1. K’taka Minister Sounds ‘Operation Lotus’ Alarm, Says 3 Congress MLAs Camping in Mumbai Hotel
Karnataka Water Resource minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said the BJP's 'Operation Lotus' to topple the state's coalition government was for real, alleging that three Congress MLAs were camping in a hotel in Mumbai in the "company of some BJP leaders."
"Horse trading is going on in the state. Three of our MLAs are in Mumbai in a hotel with some BJP MLAs and leaders. We are aware of what has transpired there and how much has been offered to them," he said.
Operation Lotus is a reference to the BJP allegedly luring several Opposition MLAs to defect to ensure stability of its then-government headed by BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka in 2008.
(Source: PTI)
2. Govt Fails Kodagu Families, Not a Single House Ready
When Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy laid the foundation stone for the construction of 840 houses in Kodagu on 7 December, Housing Minister UT Khader and officials said 55 houses will be built in one month.
As on 9 January, not a single house has been constructed in any of the five places identified for rehabilitating families displaced by last year’s floods. The district administration had identified 95.06 acres of land at Karnangeri, Made, Sampaje, Kushalnagar and Jambooru.
While work is yet to begin in Sampaje, excavation work for laying the foundation is on at Jambooru and Made, where around 400-500 houses will be built. Only at Karnangeri near Madikeri has the construction work progressed beyond the foundation stage.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
3. KGF Becomes First Kannada Film to get Commercial Release in Pakistan
Yash-starrer Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) has become the first Kannada film to breach the India-Pakistan border. The film got a commercial release in Pakistan, which comes as a boost along with its commercial success at the Indian box office. Although usually screened widely in the Gulf countries, south Indian language films usually do not enjoy a following in Pakistan, and hardly see a commercial release.
“The film was released on Friday in Pakistan and from the executive producer, we hear that it is running well. They have released the Hindi dubbed version of the movie and it is being received well across several multiplexes in Lahore and Islamabad. We understand it is doing quite well, although the distributors have not shared exact box office collection,” Harish Mallya, a film reviewer and one of the organisers of the Bangalore Film Festival, told TNM.
(Source: The News Minute)
4. Govt Considers Tasking SIT Probing Gauri Murder With Kalburgi Case
The Karnataka government is considering handing over the investigation into the murder of rationalist MM Kalburgi to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Gauri Lankesh murder case. According sources, the Home Department has already held discussions with the SIT and senior police officers on the matter.
These discussions come as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is expected to inform the Supreme Court, on Monday, 14 January, whether they would take over the investigations into murders of four rationalists – MM Kalburgi, Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh.
While the SIT has arrested 16 men and submitted a 9,235-page charge sheet in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is yet to make a breakthrough in the Kalburgi murder case.
(Source: The Quint)
5. Two Arrested on Charge of Stealing Data, Money From IT Company
Two senior executives of an IT company were arrested on Sunday by the Mahadevapura police for allegedly stealing data from the firm and diverting crores of rupees for the company that they had set up.
The accused, Prathap, 32, and Karthik, 35, worked as senior manager and operations manager, respectively, in a software development firm located at the Export Promotion Industrial Park Zone. The firm has branches in different countries, the police said.
Abdul Ahad, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, said the two were arrested after the company noticed their unauthorised absence and that they had not returned the company laptops.
(Source: The Hindu)
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