50,000 cr package: OppnBengaluru,May 8 () Demanding that COVID-19 be declareda national disaster, opposition parties in Karnataka on Fridayasked the state government to pressurise the Centre to provideit a Rs 50,000 crore pecial economic package to help those indistress due to the lockdown induced by the pandemic.Raising questions about the Centre not giving Karnataka'sshare of PM CARES fund, leader of the opposition in theassembly, Siddaramaiah, urged the state to seek central aid totake steps aimed at increasing people's purchasing powerA delegation of leaders of opposition parties and farmersorganisations, headed by Siddaramaiah, met Chief Minister B SYediyurappa to discuss about COVID-19 and effect of thelockdown on the working class and also measures that can betaken to mitigate their distress. Stating that people from various strata of society had methim and shared their concerns and it was his duty as the LoPto bring it to the government's notice, he said the situationwould not have deteriorated had the centre taken adequateprecautionary measures before enforcing the lockdown.He said the government should have stopped flightservices much before and facilities should have been providedfor migrant workers."Corona should be declared as national disaster... thereis over Rs 35,000 crore money in PM Cares.. not even a paisehas come to the state. At least the Center should have givenus the money that had gone from the state," he was quoted assaying in a release by his office.With no money, people will not have purchasing power,without which there will not be a demand in the market,Siddaramaiah said.He quoted experts as having said that when there ispurchasing power, financial activities will increase andkeeping this in mind state should seek for central assistance.Welcoming the Rs 1,610 crore relief package announced bythe Chief Minister for those in distress due to the lockdown,he said several needy people have been kept out of its ambit.He said the one time compensation of Rs 5,000 eachannounced for thousands of washermen, barbers, auto rickshawand taxi drivers was inadequate and that the government shouldinstead give them Rs 2000 per month until the lockdown ends.Siddaramaiah also asked the state government to spendmoney available in various organisations for those affected. Advising the government to conduct more corona tests,Siddaramaiah asked it to ensure that Personal ProtectiveEquipment and testing kits are available at all districts.He also asked the administration to take allprecautionary preventive measures as expert doctors havepredicted that infections may increase in June and July.Demanding incentives for ASHA (Accredited Social HealthActivist) workers, the former Chief Minister said a scientificsurvey has to be done on losses to flower, fruit and vegetablegrowers and compensation given accordingly.People belonging to sections like goldsmiths, carpenters,cobblers, tailors and iron smiths should be considered underthe package, he added.The government on Wednesday had announced announced Rs1,610 crore relief package for the benefit of those indistress due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.The measures announced by the Chief Minister B SYediyurappa include compensation of Rs 5,000 each to thousandsof washermen, barbers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, whosedaily lives have been affected.It also aims at providing relief to farmers, Rs 25,000/hacompensation for affected flower-growers, certain relaxationin electricity bills for MSMEs and large industries, depositRs 2,000 directly to the bank account of the handloom weaver,and Rs 3,000 to building workers through DBT.The delegation also submitted a charter of demands to theCM, that includes demand for Rs 50,000 crore special economicpackage from the centre and various steps, including financialassistance or compensation aimed at mitigating trouble facedby those in distress due to the lockdown.Later the Chief Minister's Office in a statement claimedthat leaders of opposition parties complimented the stepstaken by the government to control COVID-19 and extended fullcooperation.The Chief Minister listed out steps taken by thegovernment, including announcing of Rs 1,610 crore reliefpackage and assured the opposition that sections left out ofthe package will be consider in future, it added. KSU APRRAVINDRANATH APRRAVINDRANATH

Urge centre to declare COVID-19 national disaster, demand Rs

<ul><li>Bengaluru South Member of <keyword id="9745774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament-tejasvi-surya">Parliament Tejasvi Surya</keyword> on Wednesday advised Karnataka Chief Minister <keyword id="1555094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="b-s-yediyurappa">B.S. Yediyurappa</keyword> to go the <keyword id="9745772" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="yogi-adityanath-way">Yogi Adityanath way</keyword> in confiscating the rioters' properties to compensate for the loss to public property.</li><li>In the wake of the riots, arson and vandalism by some people on Tuesday night, he added that Bengaluru is known for its peaceful atmosphere. </li><li>He criticized former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao over his statement on the riots. </li></ul> Bengaluru South Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday advised Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to go the <keyword id="43254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yogi-Adityanath">Yogi Adityanath</keyword> way in confiscating the rioters' properties to compensate for the loss to public property. "I request Yediyurappa to confiscate and attach the properties of the rioters and compensate the losses to public property in the same way as the Adityanath government did in Uttar Pradesh," the BJP MP said. In the wake of the riots, arson and vandalism by some people on Tuesday night, he added that Bengaluru is known for its peaceful atmosphere. "Bengaluru is known for its peace and harmonious society. We must protect this strength of our city at all costs," said Surya. The young parliamentarian attacked a couple of state Congress politicians for their statements. He criticized former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao over his statement on the riots. "Look at how Miya Gundu Rao is cleverly blaming the victims and sparing the perpetrators. Your stunning silence in not condemning Muslim rioters exposes how your party is completely complicit with Jihadi elements," said Surya. Rao alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary B. L. Santosh was using the Bengaluru riots to gain political mileage. Rao said, "His (Santosh's) statement is a crude attempt to communalise the issue, aimed at dividing on caste lines. Pathetic and deplorable. That's what BJP and RSS do best, play politics with dead bodies." Surya did not spare former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah either. Siddaramaiah condemned both the violent riots at Kaval Byrsandra and also the social media post which triggered the riot. He requested both the communities to stay calm and maintain peace. Reacting to the statement from Siddaramaiah, Surya said, "This is the classic spin of secularists -- to falsely equate two disproportionate events. By doing so, they try to exonerate perpetrators of violence, justify their acts as warranted and most importantly, blame alleged instigators for the mishap. The script has gotten stale, Sir". Three people died in police firing, 60 policemen were injured and several vehicles were set ablaze in Bengaluru on Tuesday night after Congress MLA Akanda <keyword id="9745773" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="srinivas-murthya">Srinivas Murthya</keyword>'s nephew Naveen posted a derogatory message on social media. He has since been arrested. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/trump-was-rushed-from-the-briefing-room-by-secret-service-after-a-shooting-outside-of-the-white-house/articleshow/77474005.cms">Trump was rushed from the briefing room by Secret Service after a shooting outside the White House</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/mckinsey-facebook-amazon-nokia-and-some-other-companies-looking-for-a-product-manager-right-now/slidelist/77464438.cms">McKinsey, Facebook, Amazon, Nokia — and some other companies looking for a product manager right now</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/how-karan-bajaj-sold-his-less-than-18-month-old-startup-white-hat-jr-to-byjus/articleshow/77415329.cms">A WhatsApp message, six weeks of talks and a $300 million deal – how Karan Bajaj sold his less than 18-month old startup White Hat Jr to Byju’s</a>

Detain Bengaluru rioters' properties like Yogi Adityanath did, suggests Tejasvi Surya

(Eds: With K'taka leaders' reax) New Delhi, Mar 8 () Former Union law minister and Congress veteran <keyword id="71054" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hansraj-Bhardwaj">Hansraj Bhardwaj</keyword> died after a cardiac arrest at a hospital here on Sunday evening. He was 83. Bhardwaj breathed his last around 6.30 pm at Max Hospital, Saket, where he was admitted since Wednesday due to kidney-related ailments, his family told . The cremation will take place at <keyword id="8885939" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="nighambodh">Nighambodh</keyword> Ghat on Monday at 4 pm, his son Arun Bhardwaj said. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. Bhardwaj celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary on February 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP leader and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury condoled Bhardwaj's death. "Anguished by the passing away of former minister Shri Hans Raj Bhardwaj," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi. "My thoughts are with his family and well-wishers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti," the tweet said. Prasad recalled his association with Bhardwaj in Parliament. "Deeply condole the sad demise of Shri Hansraj Bhardwaj who for long years served as the Law Minister of India. We were together in the Parliament. May his soul Rest In Peace," Prasad posted on Twitter. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury remembered the leader as an "encyclopedia" on the Indian judicial system. "Sad news about Shri Hans Raj Bhardwaj ji's demise. Worked with him as an MP when he was a minister &amp; shared the urge to safeguard our constitutional values. He was an encyclopedia on the Indian judicial system. Will miss him," Yechury said in a tweet. Born in Garhi Sampla village in Rohtak district of Haryana, Bhardwaj was a Rajya Sabha member for five terms from April 1982 to June 2009. He was the law minister for 14 years and served under the prime ministership of Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and <keyword id="6359397" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="manmohan-singh">Manmohan Singh</keyword>. During his stint as the governor of Karnataka between 2009 and 2014, he sternly dealt with the mining mafia active in the state. It was during Bhardwaj's tenure as law minister that Bofors-accused <keyword id="54989" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ottavio-Quattrocchi">Ottavio Quattrocchi</keyword> was given a clean chit by then UPA government in 2009. Sources said he fell out with Congress party leadership after he became the governor and criticised it. Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and opposition leader in the assembly Siddaramaiah also mourned the demise of Bhardwaj. "In his death we lost a good legal expert and administrator. May his soul rest in peace and may God give strength to his family to bear the loss," Yediyurappa said in a condolence message. A tussle between Bhardwaj and Yediyurappa over mining and land scams drew everyone's attention during his second stint as chief minister. Gowda said Bhardwaj will always be remembered for his exceptional service to the nation, while Siddaramaiah recalled him as as a tough man against immoral practices during power struggle. "His contribution to Karnataka during his tenure shall always be remembered. He was tough against immoral practices of power struggle. My deepest condolences to his family members &amp; well-wishers," Siddaramaiah tweeted. Bhardwaj held a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) degree and did his schooling from GBC High School, Rohtak, and college in BM College, Shimla. He also studied at Agra University and <keyword id="49466" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Panjab-University">Panjab University</keyword>.

Congress veteran and former law minister Hansraj Bharadwaj passes away at 83

Bengaluru, May 11 () Amid pressure fromthe opposition to seek a special COVID-19 economic packagefrom the Centre, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa onMonday said he will discuss all issues with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and put forth the state's stand. "As Chief Minister of the state, I would clearlystate our stand and suggest what needs to be done to the PrimeMinister during the meeting," Yediyurappa told reporters here. Asked whether he will seek any package, he merelysaid, "I will discuss about everything."With the focus on boosting economic activities amid agraded exit from the coronavirus-induced lockdown, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers ofvarious states via video conference later on Monday. This will be his fifth interaction with the chiefministers after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in thecountry. Demanding that COVID-19 be declared a nationaldisaster, a delegation of opposition parties led by leader ofopposition Siddaramaiah that met Yediyurappa on Friday hadasked the state government to pressurise the Centre to provideit a Rs 50,000 crore special economic package to help those indistress due to the lockdown induced by the pandemic. Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy too on Mondayasked Yediyurappa to urge Modi to announce 'COVID package'for the state. He said people, industrialists and parliamentarianshave generously contributed towards PM Cares fund for thefight against the coronavirus and Yediyurappa should remindModi about lack of financial assistance from the centre toface COVID-19. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss withChief Ministers of various states regarding coronaviruscontrol and lockdown. In this meeting state CM B S Yediyurappa will also bepresent...he should urge Modi to give special COVID packagefor the state," Kumaraswamy tweeted. Sating that the numbers reflect that COVID-19 isincreasing in the state, Kumaraswamy said along withtightening medical measures, financial compensation need to begiven to those who have faced losses. "A big state like Karnataka that contributes hugelyto the centre by collecting taxes, should get package," hesaid. During the meeting along with COVID package,Yediyurappa should also ask about GST amount,drought and floodrelief amount that are pending, he said.Due to lockdown the state is facing financialdistress and if there is no adequate assistance from thecentre, controlling COVID-19 will be difficult,the JDS leaderadded. KSU BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

CM to discuss COVID issues in Karnataka with PM, as opposition seeks spl package

<ul><li><keyword id="233883" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bommai">Bommai</keyword>, 60, is the latest among the state ministers to be infected by the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> though all of them have been asymptomatic and most of them have recovered.</li><li>In a tweet in Kannada earlier, Bommai said the infection was confirmed in the Covid test conducted yesterday (Tuesday) for a working boy in his house.</li></ul> Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai tested positive for Covid-19 and is in home isolation as he is asymptomatic, an official said on Wednesday. "Bommai tested positive for the virus. As it is asymptomatic, he is under home quarantine in the city," one of his staff told IANS here. In a tweet in Kannada earlier, Bommai said the infection was confirmed in the Covid test conducted yesterday (Tuesday) for a working boy in his house. "In this backdrop, I have also been tested and I have been infected. I am isolated at home though no symptoms and am healthy," said Bommai in Kannada. Bommai, 60, is the latest among the state ministers to be infected by the coronavirus though all of them have been asymptomatic and most of them have recovered. Ahead of the monsoon session of the state legislature from September 21, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj tested Covid positive and was admitted to a private hospital in the city on Tuesday. Basavaraj, 56, is the ruling BJP's legislator from the K.R. Puram Assembly segment in the city's eastern suburb. State Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan also tested positive for the corona virus on September 9 at Bidar in the state's northern region. Early this month, state Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar tested positive on September 5 and has been in home quarantine for treatment at Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district in the state's northwest coastal region. Besides state Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa, half-a-dozen ministers, including B.R. Sriramulu (Health), C.T. Ravi (Tourism), <keyword id="2478692" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shashikala-jolle">Shashikala Jolle</keyword> (Women and Child Development), K.S. Eshwarappa (Rural Development), Anand Singh (Forests &amp; Environment) and S.T. Somashekar (Cooperation) tested for the virus and were discharged after they recovered over the last one month. Opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah, his party's state unit president D.K. Shivakumar and scores of lawmakers of the BJP, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular were affected by the virus and recovered after treatment since July. With so many ministers and legislators getting infected, Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Kageri Hegde on September 8 directed all the MLAs to undergo RT-PCR test in their respective constituencies on September 18 before the 8-day monsoon session from September 21 at Vidhana Soudha in the city centre. "Only those who test negative will be allowed to attend the session. The legislators should carry a certificate from a state-run hospital showing they tested negative for the virus when they enter the Assembly," said Kageri. The state legislature has made elaborate arrangements for the session in compliance with the standard operating procedure of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Covid-induced guidelines of the Union Health Ministry to prevent the pandemic spread. Wearing of a mask, washing hands with sanitizers and maintaining social distancing will be mandatory for all the legislative members. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/no-infiltration-along-china-india-border-in-last-six-months-says-union-minister-nityanad-rai/articleshow/78144115.cms">No infiltration along India-China border in last six months, says Union Minister Nityanad Rai</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/punjab-cm-asks-farmers-to-not-block-roads-says-firs-filed-against-them-will-be-withdrawn/articleshow/78144098.cms">Punjab CM asks farmers to not block roads, says FIRs filed against them will be withdrawn</a>

Karnataka Home Minister Bommai tests Covid positive

(Eds: Updates, combines related stories)Bengaluru, May 8 () Karnataka recorded its biggestever single-day spike of 48 new COVID-19 cases, including aninfant, taking its total to 753 on Friday but the stategovernment ruled out any link between the surge and relaxationin lockdown curbs.The number of active cases stood at 346 with all butfive of them were in isolation at designated hospitals and instable condition. The five were undergoing treatment in theintensive care unit, a health department bulleting said."As of 5 PM on May 8, cumulatively 753 COVID-19 positivecases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 30 deathsand 376 discharges," it said.Ten people, who have recovered, were discharged onFriday. "Not a good day as far as numbers are concerned, todaybeing the day with highest number of positives," MinisterSuresh Kumar, who is government spokesperson for COVID-19related developments, told reporters.However, ruling out any connection between spike in casesand relaxation in lockdown, he said fresh cases were comingfrom place and source where patients have already testedpositive. "...As of today we cannot find connection between lockdownand spike in cases, but it is definitely a caution that ifquarantine measures are not followed properly, it will add tothe tally," he said.The 48 new cases include 14 from Davangere, 12 fromBhatkal in Uttara Kannada, 11 from Belagavi, seven fromBengaluru Urban, three from Chitradurga and one from Ballari.At least 12 of them are children (below 18 years)including a five-month old girl.Barring seven, including three with travel history toAhmedabad, all others are contacts of patients already testedpositive.On the cost per patient for treatment, the Minister saidaccording to a rough calculation shared by the BangaloreMedical College Rs 4.74 crore had been spent as of date whichincluded capital expenditure of Rs 1.40 crore for purchase ofequipment and construction of COVID-19 wards.As the hospital treated 136 patients, it worked out theaverage cost at Rs 3.49 lakh, he said adding similar reportshad been received from other COVID-19 hospitals also.Bengaluru Urban with 168 cases continued to account formaximum number of coronavirus infections, followed by Mysuru(88) and Belagavi (83).A total of 98,081 samples, including 4,546 on Friday,had been tested so far. Of them, 92,237 samples have reportednegative with 4,481 on Friday.Noting that it has come to government's notice that insome COVID-19 hospitals senior specialists, specialists andteaching faculties were not attending infected patients, Kumarsaid instructions had been given for preparing a duty rosterand ensure they too took up the work on a rotation basis.The Health department has issued a circular on makingfree lab services to the public under the National FreeDiagnostic Services at all government health facilities.Services which are not available in government labs canbe taken from identified private labs, with appropriateprocedures and payment approved by department in respectivedistricts, it said.Meanwhile, demanding that the COVID-19 be declared asnational disaster, opposition parties in the state on Fridayasked the government to bring pressure on the Centre toprovide it Rs 50,000 crore special economic package to helpthose in distress due to lockdown induced by the pandemic.Accusing the central government of not giving the state'sshare of PM CARES fund, a delegation led by Leader of theopposition in the assembly Siddaramaiah met Chief Minister B SYediyurappa and urged him to seek central assistance to takemeasures aimed at increasing the purchasing power of thepeople. KSUVS VS

Record single-day spike of 48 COVID-19 cases takes Karnataka's tally to 753

Bengaluru, Sep 10 (IANS) As fate would have it, both sizzling actresses Sanjana Galrani and Ragini Dwivedi who are big names in the Malayalam and Kannada film industries started off as models in Bengaluru fashion circles around the same time and have ended up being accused in an alleged drug supply case unearthed by the Bengaluru police last week. Besides this, they have also come under the political glare, thanks to hobnobbing with politicos during poll campaigns and in happier times. Dwivedi campaigning for K. R. Pete BJP candidate Narayan Gowda became a target for the Congress party in the state to criticise the ruling BJP. Now the cine actresses have become pawns in the hands of political parties to settle scores against each other. The BJP too has released pics of Sanjana sharing a hearty laugh with Leader of the Opposition, Siddaramaiah, on its Twitter handle to drive home the point that the tainted actress too has links in the Congress. Coming out openly about Dwivedi campaigning for him, Municipal Administration Minister Narayan Gowda told reporters that Dwivedi campaigned for every political party and not just for him. "She did campaign for me, but I know nothing about other relations. She is a noted star, I called her to campaign for me, like she did it for others. Apart from this, I do not know anything about her nor have I met her thereafter." Speaking about this on the condition of anonymity to IANS, a senior leader from the BJP quipped that be it Dwivedi or Sanjana they have closer links with Congress and JD(S) party leaders than the BJP. "Narayan Gowda, for whom Dwivedi campaigned, is not an original BJP leader. He joined after resigning from JD(S). Therefore, it is clear that Congress and JD(S) both share close relations with film actors, more than the BJP does," the source remarked. Even during her modelling days, Ragini Dwivedi seemed to enjoy an edge over Sanjana in Bengaluru fashion circles. Dwivedi was groomed by none other than Karnataka's very own Fashion Guru, Prasada Biddappa, while Sanjana was a part-time model who went on to bag high-profile assignments like Fastrac model with Bengaluru's fashion icon John Abraham. Both these actresses have come under severe criticism for their alleged link-up in a drug mafia case unearthed by the Bengaluru police last week. As per Wikipedia, Sanjana is a Limca record book holder for cycling 104 hours continuously along with other cyclists, while Dwivedi has not lost a single opportunity to align with causes like spreading awareness about animals, participating in distribution of masks during COVID-19, building nests for birds campaign, she has always remained the hot choice for organisers. During the pandemic, Dwivedi did everything from providing food to the poor, helping migrant workers, distributing masks and helping her film fraternity. Dwivedi made her debut in the Kannada film Veera Madakari, starring opposite Kannada superstar, Kiccha Sudeep, while Sanjana debuted in Tamil cinema. Although Sanjana has acted in a number of Kannada movies, she could not achieve the desired results here but she has tasted a fair amount of success in Malayalam movies, as she has starred opposite Malayalam superstars like Mohanlal,, Mammooty and Suresh Gopi. She is a sought after actress in the Malayalam rather than the Kannada industry. In the case of Dwivedi, Sandalwood embraced her with open arms as her debut film Veera Madakari was a hit. Subsequently she again paired with Kichha Sudeep in Kempe Gowda which gave her a firm footing in the Kannada industry. She also paired opposite several Kannada biggies like Upendra and others. In the span of 10 years, she has acted in 25 Kannada movies and she is considered to be a glamour star. Prior to Veera Madakari, she was a super model on the Bengaluru fashion circuit as she was doing a number of shows with Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani and Manish Malhotra. Dwivedi also acted in Malayalam movie Kandahar in which she was paired with Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan. --IANS nbh/bg

Modelling, films and drug charges -- thread that binds Ragini and Sanjana

<ul><li>Governor Vajubhai Vala has given fresh deadline till 6 pm for HDK to prove majority. </li><li>Karnataka assembly has resumed after it was adjourned till 3 pm. </li><li>BJP President says that the trust vote might not be held today. </li><li>Karnataka legislative assembly is continuously being adjourned amid BJP’s demand for trust vote. </li><li>Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy said that he will move to the Supreme Court against the Governor’s order. </li></ul>The governor of Karnataka gave a fresh deadline to the ruling government to prove it majority by 6 pm. The CM H D Kumaraswamy has been exhaustively delaying the process, hanging on to power. BJP President Siddaramaiah had earlier said that the trust vote probably won’t be held today. The assembly has resumed after it was adjourned till 3 pm, with no progress on the much awaited trust vote. Kumaraswamy said today that he will move to the Supreme Court against the vote. Governor Vala had earlier directed the Speaker to hold the trust vote by 1:30 pm today. Also, the Congress state President was seen heading to the Supreme Court, possibly delaying it further. Kumaraswamy said, “It (trust vote) is crucial and cannot be completed by 1:30 pm. This needs to be discussed.” The opposition, BJP, has been alleging that the ruling party is delaying it, as it does not have the requisite majority. They had also staged an overnight protest by ‘sleeping’ in the Assembly. Governor is interfering: Cong JD(S) spokesman Ramesh Babu said that the CM’s counsel will move the Supreme Court today for a stay on the Governor's Thursday’s order asking him to prove majority by the deadline. “The Governor is interfering in the workings of the Legislative Assembly, which is the domain of the Speaker under the provisions of the Constitution,” Babu said. Congress-JD(S) alliance is to petition on the basis that CM Kumaraswamy had moved the confidence motion in the house on Thursday and the debate had started and so setting a deadline should be stayed by the court. In the meanwhile, one of the Congress MLAs Shreemant Patil is admitted in a hospital in Mumbai, after he complained of chest pains. Yesterday, Congress alleged that BJP has kidnapped them. Delayed Trust The trust vote which was supposed to happen yesterday, was relentlessly delayed by the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition which might be facing an end of its run. Kumaraswamy will have to prove that his government has majority to carry on, as MLAs have been leaving his fold. BJP party members had staged an overnight dharna or protest over the delay of trust vote. Accusations, speeches and allegations between both Congress and BJP managed to delay the vote, yesterday. Finally, the state’s Governor wrote a letter to CM Kumaraswamy regarding the trust vote after senior BJP MLAs met him at the Raj Bhawan. The case of a kidnapped legislator Yesterday, the Speaker had refused to conduct the trust vote amid allegations by the Congress against the BJP for kidnapping its MLA Shreemant Patil, who had decided to take his resignation back. Speaker Ramesh Kumar had asked home minister MB Patil to give a detailed report of Shreemant after talking to his family. The Speaker said that he had received a letter in this regard named in Patil’s name, saying he would abstain from coming to the house due to health related issues. However, the Speaker asked the present Home Minister of Karnataka, MB Patil to contact Shreemath Pati’s family and give a detailed report by tomorrow. “What kind of a Speaker would I be if I proceed with a document which has no date or letterhead,” said K R Ramesh Kumar. The house was disrupted throughout the day on the issue of trust vote and when it was finally adjourned till today, BJP announced a night long strike in the assembly itself till the voting was not done. “We are demanding voting on the motion but the chief minister is reluctant to take it up as he has confirmed himself that he has lost confidence of the House and the people. Everybody knows Congress-JD(S) coalition has only 98 MLAs, we have 105,” said B S Yeddyurappa, BJP party president. Crisis mode The Karnataka state government went into a crisis mode earlier this month, after 16 of its MLAs from both the parties of the coalition government resigned. For the last two weeks, the political crisis in the state raged on, as Speaker of the Assembly refused to accept them, taking them to court. One of the rebel MLAs, Roshan Baig was also detained at Bengaluru airport and questioned, as he was stopped from taking a chartered flight, a few days back.

Karnataka Governor sets another deadline at 6 pm for Kumaraswamy to prove majority

BANGALORE: In a major relief to Karnataka <keyword id="5269" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chief-Minister">chief minister</keyword> Siddaramaiah, who is facing dissension within the party, the ruling <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword> is all set to win two of the three assembly byelections by establishing a huge lead against rival BJP candidates for which counting is on. 
 Byelections were held to <keyword id="2470630" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bellary-Rural">Bellary Rural</keyword>, Shikaripur in Shimoga and Chikkodi-Sadalga in Belgaum districts on August 21. Congress candidate N Y Gopalakrishna was ahead with 25,736 votes in the 12th round of counting over his BJP rival Obalesh in Bellary Rural, while the Congress is set to retain Chikkodi-Sadalga and former chief <keyword id="6356245" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="minister">minister</keyword> B S Yeddyurappa once again establishing his hold over Shikaripur with his son B Y Raghavendra leading in all rounds. The vacancies were caused by sitting MLAs B Sriramulu (Bellary Rural), Yeddyurappa (Shikaripur) and former minister Prakash B Hukkeri (Chikkodi-Saldalga) getting elected to the <keyword id="6355187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword>. 
 
Among the three constituencies, Siddaramaiah had taken Bellary Rural seriously and deputed energy minister D K Shivakumar to oversee the campaigning there. Aware that Shikaripur constituency was a difficult challenge to take on as Yeddyurappa has made it an impregnable fortress over the years, the Congress concentrated all its resources and mind share in Bellary Rural with Chikkodi-Sadalga seen as a cakewalk for the party. 
 
The victories in Bellary Rural and Chikkodi-Sadalga are expected to give an upper hand to Siddaramaiah, who is scheduled to expand his cabinet by filling four vacancies, besides getting his men to head the boards and corporations to be reconstituted in the next couple of days. The CM is under pressure from senior Congressmen seeking a berth in the cabinet along with KPCC president G Parameshwara eyeing the deputy CM's post. 
 Bellary has political significance for the state Congress as AICC president <keyword id="689" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sonia-Gandhi">Sonia Gandhi</keyword> won the Bellary Lok Sabha seat in 1999, which she gave up to retain Rai Bareli. The district had been the Congress stronghold until 2004, when the Reddy brothers gained control of it. 
 
Victory in Bellary Rural, one of the eight assembly constituencies in the district, is no small gain for the Congress, which is a divided house here. In this faction-ridden district unit, Shivakumar known for his organizing capabilities was put in charge to wrest the seat. 
 
BJP had been banking on Sriramulu to retain the seat and had also given in to his wish to field close aide and former government employee Obalesh. His sister J Shantha had decided not to recontest the Bellary Lok Sabha seat and and was hoping to bag the Bellary Rural ticket. The JD(S) did not field any candidate in these bypolls, instead it chose to support the Congress in Shikaripur and Bellary Rural.

Karnataka Bypoll: Congress Leads In 2 Seats, BJP In One

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Supreme+Court&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Supreme Court</a> has ordered<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Karnataka&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> Karnataka</a> to stop defying its orders and also asked the state to confirm if it has released water from the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=River+Cauvery+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">River Cauvery </a>to<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=+Tamil+Nadu&amp;sortorder=effectivedate"> Tamil Nadu</a>, by tomorrow. 
 All the attempts made by the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> to broker a truce in the dispute over the <keyword id="629125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="river-Cauvery">River Cauvery</keyword> have been ignored so far. <keyword id="6354780" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword> still is holding the water back which it was ordered to share with <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>. The centre has also refused to create a new committee to examine the crisis, telling judges that parliament alone has the authority to create such an agency. 
 
Tamil Nadu has been asking for more water for it its farmers from past one month. Supreme Court finally intervened and ruled in the favor of Tamil Nadu. Karnataka then obliged reluctantly, with riots across the state including in the capital of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Bengaluru&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Bengaluru</a>. After that, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that given that his own cities are nearly running dry, neighbor Tamil Nadu must wait till November for any more water. 
 Things didn’t go well as Supreme Court expected them to go. The orders were defied by Karnataka and Supreme Court has chastised Karnataka for defying its orders, including at today’s hearing. The judges were also taken aback by the centre stating that it cannot create the <keyword id="3669434" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cauvery-water-management-board">Cauvery Water Management Board</keyword>, as ordered last week. 
 
"It was a mistake," the centre admitted to judges who pointed out that at the last hearing, the government had agreed to setting up the agency. Only parliament can authorize the board, said the government's lawyers. 
 
The court has asked the members of the board to visit Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and examine the situation and also listen to problems both sides claim to face. 
 A tribunal created earlier by the Supreme Court had decided in 2007 on how River <keyword id="6354543" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cauvery">Cauvery</keyword> water should be allocated, but the verdict has been challenged by all states involved. 
(Image:Indiatimes)

SC warns Karnataka over defying orders, seeks status on water release from Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu

The demand for professionals is surging in <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> and this was indicated by the taxes IT experts were paying in the IT hub of India. Professional tax dated indicated there was a demand for more employees and <keyword id="6370971" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accenture">Accenture</keyword> emerged as the top employer that paid Rs 23 crore as professional tax on behalf of its employees in 2015-16, the highest among all firms, a title it held even in 2014-15 according to the Professional tax data. 
 Professional tax is the tax by the state governments in India. Anyone earning an income from salary or anyone practicing a profession such as <keyword id="6358896" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chartered-Accountant">chartered accountant</keyword>, company secretary, lawyer, doctor etc. are required to pay this professional tax. It is a source of revenue for the governmentThe data highlighted the fact that nine out of ten professional companies in Bengaluru are tech companies. Only BSNL, the government-owned telecom player, is an exception. 
 
The top ten tech firms altogether paid Rs 69 crore in 2015-16. In the two financial years before that, they had paid Rs 62 crore and Rs 66 crore in professional taxes. 
 
It is anyway hard to believe that IT firms are the top tax payers anywhere and its surely confirms the importance of Bengaluru as a city. 
 “Bengaluru is the magnet for the tech industry, and adds to job numbers. I urge Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to read these trends, and address Bengaluru's infrastructure problems so that the city retains its edge." V.Balakrishnan, former director at <keyword id="6354512" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword> told ET. 
 Accenture, <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> India, TCS, Infosys and <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>, in that order, were the top five professional tax payers during 2015-16. In 2013-14, Wipro had nudged Infosys to the fifth place. The latter, however, wrested the slot from Wipro in the following year. 
 
The data also showed that these companies have more permanent employees, and fewer jobs are going out of Bengaluru. 
 "This means jobs are increasing in the city because there is a direct correlation between taxes collected and the permanent jobs. And, also because the monthly tax payout per employee remains constant, Vivek Mallya, a Chartered Accountant and former partner at <keyword id="53186" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PwC">PwC</keyword>, told ET. 
 "The tax collection numbers indicate that the multinational tech companies prefer to deepen their foothold in Bengaluru, rather than experiment with tier-II or tier-III locations. They perhaps find the best cosmopolitan culture as well as a wide talent pool in Bengaluru," Guruprasad Srinivasan, President (People Service) at <keyword id="6370333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Quess-Corp">Quess Corp</keyword>, told ET. 
 
An employer is required to deduct professional tax only if an employee is in the job for more than 120 days, and earns above Rs 10,000. The government levies a professional tax of Rs 150 per month on those earning above Rs 10,000 per month, and Rs 200 on those earning above Rs 15,000. Those earning below Rs 10,000 are exempt.

Demand for IT professionals is growing in Bengaluru and these are the top hiring companies right now

Ecommerce giant Amazon is in a tough fight with the commercial tax department of Karnataka. In a yet to be settled case, the deadlock involves VAT for certain transactions by Amazon India. As per a news report by The Economic Times, the department laid down two conditions to the Indian arm of the Seattle-headquartered ecommerce giant as an alternative to being registered as a dealer. Firsty, Amazon India must disclose details of transactions carried out on its website and secondly, it must take primary liability if a merchant defaults paying value-added tax on transactions executed on Amazon. 
 
While Amazon has no problem with the first demand, it has declined the second, senior government officials told the financial daily. The two conditions implied that VAT authorities would want to treat Amazon India as a "commission agent" -- a status the online marketplace is not willing to accept in view of federal regulations that bar foreign direct investment in online retail. 
The Commercial Taxes department began working on a solution after Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah recently asked it to sort out issues flagged by the US firm. The company's dealer-expansion efforts in Bengaluru have been grounded the past one year after VAT authorities stopped issuing branch certificates to merchants wanting to partner with Amazon. 
 
The deal offered by the tax department also required Amazon to prove if VAT had been paid for a certain transaction if the department raised a claim. At a meeting with top tax officials, Amazon India executives held on to the argument that their core activity in India included providing modern warehousing facilities for merchants to store products, display and provide a technology-enabled online marketplace for those products, and facilitate online sale and receipt payment on the merchant's behalf, among other things. Since each partner-merchant is a VAT assessee, and required to remit VAT collected every month, Amazon executives said it cannot get into those aspects. 
 
According to tax experts, the workaround the Commercial Taxes department has suggested will only transfer VAT officials' job to the online retailer. 
 
Also, a merchant on Amazon's digital marketplace is required to pay VAT only on the value-added part of his transaction as he can claim input tax credits on purchases already made. But in the event of a default, Amazon India will not be able to claim input tax credit as it will not have access to a merchant's transaction history, and will have to pay VAT on the full sale price of a product. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

​Amazon isn’t agreeing with tax department of Karnataka

The current BJP-led administration takes its <keyword id="68945" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Toilets">toilets</keyword> seriously. In its quest to eliminate public defecation by 2019, the <keyword id="26362" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government">government</keyword> claims to have constructed <a href="http://sbm.gov.in/sbmdashboard/IHHL.aspx">70.5 million household toilets </a>- around 83% of its intended target - under the <keyword id="2312336" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat-Mission">Swachh Bharat Mission</keyword> - in villages. It has also constructed <a href="http://www.swachhbharaturban.in/sbm/home/#/SBM">4.6 million toilets</a> in urban areas. The program was launched in October 2014. Earlier this month, Parameswaran Iyer, the secretary of the Water and Sanitation ministry, said that the number of rural Indians defecating in the open had fallen from 550 million when the mission was launched, <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/Fn5P83dnUwSD7T6mHXakuJ/Rural-India-will-reach-100-toilet-coverage-by-December-2018.html">to 200 million</a> by early 2018. This information was based on “government surveys”, which count on a random sample of participants to answer questions with utmost honesty. In February, a video of Janardan Mishra, a <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh, was seen <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/watch-bjp-mp-unclogs-toilet-with-bare-hands-promotes-pm-narendra-modis-swachh-bharat-mission/1070526/">unclogging a toilet with his bare hands</a> went viral online. Like most political parties do ahead of an election, the BJP seems to be raking in the grandstanding and declaring its achievements. However, yesterday, as part of its campaign in Karnataka, it chose a rather questionable statistic to boast. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom"><cdata><![CDATA[


]]></cdata></div>














 If the facts are right, over the course of the BJP-led government’s tenure, 70% more toilets were constructed but with 6 times the total funding that the <keyword id="1575" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress">Congress</keyword>-led government had. The Congress responded accordingly, pointing out that it had built each toilet at a fraction of the amount it cost the BJP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom"><cdata><![CDATA[


]]></cdata></div>














 Surprisingly, the original tweet by the BJP is still up, perhaps because deleting the tweet would have been an admission that it was an error to begin with. But it seems that the government does not make mistakes. The medium is the message Social media is all about brevity and soundbites. Statistics are cherry-picked. Opinions are made to sound definitive. The more eyebrow raising the claim, the greater the reach. The truth is what an organisation can get its supporters to believe. The ruling party at the Centre has been quite effective at harnessing social media to disseminate information to the Indian public as part of a concerted effort at winning an ideological war against the Opposition parties. In anticipation of the upcoming elections in Karnataka, both the BJP and Congress have dedicated social media teams working round the clock on outreach and on highlighting the work their respective rivals have not done. Inevitably, social media platforms have turned into becoming battlegrounds where barbs and ad hominem remarks are traded at the drop of a hat . Until very recently, the world faced a legitimate threat of nuclear war as a result of a Twitter spat between the leader of a world superpower and a rogue nation. Back at home, India’s two national parties - the protectors and enforcers of the country’s democracy, our leaders in these troubling times marked by rising public debt, toxic air, farmer suicides and communal violence - are currently squabbling over toilet statistics. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom"><cdata><![CDATA[


]]></cdata></div>














 So, now the BJP is trying to reframe the tweet as evidence of its generosity and portray the Siddaramaiah government as corrupt and inefficient. However, the BJP does not finance the construction of toilets with its own funds but with the taxes each and every Indian pays as Swachh Bharat cess - which totalled <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/25-of-swachh-bharat-cess-hasnt-reached-dedicated-fund/articleshow/62259934.cms">₹164 billion</a> in 2016 and 2017. In all fairness, the president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, is no stranger to the mathematical gaffe. In December 2017, he posted a table from his Twitter account that contained information about the rise in prices of essential items like cooking gas, tomatoes, onions and pulses from 2014 to 2017 under the BJP regime. However, he overstated each price rise by <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/rahul-gandhi-goofs-up-basic-math-in-a-tweet-corrects-it-later-2454791.html">100 percentage points</a>. The BJP fired back by referring to him as an<a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/bjp-calls-rahul-immature-shehzada-for-math-blooper-117120700171_1.html"> “immature prince”.</a> Gandhi later deleted the tweet and uploaded a revised table, but not without thanking the BJP for pointing out his mistake. Development, not division As campaigning for the state elections in Karnataka enters its final phases, the barbs and finger-pointing will likely escalate. As is usually the case, development has become the focal issue of each party’s campaign. The BJP was rather straightforward about its three aims- development, development and more development. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom"><cdata><![CDATA[


]]></cdata></div>














 Soon after it posted the tweet above, the BJP’s social media team retweeted another development-related tweet from its Karnataka unit. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom"><cdata><![CDATA[


]]></cdata></div>














 It seems that the BJP is the only party comfortable with proffering development data. Oh, the irony. Maybe it would have paid for the BJP to concentrate on the mathematical process of division instead of the kind that involves polarisation.

The top two political parties in India are bickering over who’s better at building toilets

Today seems to be a good day for all social media fans in India. In the morning, Supreme Court of India gave Indian citizens the right to post on social media sites without any fear by striking down the draconian Section 66 A of the IT Act in its entirety. And right in the evening we got the news that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) has took another step in his Digital India initiative by launching ‘Twitter Samvad’, a service aimed to boost the nation’s e-governance plans by helping government bodies and leaders communicate directly with citizens on a daily basis via tweets and SMSes on their mobile devices. 
 
PM Narendra Modi announced the rollout of this initiative through a tweet. 
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	
		Lets deepen our connect! Give a missed call on 011 3006 3006 &amp; get my Tweets on your mobile as SMS.
	— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/580337412284358656">March 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
 
Through ‘Twitter Samvad’, Government of India will share a set of curated tweets delivered from the government and leaders’ accounts to mobile users across the country as SMS—every day. Updates on government services, policies and activities can be delivered to any user with a mobile device signed up for the service with each of the 16 launch partners. Anyone with a mobile phone, with our without a data plan, can register for the service by giving a missed call to a unique number for each of the partners. 
 
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, who met Prime Minister Modi to discuss areas of collaboration, said, “Based on Indian technological innovation, Twitter Samvad is dedicated and specially built for the largest democracy of the world. The Lok Sabha election of 2014 was the first-ever Twitter Election in India and we want to continue contributing to the development of digital governance in India. As part of the Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative, this Tweet-powered service enables citizens to be the first to know about the government’s actions by receiving political content in real-time on their mobile devices anywhere in the country.” 
 
The company is demonstrating its commitment to the Indian market by launching Twitter Samvad during the Twitter CEO’s first-ever visit to India. Rishi Jaitly, Twitter’s Market Director for India and Southeast Asia, said, “We are proud to have launched a service here that is for the people and of the people. This can eventually give every political leader and every government organization a mobile microphone to connect with each Indian, whether in Imphal or in Diu or in Leh or in Pudducherry.” 
 
Twitter Samvad is based on the platform provided by ZipDial, an Indian company recently acquired by Twitter, making this the company’s first Indian service launched using indigenous technology. 
 
Here is a list of a 16 government partners who are participating in the launch of Twitter Samvad: 
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="624">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Accounts</td>
			<td>
				Description</td>
			<td>
				Phone Number</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@NarendraModi</a></td>
			<td>
				Personal account of Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi</td>
			<td>
				011 3006 3006</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia">@PMOIndia</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi</td>
			<td>
				011 3006 3007</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/adgpi">@adgpi</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account of Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of Ministry of Defence</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 6116</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/RailMinIndia">@RailMinIndia</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account of the Ministry of Railways</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 6222</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/anandibenpatel">@anandibenpatel</a></td>
			<td>
				Personal account of Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 6050</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/CMofKarnataka">@CMofKarnataka</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account for the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 4737</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/CPBlr">@CPBLR</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account for Mr. M N Reddi, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5141</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/BlrCityPolice">@BlrCityPolice</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account for Bengaluru City Police</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5242</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/blrcitytraffic">@blrcitytraffic</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account for Bengaluru City Traffic Police</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5464</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/ncbn">@ncbn</a></td>
			<td>
				Personal account of N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh,</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5767</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/TelanganaCMO">@TelanganaCMO</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account of Chief Minister of Telangana, Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5868</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/yadavakhilesh">@</a>YadavAkhilesh</td>
			<td>
				Personal account of Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh</td>
			<td>
				011 3008 3380</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/UPGovt">@UPGovt</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account for the Government of Uttar Pradesh</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 6353</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/nitishkumarjdu">@NitishKumarJDU</a></td>
			<td>
				Personal account of Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar</td>
			<td>
				011 3008 2828</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/mamataofficial">@MamataOfficial</a></td>
			<td>
				Personal account of Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal</td>
			<td>
				011 3008 3333</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://twitter.com/meaindia">@MeaIndia</a></td>
			<td>
				Official account of Ministry of External Affairs, India, Syed Akbaruddin</td>
			<td>
				011 3049 5969This is how you can sign up for Twitter Samvad 
				 
				 </td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
	This is how you can sign up for Twitter Samvad: 
	● Give a missed call to each of the numbers listed above to follow each of their Twitter accounts. For example, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the number is 011 3006 3006. 
	● Immediately after placing the missed call, you will start receiving a curated set of tweets throughout the day from leaders and government agencies. 
	● In case of emergency or urgent public announcements, account owners (leaders, government agencies, disaster management cell) will instantly send an update on a given situation to all registered users. 
	 
	Any government body, NGO or public institution interested in joining the Twitter Samvad program can read this <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/india">blog</a> for more details. 
	 
	 
	(Image: www.narendramodi.in) 
	 </blockquote>

You Searched For "Siddaramaiah" and got 14 results

Urge centre to declare COVID-19 national disaster, demand Rs

PTI

Detain Bengaluru rioters' properties like Yogi Adityanath did, suggests Tejasvi Surya

IANS

Congress veteran and former law minister Hansraj Bharadwaj passes away at 83

PTI

CM to discuss COVID issues in Karnataka with PM, as opposition seeks spl package

PTI

Karnataka Home Minister Bommai tests Covid positive

IANS

Record single-day spike of 48 COVID-19 cases takes Karnataka's tally to 753

PTI

Modelling, films and drug charges -- thread that binds Ragini and Sanjana

IANS

Karnataka Governor sets another deadline at 6 pm for Kumaraswamy to prove majority

BI India Bureau

Karnataka Bypoll: Congress Leads In 2 Seats, BJP In One

Naheed Ataulla

SC warns Karnataka over defying orders, seeks status on water release from Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu

BI India Bureau

Demand for IT professionals is growing in Bengaluru and these are the top hiring companies right now

BI India Bureau

Amazon isn’t agreeing with tax department of Karnataka

BI India Bureau

The top two political parties in India are bickering over who’s better at building toilets

Dilsher Dhillon

Now get to know what the Govt is up to with direct tweets from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on your phones!

BI India Bureau

You Searched For "Siddaramaiah" and got 14 results

Urge centre to declare COVID-19 national disaster, demand Rs

PTI

Detain Bengaluru rioters' properties like Yogi Adityanath did, suggests Tejasvi Surya

IANS

Congress veteran and former law minister Hansraj Bharadwaj passes away at 83

PTI

CM to discuss COVID issues in Karnataka with PM, as opposition seeks spl package

PTI

Karnataka Home Minister Bommai tests Covid positive

IANS

Record single-day spike of 48 COVID-19 cases takes Karnataka's tally to 753

PTI

Modelling, films and drug charges -- thread that binds Ragini and Sanjana

IANS

Karnataka Governor sets another deadline at 6 pm for Kumaraswamy to prove majority

BI India Bureau

Karnataka Bypoll: Congress Leads In 2 Seats, BJP In One

Naheed Ataulla

SC warns Karnataka over defying orders, seeks status on water release from Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu

BI India Bureau

Demand for IT professionals is growing in Bengaluru and these are the top hiring companies right now

BI India Bureau

​Amazon isn’t agreeing with tax department of Karnataka

BI India Bureau

The top two political parties in India are bickering over who’s better at building toilets

Dilsher Dhillon

Now get to know what the Govt is up to with direct tweets from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on your phones!

BI India Bureau

Amazon isn’t agreeing with tax department of Karnataka