Karnataka

Chairing the meeting of top police officers at Vidhana Soudha, he underlined that they should be more careful about maintaining peace and co-existence in the society. "Ruthless action must be initiated against those who disturb the peace and co-existence in the society. The police must also prevent the menace of drugs," Siddaramaiah reiterated.

Patil, however, clarified on Tuesday that he has not made any personal comments over the issue. "I have reiterated what senior leaders announced in the press conference," he said.

The Congress has convened a meeting of the party leaders on May 26 to work on the strategies for the upcoming Assembly elections, sources in the know of things said on Monday.

Shivaganga Basavaraj, the MLA from Channagiri constituency, took oath in the name of God and his political guru Shivakumar, who is also the president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath took an oath in the name of Shivakumar, a farmer and God.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath to senior leader, R.V. Deshpande, at the Raj Bhavan as Pro-tem Speaker of the house. Deshpande is a nine-time MLA and the most senior member in the house. Deshpande on Monday chaired the Assembly session as pro-term Speaker.

Shanthamurthy MG, the teacher from the government school at Kaanubenahalli, Chitradurga district, was suspended on May 20 -- the same day when Siddaramaiah took over as the new Chief Minister.

"The people of the state have defeated fascism and divisive forces. The public suffered due to politics of hatred and divisiveness. I have faith that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar will heal the wounds inflicted upon the people," Mehbooba Mufti said.

Series of leaders who became Speakers in Karnataka have lost elections and their political careers ended. The jinx continued with the defeat of Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, the former Speaker in the ruling BJP government. His defeat shocked the party and Kageri was distraught as the defeat had raised the question on his strengths as a strong leader.

"The details are being worked out. The next cabinet meeting will be held next week," he said. Addressing the first press conference at Vidhana Soudha after taking over as the Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah stated that it has been agreed upon in the cabinet to implement five guarantees.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and prominent Dalit leader Dr. G. Parameshwara had demanded that he should be given the post. He had even stated that it is better for the party to fulfil this demand before the community responded. Many other leaders had also started lobbying for the Deputy Chief Minister's post.