Give up power if you can't rule, Yeddyurappa tells Cong-JD(S) coalition
Bengaluru, Jun 7: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Friday asked the Congress-JD(S) to give up power if it cannot run the government and asserted that his party would govern in case the coalition collapses and would make sure there is no mid-term polls.
The former chief minister said no one has confidence that the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government would last long.
"Kumaraswamy's son (Nikhil) has asked JD(S) workers to prepare for election. I'm saying that there won't be election at any cost. It has been just a year (since assembly elections). We (BJP) have 105 legislators, if they can, let them govern, if they can't let them give up, we will govern," Yeddyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters at Hubballi, he said, "There is no question of going for fresh elections for any reason. We will not agree to it. We will go to election only after five years. No one has confidence that this government will continue for long, let's wait and see."
Yeddyurappa was reacting to a video doing the rounds on social media in which Nikhil can be heard purportedly asking JD(S)workers to prepare themselves for assembly polls, saying one doesn't know when it would come.
Boasting about BJP's performance in the state in the Lok Sabha polls, Yeddyurappa had last week said, it would be "better" if the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in the state dissolves the assembly and goes for fresh polls.
However, he had subsequently retracted, saying the BJP would wait for the Congress-JD(S) government to collapse on its own due to "infighting".
Buoyed by the party's victory in the Lok Sabha polls, Yeddyurappa Friday began his three-day tour to drought-hit areas of north Karnataka, aimed at cornering the coalition government over its alleged failure in managing the situation.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly hit out at Chief Minister's scheduled 'Grama Vastavaiya' (overnight stay in villages) programme to make the administration more effective, and termed it as "political circus".
"Is there any meaning to CM's Grama Vastvya? Last time (in Kumaraswamy's previous tenure as CM) when he did Grama Vastavaiya he had promised to give Rs 1 crore to villages he visited. but he did not give. What is the situation of those villages today?" he questioned.
"Instead, the CM should visit drought-affected areas, understand the issues there and solve them, other than that staying overnight at village schools and claiming that- I'm doing Grama Vastavaiya. Is it necessary today? He has to question himself. People won't like it. It's a kind of political circus to shift focus of the people from core issues," he said.
Kumaraswamy is scheduled to begin his Grama Vastavaiya from June 21 at Gurmitkal taluk in Yadgir district. The next day, he is scheduled to be at Afzalpur taluk in Kalaburagi district.
On June 28 and 29, he will be at Sindhanur of Raichur and Bidar's Basavakalyana, respectively.
Continuing his party's opposition to the government's decision regarding the sale of 3,667 acres of land to JSW Steel in Ballari at a low price, Yeddyurappa, alleging some kind of foul play in it on part of Kumaraswamy, said the BJP has planned massive protests against it on June 13, 14 and 15.
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Karnataka govt to strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy, after HC directive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has said that the government will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy across all sectors at the earliest, following the High Court directive.
The High Court of Karnataka had recently directed the state government to "strictly and faithfully" implement the menstrual leave policy, pending formal enactment of the proposed legislation.
"I welcome the directive issued by the Karnataka High Court in support of our state government's ambitious menstrual leave policy," Lad said.
The state government has taken firm steps to implement the menstrual leave policy comprehensively, and as a model to the country, he said in a post on 'X' on Thursday.
"In line with the court's opinion that menstrual leave is a matter of women's dignity, justice, and humane recognition of their lived realities, we will strictly implement the paid menstrual leave policy--equivalent to one day per month, or 12 days per year--across all sectors at the earliest," he added.
The court had said that in the interregnum, it shall be incumbent upon the state to ensure effective operationalisation of the policy through the issuance of suitable guidelines, circulars, and administrative instructions, as may be necessary to secure its uniform, consistent, and rigorous implementation across all sectors.
The court issued the directive while hearing on a petition filed by 41-year-old Chandravva Hanumant Gokavi, who works in a hotel in Mudalgi of Gokak taluk in Belagavi district, before the Dharwad bench, seeking implementation of the November 20, 2025, order of the government providing one-day menstrual leave for all working women.
