Bangalore: The four-day old Siddaramaiah ministry in Karnataka will be expanded on Saturday with the induction of 29 ministers, an exercise from which the "tainted" would be kept out. Siddaramaiah, who was sworn in as the Chief Minister on May 13 marking return of Congress to power after a seven-year hiatus, however, ruled out induction of any Deputy Chief Minister.
Twenty-nine ministers will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan, the 64-year-old Chief Minister told reporters in the district headquarters town of Mysore on his return from Delhi where the first list of ministers was finalised in consultation with the party's central leadership. Karnataka Assembly has a strength of 224 and Siddaramaiah can induct up to 33 ministers.
"The swearing-in is at 10:30 am (at Raj Bhavan)," he said, adding, Governor HR Bhardwaj would administer the oath of office. A section within the Congress and freedom fighter HS Doreswamy have strongly pushed the party leadership not to give Cabinet berths to those allegedly involved in illegal mining scam and facing corruption charges.
In this context, party sources suggested that the Lad brothers -- Anil and Santosh -- may not find a berth, as also former Working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) D K Shiva Kumar, who had also staked claim for the Chief Minister's post. Ruling out induction of any scam-tainted person, Siddaramaiah said there would be no one involved in any scandal who will find a place in his ministry....
06:04 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: Some 20 to 25 Ministers are likely to be inducted in the Siddharamiah Ministry in Karnataka on Saturday, Congress sources said on Thursday night. The green signal has been given to the Chief Minister to expand his Ministry and all of them are likely to take oath on Saturday, the sources said. The sources, however, expressed doubt whether any defeated leader will be inducted in the Ministry. KPCC...
11:10 PM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for the issue of an ordinance to pave the way for an elected body of the apex medical regulator. The term of the Medical Council of India's Board of Governors has ended, rendering the apex medical regulator headless. Sources said the Cabinet gave its approval to the note for the draft ordinance in this regard which is likely to be...
09:40 PM, May 16, 2013
New Delhi: Newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be in Delhi on Wednesday and he is scheduled to meet UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Siddaramaiah is expected to hold discussions for the expansion of the state Cabinet. Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara will also accompany the state Chief Minister. A decision on Cabinet ministers is expected in the next two days. It's no secret that intense lobbying is on in...
09:59 AM, May 15, 2013
Islamabad: Nawaz Sharif's PML-N has emerged the single largest party in Pakistan's landmark general elections by bagging 122 of the 272 parliamentary seats that went to the polls on May 11, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The PML-N's two closest rivals the Pakistan People's Party and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf lagged far behind with 31 and 26 seats, respectively. Earlier, trends emerging from the counting of votes had shown...
12:36 PM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, who was due to complete his two-year term in June, got one-year extension. Seth, a 1974 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has assumed the charge of Cabinet Secretary on June 14, 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension of tenure of Seth, the country's top bureaucrat, by one year beyond June 13, 2013, a press...
09:12 AM, May 14, 2013
New Delhi: Days after two Union Ministers were sacked, there were reports of a feud between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. But the Congress on Sunday downplayed that and said that there is no rift. The party has rubbished all reports that the Prime Minister has been isolated. Senior Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi on Sunday reiterated that the resignations of Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar...
02:31 PM, May 12, 2013
New Delhi: Attorney General GE Vahanvati, who was under scanner for trying to influence CBI's coal scam status report, will continue in his position. Government sources on Saturday confirm there will be no action against the top law officer. Meanwhile, sacked Law Minister Ashwani Kumar on Saturday came out in his defence saying he resigned only to avoid any unnecessary controversy claiming that his conscience still remains clear. He also...
06:47 PM, May 11, 2013
Bangalore: With Karnataka Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah all set to install his Cabinet next week, lobbying for ministerial berths has intensified. Siddaramaiah is slated to be sworn in alone by Governor HR Bhardwaj at 11.50 am on Monday at a ceremony at Sri Kanteerava Stadium. Unlike previous occasions when such functions were held in Glass House of Raj Bhavan which restricted participation due to security and space constraints, the venue this...
06:10 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was forced to sack Ashwani Kumar as Law Minister and Pawan Kumar Bansal as Railway Minister, the Congress party has given full credit to party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi for taking action against the tainted ministers. "Congress President and Rahul Gandhi never tolerate corruption and that is why they took the resignation of the two ministers," Congress...
12:06 PM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: After days of sustained pressure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was finally forced to act against his ministers charged with corruption and interference. Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal were both forced to quit on Friday. Both of them called on the Prime Minister on Friday evening and submitted their resignations. While Ashwani Kumar was sacked for interfering in CBI's coalgate probe report, Pawan Bansal...
07:55 AM, May 11, 2013
New Delhi: The Cabinet on Thursday approved amendments in a law for disqualifying MPs for holding an office of profit to exempt the chairpersons of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from its purview, said official sources. The government will introduce a bill in Parliament to bring about the changes, said the sources. According to sources, Section 3 of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, as...
03:46 AM, May 10, 2013
New Delhi: Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal skipped a Cabinet meet at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence on Thursday even as Law Minister Ashwani Kumar attended it. Both Bansal and Ashwani are under fire over the Railway Board bribery case and the coal scam probe respectively. Sources had earlier said that the Congress wanted the PM to decide on Ashwani's fate. Sources said the PM was seriously considering the possibility...
06:12 PM, May 09, 2013
New Delhi: More delay expected in the law to give women an equal share in property after divorce as Union Cabinet failed to clear amendments to the Marriage Act following differences between the Law Ministry and Ministry of Women and Child Development. A Group of Ministers will take up the proposed amendments now. At the Cabinet meet on Wednesday, there were sharp differences between the ministries over the question of...
03:24 PM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday did not take up for consideration the much-anticipated proposal to establish a new mechanism giving a say to the government in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary. The Cabinet was expected to take up the proposal that envisages replacing the present collegium system, under which judges alone decide the appointments to the higher judiciary, in its meeting on Thursday but decided to...
10:43 PM, Apr 18, 2013
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday signed the Criminal Law Amendment Bill which gives India a strong anti-rape law. The Criminal Law Amendment Bill was earlier passed by the two Houses of Parliament. The massive public anger and uproars following the December 16 gangrape of the Delhi braveheart forced the drafting and eventual passing of this new Bill. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013 was moved in the Rajya...
12:58 PM, Apr 03, 2013
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso has named a 15-member cabinet though portfolios are yet to be allocated to the candidates drawn from all four provinces of the country. ...
12:49 PM, Apr 02, 2013
Over 50 lakh Central Government employees and 30 lakh pensioners could get a huge relief on Tuesday as the Union Cabinet is likely to approve a proposal to increase dearness allowance (DA) to 80 per cent from the existing 72 per cent. The increased dearness allowance could be applicable from January 1, 2013. ...
12:10 PM, Apr 02, 2013
Congress on Saturday maintained silence over Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma's renewed attack on outside ally Samajwadi Party, which is hopeful that he will be removed during a minor Cabinet reshuffle being talked about soon. ...
08:48 PM, Mar 30, 2013
The Cabinet Committee on Investments, which was set up in January for clearing major infrastructure projects, is expected to give its nod for a number of projects within the next three weeks, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said. "My hope is that the Cabinet Committee on Investment in the course of next two to three weeks, will demonstrate that a number of (infrastructure) projects can get cleared,"...
01:14 PM, Mar 30, 2013
