Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: 18 BJP MLAs suspended for creating ruckus over honey-trap allegations, and more

Even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in the Legislative Assembly that the Karnataka government will order a high-level investigation into allegations of attempts to honey-trap ministers and leaders of political parties, opposition BJP members staged a protest in the well of the House seeking a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the High Court. This follows allegations by Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna on March 20 that some vested interests had honey-trapped 48 persons, including legislators, central leaders, and judges.

The ugly episode unfolded when Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was replying to the debate on the State budget. Following the pandemonium, Speaker U.T. Khader suspended 18 MLAs from the opposition BJP for six months. The members not only indulged in a vociferous protest demanding a judicial or CBI probe into the allegations but also threw torn pieces of paper on the Speaker and the podium where his chair is located.

In the midst of heavy borrowings by the Karnataka government for meeting capital expenditure, the Legislative Assembly passed the Karnataka Legislatures Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and the Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025 — and doubled the salaries of MLAs and MLCs, the Chief Minister and Ministers.

The two Bills significantly hiked all types of allowances, including house rent and tour, for legislators and ministers. Salaries of MLAs and MLCs doubled from ₹40,000 to ₹80,000 per month while the Chief Minister’s pay increased from ₹75,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per month. The hike in salary and allowances would incur a cost ₹62 crore annually on the State exchequer.

Udupi police have arrested two more women in connection with the assault on a Dalit woman after tying her to a tree at Malpe fisheries harbour on March 18. The police gave the names of the arrested women as Parvati and Leela. Earlier on March 19, police had arrested three persons — Laxmi Bai, Sundar and Shilpa — in connection with the assault in coastal Karnataka.

In addition, Udupi Superintendent of Police K. Arun has suspended Head Constable Suresh and Constable Nagraj, who were on the beat on the day of the assault, for dereliction of duty. Karnataka State Commission for Women has taken cognisance of the incident. It has sought a detailed report about the action taken by police against the accused.

The first annual examination for SSLC students started in 2,818 examination centres across Karnataka on March 21. On day one, first language — Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, English and Sanskrit — exams were held from 10 a.m. to 1.15 p.m.