Simple majority for Congress in Council with its four nominees winning vacant seats
Bengaluru: The Congress got a simple majority in the Karnataka Legislative Council with the four vacant seats in Council filling officially on Sunday.
The party had nominated Aarathi Krishna, Ramesh Babu, FH Jakkappanavar and Shivakumar K for the seats in the Upper House of the Legislature. The posts were earlier held by UB Venkatesh, Prakash Rathod, KA Thippeswamy and CP Yogeshwar, who was nominated as a member of the BJP but later won the Assembly polls from Channapatna on a Congress ticket.
There had earlier been speculations that Aarathi and Babu would be joined by senior journalist Dinesh Amin Mattu and Dalit leader D G Sagar, however, the Congress, in its nomination, replaced Mattu and Sagar with Jakkappanavar and Shivakumar.
A majority in the Legislature will be crucial for the ruling party to ensure the passage of bills. The Congress faced a setback during the recently concluded monsoon session, when the BJP-JD(S) Opposition voted against the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and defeated the bill.
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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.
