Karnataka cabinet expanded; 8 Congress ministers inducted
Bengaluru, Dec 22: Karnataka Chief Minister H.D Kumaraswamy Saturday expanded his six-month old cabinet, inducting eight members from its coalition partner Congress.
Two ministers Ramesh Jarkiholi (Municipal Administration) and R Shankar (Forest and Environment) were dropped.
The new ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy at the Glass House at Raj Bhavan by Governor Vajubhai Vala amid tight security.
The new inductees are Satish Jarkiholi, M B Patil, C S Shivalli, M T B Nagaraj, E Tukaram, P T Parameshwar Naik, Rahim Khan and R B Thimmapur, with seven of them hailing from north Karnataka.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had given the go-ahead for the rejig Friday night after the state party leaders and AICC in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal met him and discussed the issue.
Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has allegedly been hobnobbing with BJP leaders and not attending cabinet and party meetings, has been replaced by his brother Satish Jarkiholi.
Shankar is an Independent lawmaker who faced the axe over his reported reluctance to be an associate member of the Congress.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
