
CM assures decision on Old Pension Scheme after committee report
Siddaramaiah
on Saturday assured govt employees that the state govt will decide on reintroducing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) after receiving a committee's report.
Speaking at an event organised by the State Govt Employees' Association to honour talented children of govt employees, he emphasised the importance of delivering govt programmes effectively to the public.
The CM urged employees to avoid caste and religious biases, stating such actions dishonour their profession. "Society has a debt to us, as we live on taxpayers' money. We must serve with integrity to repay this debt," he said, encouraging employees to foster a humane and inclusive approach.
He stressed that talent is universal and flourishes with opportunity, urging parents and teachers to nurture children's potential with scientific and progressive thinking. The CM also highlighted the implementation of the
7th Pay Commission
's recommendations and assured action on the Arogya Sanjeevini health scheme. "The govt is open to addressing employees' demands," he said, calling on them to ensure welfare programmes reach beneficiaries efficiently.
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New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Karnataka cabinet approves bill to criminalise engagements of minors
BENGALURU: In a significant move to curb child marriage, the Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to make even engagements involving minors a punishable offence. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the Cabinet has cleared the proposal and the Bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of the legislature. The cabinet took note of the fact that nearly 700 child marriages were reported across the state during 2023-24. The decision follows a resolution passed at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, where Deputy Commissioners of the districts and Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of Zilla Panchayats were directed to take stricter measures to prevent child marriages. This Bill sends a strong message that not only child marriage, but even betrothing a minor is unacceptable and will attract legal consequences, the Minister said. "We have brought radical changes socially. People who were escaping the legal action cannot get away. We are doing whatever best could be done to check child marriages," Patil said.


The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
Giving itself clean chit, Karnataka govt accepts D'Cunha panel report on Chinnaswamy stadium stampede
'The cabinet which accepted the report, we have decided that the action, legal action, as per law, will be taken against those private associations and also against the officers who are named in the report,' Karnataka's Minister for Law & Parliamentary affairs, told reporters in Bengaluru. The decision has garnered widespread criticism since the government gave itself a clean chit while laying the blame on every other stakeholder who was part of the celebration, including the police that was only following its orders. Bengaluru: The Siddaramaiah Cabinet Thursday accepted Justice John Michael D'Cunha's report on the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede in line with its stand to go after private entities and its own police officials who it held responsible for the loss of 11 lives. He added that the report recommended taking appropriate legal action against IPL cricket franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), DNA Entertainment, three office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and at least five police officers, including the former city police commissioner. Thursday's decision also adds to the strained relationship between the Siddaramaiah government and its police force as former city police commissioner suspension was criticised by the opposition and the civil society at large. The Print had reported that senior police officials warned the Siddaramaiah government against holding the felicitation for RCB at Vidhana Soudha. Siddaramaiah even fired his political secretary allegedly for insisting on going ahead with the celebrations and later telling the media the exact opposite. But, the government has refused to own up any responsibility for the 4 June tragedy even as the victory parade for RCB's maiden IPL victory was announced—and later cancelled—within a few hours on the same day, fuelling confusion and eventually leading to the stampede. At least a couple of hundred thousand people had come near the Vidhana Soudha to be part of the celebrations and the same crowd was seen rushing to enter Chinnaswamy Stadium which has a capacity of around 40,000 spectators. The Opposition continues to demand the resignations of Siddaramaiah, his deputy and Home Minister Calls to the RCB representatives went unanswered. This article will be updated as and when a response is received. DNA Entertainment Networks, the event management company responsible for organising the RCB victory celebration, meanwhile, filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the findings of the report. Also Read: 'My brother was crazy about cricket, it took his life': Chinnaswamy stampede leaves families devastated 'Wiping blood off of its hands' Apart from Dayananda, the panel mentioned the names of Vikash Kumar Vikash who was then Additional Commissioner of Police (West), Shekhar DCP (Central), ACP, Cubbon Park sub-division, and Girish, 4.K. Police inspector (Cubbon Park), in its report. Vikash has already approached multiple forums to challenge the suspension. The police had flagged the government about shortage of personnel, lack of CCTVs and the paucity of time as it had to coordinate with other departments like traffic among others, the letter shows. 'Royal Challengers Bengaluru have a nationwide fan following. There is a shortage of security personnel and this could pose a problem since the event is being held in a hurry and lakhs of fans are expected to turn up,' DCP (Vidhana Soudha Security) Gouda wrote in a letter dated 4 June. Arvind Bellad, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, told the media that 11 people died because of the government's mistake. 'The CM and the Deputy CM to cover this up suspended the commissioner and forced Govindraj to resign because of the high command's pressure. When they ordered for the committee, we knew it was that they were covered in blood and this was an attempt to wash it,' he alleged. He questioned how everyone, including an IPL team, the state cricket association, an event management company and even the police were at fault but the head of the government was absolved of any wrongdoing. The BJP, he said, would bring up the issue in the monsoon session of the Karnataka Assembly, scheduled to commence in the second week of August. Report findings According to the D'Cunha report, the security provided by the police was 'inadequate and ineffective' to meet the exigency. Only four pages of the report was shared with the media. Most of the 11 fatalities and 71 injuries were reported at Gate No.7, 2/2A, 18, 20 and other gates were recorded. 'Out of 515 men and officers deputed for bandobust, only 79 men and officers were posted outside the gates to manage and control the crowd. Even these men and officers were not visible at the venue during the crisis,' the one-man commission found. It added that the staff working in the control room failed to alert the security staff positioned in and around the entry gates, which contributed to the severity of the incident. Despite clear signs of overcrowding, it said, the exit gates were not opened in time, which was 'a serious act of negligence' on the part of security authorities and absence of emergency protocols. 'One of the key contributing factors to the stampede was the improper and unscientific installation of the barricades and the narrow constricted entry gates. Misleading and last minute announcements created widespread confusion among fans and followers,' the report states. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: RCB marketing head, 3 from event firm that organised parade among 4 held over Bengaluru stampede


Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Karnataka: Siddaramaiah echoes Rahul Gandhi's comments, says BJP engineered Cong setback in LS polls
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he was currently discussing with Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on the electoral malpractice during the Lok Sabha polls last year and they would decide the future course of action. 'We are committed to defending the integrity of our democracy.'The results of the recent Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka have not only shocked us but also raised several serious concerns. It is now becoming increasingly evident that the Congress Party's setback was not due to public opinion but rather due to the illegal manipulation of the electoral process, a manipulation carried out by the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) through its misuse of the Election Commission, the statement Gandhi, he added, had been relentlessly exposing the misconduct of the Election Commission, revealing one irregularity after another. He has specifically pointed out the election-related fraud that took place in CM said he fully supported Gandhi's statement that there was clear and undeniable evidence of electoral malpractice in Karnataka. 'In several constituencies across the state, our party workers reported sudden and suspicious additions of new voters, while names of long-time voters were removed without justification.'It is now increasingly clear that Narendra Modi's election victories are not a result of his popularity or the so-called achievements of the BJP government. What's coming to light is the harsh truth that these victories were driven by systematic voter fraud, orchestrated through the Election Commission itself, the statement added.