Karnataka crisis: Resort politics costs crores, but nobody knows who is paying

TNN
July 15, 2019

Bengaluru, Jul 15: The political turmoil in Karnataka may have engrossed many citizens nationwide, but the common man in the state, struggling to make both ends meet, is baffled at the outrageous sums of money both sides - the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the opposition BJP - are spending to win over MLAs or prevent them from defecting.

All three parties have splurged crores of rupees on tucking away MLAs at resorts or star hotels since the current political imbroglio began with 13 legislators of the ruling parties handing in their resignations on July 6.

As more MLAs jumped ship and shuttled between Bengaluru and Mumbai on chartered flights, the rebels and political parties moved the Supreme Court and hired the services of advocates who charge a few lakh rupees per hearing to fight their cases.

The largest sums were spent to get legislators to switch sides, with some sources estimating that parties paid an average of 20 crore per MLA.

A daily cost of rooms in hotels and resorts in Bengaluru and Mumbai in which MLAs of all parties have been lodged ranges between 4,000 and 11,000.

A special flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai comes with a bill of around 4 lakh per trip, and the rebel MLAs have hired special flights at least five times since the crisis unfolded.

"Even at conservative estimates, each party spent around 50 lakh on hotels and flights over the past few days," said a Congress functionary who oversees visits of national leaders to the state.

If this were not enough, some rebels chartered special flights to visit temples in Maharashtra.

So who is picking up the tab? Rebel MLAs have claimed that they are spending their own money to stay in star hotels, but the Congress and JD(S) have fingered the BJP. Nobody really knows who is doing the spending.

"If the BJP is not operating from behind, how come rebel MLAs get special flights as and when required?," Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked when the first batch of MLAs flew to Mumbai. This is not the first time so much money has changed hands to woo MLAs. The three parties have herded MLAs to resorts at least thrice in the past 14 months.

After the 2018 assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict, the Congress and JD(S) packed off their MLAs to resorts to foil possible poaching attempts by the BJP. The BJP staked claim and BS Yeddyurappa took oath as CM but had to resign within three days.

In the run up to the budget session, too, a few ruling coalition MLAs were moved to Mumbai after threatening to withdraw support.

The BJP also moved its MLAs to a resort near Gurugram. The Congress and JD(S) followed suit and moved their MLAs to a resort.

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News Network
March 17,2024

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Beltangady, Mar 17: A three-year-old boy was crushed to death under the wheels of an auto-rickshaw in front of his house at Panakaje Mundadi in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada. 

The gut-wrenching tragedy took place on Saturday, March 16 morning when the boy ran out of home to the road. 

The victim has been identified as Kaushik, the son of Chandrashekhar and Usha couple. Their home is situated adjacent to the main road at Panakaje.

It is learnt that the auto-rickshaw failed to notice the boy who suddenly darted towards the road and hit him. 

Even though the injured boy was rushed to a private hospital in Ujire and later to Mangaluru, he breathed his last. 

The Beltangady traffic police have registered a case in connection with the incident.

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News Network
March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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Mangaluru: A man from Dakshina Kannada was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh after he was promised a Poland visa.

In a complaint, a resident of Belthangady, stated that the accused, Manoj, had promised a job for his son in Poland. 

Between May 22 of last year and March 19, he handed over Rs 2.2 lakh in various phases, citing different reasons.

However, since the accused failed to provide a visa or return the money, a case was registered at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections 417 and 420.

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