Will retire from politics if I have taken money for transfers: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he would retire from politics if it is proved that he has taken bribe for transfer of officials. He termed as 'figment of imagination' JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's allegation that transfer business' was going on in a big way under the Congress-led government in the state.
"I will retire from politics if anyone says that I took money for transfers. I object to the accusations made by Kumaraswamy and Bommai. I never transferred anyone in my department," he said during a discussion in the Assembly on Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's address to the joint session.
Siddaramaiah also said he has asked his cabinet colleagues to ensure that there was no corruption in their departments.
"The accusation of corruption in transfers is a figment of imagination because there is nothing else to speak against my government," the CM said.
He also said Kumaraswamy was levelling charges because the five poll guarantees namely Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyoti, Yuva Nidhi, Shakti and Anna Bhagya have created a sense of political insecurity for the JDS leader.
Siddaramaiah told the House that he has ordered a probe into the illegalities that took place during the BJP government.
However, former CM Basavaraj Bommai demanded investigation into the illegalities since 2013, he added.
"When we say that there was corruption in the previous government, their standard reply is wasn't there corruption in the Congress government?" Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the BJP, which was in power for nearly four months from July 2019 to May 2023 but did not prove any corruption charges against the Congress government headed by him from 2013 to 2018.
"You could not prove that corruption took place during my previous term (as Chief Minister). This shows that no corruption had taken place in our previous government," he said.
During the discussion, the Chief Minister slammed the BJP-led Centre for not allowing the Food Corporation of India to sell rice to Karnataka to implement the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
Condemning the allegation, the BJP legislators raised slogans against the Congress and staged a walkout.
The motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint session was passed in the assembly.
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Decision on next Maharashtra CM to be taken 'in a day or two', says Shinde
New Delhi (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.
Speaking to reporters here before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said the decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be taken "in a day or two" in another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital.
Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Shah and Nadda late Thursday to thrash out a power-sharing pact for the next government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition registered a thumping majority in the Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," the outgoing chief minister said.
Shinde said that he would not be an obstacle in the government formation in the state and abide by the decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah.
"This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he said.
Shinde said the meeting with Shah and Nadda was "good and positive".
"We all discussed the formation of government. There is good coordination between the allies, we are all very positive and we will honour the clear-cut mandate given to us by the people. We will form the government soon," he said.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters early Friday.
The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts".
Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP bagged 41 seats.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback with the grand old party registering one of its worst performances in the Assembly polls as it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.
