Mallikarjun Kharge should have been made CM long time ago: Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, May 15: Amid the 'Siddaramaiah for CM' clamour in Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said Congress veteran M Mallikarjun Kharge should have been given the position a long time ago and "injustice" was done to the leader.
His remarks come amid a bitter spat between the leaders of the ruling coalition partners Congress and JD(S) to make Siddaramaiah the state chief minister once again.
But the comments gave fresh ammunition to the BJP to target the alliance government. BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa asked Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) to immediately vacate the post for Kharge, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha.
Kharge, a nine-time MLA and two-term Lok Sabha member who has never tasted electoral defeat, termed Kumaraswamy's remarks as "election-time statement."
Addressing a meeting in Chincholi assembly segment for a by-election attended by Kharge on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy said the Congress leader should have become chief minister long ago.
"Mallikarjun Kharge should have become the chief minister long ago. I feel injustice has been done to him. I would like to clearly say Kharge has not been given recognition for the work he has done (for his party)," Kumaraswamy said, adding there has been a "fault somewhere".
Kharge could have become the CM in the current coalition government but he said he will abide by the Congress leadership's decision, Kumaraswamy revealed.
Latching onto the remarks, Yeddyurappa asked Kumaraswamy to resign and make Kharge CM.
"He (Kumaraswamy) has said he (Kharge) should have become CM long ago. To make his dream come true, let him resign tomorrow itself and make Kharge the chief minister," the BJP leader told reporters in Kalaburagi Wednesday.
Senior BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal termed Kumaraswamy's remarks a conspiracy aimed at creating a rift between Siddaramaiah and Kharge to continue in power.
"If he wants to make Kharge (CM), he can give up the seat for him. It is kind of a drama (by Kumaraswamy)," he said, adding no one, even in Congress, was interested in making Kharge CM.
Yeddyurappa, however, claimed the Congress-JD(S) government would fall due to a rift between both parties.
"I have never said we will topple the government. We are not making attempts. JD(S) and Congress are fighting each other and because of their differences, the government will collapse," he said.
Siddaramaiah, the coalition coordination committee chairman, has termed the growing clamour within Congress to make him the chief minister as an expression of supporters' affection, but said he still stands by his word to not contest the next assembly election.
Chincholi assembly seat will go to bypolls on May 19.
Subhash Rathod is the Congress candidate there.
Kharge has been elected twice from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency and has been a central cabinet minister during Congress rule in the past.
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India delivers first batch of BrahMos missiles to Philippines
New Delhi, Apr 19: India on Friday delivered the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines, in reflection of the growing military ties between the two countries amid China's military muscle-flexing in the South China Sea.
The supplies came over two years India signed a USD 375 million deal with the Southeast Asian nation to supply the weapon systems.
A C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) transported the missile and the launchers to the Philippines for the country's marine forces, official sources said.
Under the January 2022 deal, India will supply three batteries of the missiles, their launchers and related equipment.
It was the first export of the BrahMos missile by India.
A few other countries including Argentina have also shown interest in procuring BrahMos missiles from India.
BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
India has been looking at further expanding defence ties with the Philippines against the backdrop of growing global concerns over China's increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea.
Both India and the Philippines have been emphasising the need for peaceful settlement of disputes in the South China Sea and for adherence to international law, especially the UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).
The twin sides are also favouring implementation of an arbitral award by a UN court on the South China Sea.
The UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration, adjudicating the Philippines' case against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, ruled in favour of Manila. However, China refused to accept the verdict.
There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.
Several countries in the region including Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, have counterclaims.
As part of efforts to boost military ties with the Philippines, India has decided to post a defence attache to that country along with Ethiopia, Mozambique, Poland and Ivory Coast.
Watch | #BrahMos supersonic cruise Missiles delivered to the Philippines by India today
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) April 19, 2024
The two countries had signed a deal worth USD 375 million in 2022 pic.twitter.com/Fx6aaGMk2n
