Talks with central leadership on cabinet expansion in a week: CM Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Jan 4: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said he will visit New Delhi in a weeks time to discuss with the BJP high command about the much awaited expansion of his cabinet.
Senior BJP leaders, including Yediyurappa, have indicated the cabinet expansion may take place sometime after 'Sankranti' festival (mid January).
In four to six days- I will be going to Delhi, to discuss- one on ministry expansion and also to discuss with (union) ministers of the concerned departments regarding certain grants for the state and get them released, Yediyurappa told reporters in Hassan.
With Yediyurappa making it clear that 11 of the disqualified JDS-Congress MLAs who got re-elected in the December 5 bypolls on BJP tickets will be made ministers, lobbying has been on within the party for the remaining ministerial berths.
Currently there are 18 ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the cabinet that has sanctioned strength is 34.
Yediyurappa said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him to come to Delhi and discuss with central Ministers on certain issues concerning the state, when he raised the matter during the latter's visit to the state.
It is my duty to bring issues concerning the state to the notice of the Prime Minister, I have done it. He has asked me to come to Delhi and discuss with Ministers of the concerned departments, and he will also speak to them, Yediyurappa said.
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Prime organiser of Messi event in Kolkata arrested over ‘mismanagement’ after stadium chaos
Kolkata (PTI): The police on Saturday arrested Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake Stadium here, following widespread chaos at the venue, which prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the stadium unrest, Datta was held by the Bidhannagar Police for “mismanagement” of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad.
"We are looking into whether there was any mismanagement from the organiser's side, which led to the chaos at the stadium. He has been detained, and the police have now brought the situation under control," West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar said at a press conference.
A senior police officer later confirmed that Dutta has been arrested. Till reports last received, the police were interrogating him and his manager inside one of the departure lounges of the airport.
The organiser has given in writing that he will refund the prices of tickets he sold to the disappointed spectators, Kumar said.
What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.
Police said they were also investigating how organisers allowed sale of bottled waters and beverages inside the stadium premises, which are banned items during such events.
Thousands of water bottles were used as missiles and lobbed inside the pitch by angry spectators, who also uprooted bucket seats from the gallery and used them as ammunition inside the field against the defending police and security personnel.
Spectators alleged that water bottles were being sold at a massive premium inside the stadium despite police disallowing such items from outside at the entry gates.
Police agreed there was an underlying tension in the galleries on account of Messi not showing his footballing skills on the field, which only got aggravated after a bunch of VIPs, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and unidentified people, blocked the football icon’s view during the limited time he spent on the ground.
“We are on the job, and will ensure that whoever is responsible for what happened today at Salt Lake Stadium will be punished, and action will be taken against the authorities concerned,” said Jawed Shamim, ADG, Law and Order.
