Amid power tussle in Karnataka, CM BS Yeddyurappa transfers senior IAS, IPS officers

Bengaluru: Amid an ongoing power struggle in Karnataka, state's newly-elected Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had transferred several IAS and IPS officers in a top-level reshuffle soon after he took charge.

According to reports, the Karnataka CM's office also appointed a new Advocate General.

CM Yeddyurappa appointed senior advocate Prabhuling K Navadagi as the Advocate General of Karnataka, in place of Madhusudan R Naik, who has since resigned.

Governor Vajubhai Vala appointed Navadagi to the post with immediate effect, a Karnataka government notification said.

Effecting changes in the bureaucracy, the BSY government appointed M Lakshminarayana, additional chief secretary, public works department, as the additional chief secretary to the Chief Minister.

It also notified that his position would be equivalent to the additional chief secretary in the Home department.

Senior IPS officer Amar Kumar Pandey, serving as Additional Director General of Police, Railways, has been made ADGP, Intelligence, according to a government notification.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Karnataka State Reserve Police Sandeep Patil will be the DIG, Intelligence.

Bidar Superintendent of Police D Devaraja has been transferred to Bengaluru Central division as the deputy commissioner of police.

Superintendent of police in the Anti-Corruption Bureau S Girish has been transferred as DCP of Bengaluru North East Division. 

The bureaucratic reshuffle in Karnataka comes at a time when the Supreme Court is set to resume hearing on Congress petition challenging the government formation in the state.

Amid high drama, BJP legislature party leader BS Yeddyurappa was on Thursday morning sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka following an overnight high-voltage legal battle in the Supreme Court.

The 75-year-old Lingayat strongman was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan amid loud cheering by his supporters.

Yeddyurappa was administered the oath alone, hours after the Supreme Court refused to stay his swearing-in. Yeddyurappa has been given 15 days to prove his majority in the Assembly.

The BJP has 104 MLAs in the House, eight short of the magic figure of 112.

The Congress (78) and the JD(S) (38) had joined hands after the election and staked claim to form the government. 

Meanwhile, the Congress said that it would observe 'Save Democracy Day' across the country on Friday in protest against Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala's decision to "illegally" invite BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa to form the government in the state. 

The party late on Thursday shifted all its MLAs lodged in a resort outside Bengaluru to a safe location in Hyderabad.