagar Adani, and other company executives of orchestrating a massive bribery scheme to secure solar energy contracts worth billions of dollars in India. The indictment alleges that over $250 million in bribes were paid to Indian government officials to obtain these lucrative contracts.
The second document is a complaint from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accuses the Adani Group of securities fraud. The SEC alleges that Adani executives misled investors to raise funds for these solar projects, despite knowing that part of the capital was linked to corrupt activities.
This development follows the US Attorney's Office's recent charges against the Adani executives, who are accused of masterminding a bribery scheme to secure power supply contracts with state-run utilities in India. The contracts were expected to yield up to $2 billion in profits over two decades.
These charges come amid an ongoing investigation by India's Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) into the Adani Group, after allegations of stock manipulation and market irregularities surfaced, particularly following the release of the Hindenburg Report in early 2023. The new US legal documents could play a crucial role in strengthening the investigation into the Adani Group's business operations.
