Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Former CM Jagadish Shettar quits Congress, returns to BJP

About a year after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joining the Congress, former Chief Minister of Karnataka Jagadish Shettar re-joined the the saffron party in New Delhi on January 25. Mr. Shettar had switched to the Congress after being denied a ticket by the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in May 2023.

When asked for a comment, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was not aware of this development. However, he added that Mr. Shettar was treated respectfully in the Congress. “Mr. Shettar quit the BJP citing disrespect to his leadership and for being denied the party ticket in the last Assembly elections. He joined the Congress. A ticket was given to him to contest the polls from Hubballi, but he lost the election. Nevertheless, the party made him an MLC. No injustice was done to Mr. Shettar in the Congress...”

Karnataka government will organise a State-wide Constitution Awareness Jatha (programme) from January 26 to February 25 to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly of India. With the Constitution and its embedded values under threat, saving and preserving it is the biggest challenge of the present times, CM Siddaramaiah said.

Sharing details of the month-long programme, the CM said, “There are three components to the event. They are Constitution awareness jatha, Constitution workshop and an exhibition to be held in Bengaluru on February 24 and 25, and a mega Constitution awareness convention comprising eminent persons and constitutional experts.”

The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has decided to revise the remuneration of guest faculty in government schools and pre-university colleges. The department has proposed increasing remuneration by ₹12,000 per month for guest faculty in primary and high schools, and by ₹15,000 for PU college guest lecturers. As of now, these guest faculty get ₹10,000 in schools, and ₹12,000 in colleges.

Around 40,000 guest faculty work in primary, high school, and PU colleges across Karnataka. They are not happy with the department’s decision and are demanding facilities, including lumpsum amount and health insurance, that were announced for guest faculty of government first grade colleges.

The Managing Director of Mysuru’s Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), C.N. Sridhar was suspended pending inquiry on the charge of dereliction of duty, in connection with the launch of a lift irrigation project by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Periyapatna taluk on January 24. As part of the lift irrigation project, water would be drawn from Cauvery river at Mutthina Mulasoge village for filling up 150 lakes catering to 79 villages.