BJP govt will complete full term, say Karnataka Ministers
Bengaluru, Sep 3: Amid repeated claims by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the BJP government in Karnataka was short lived, several Ministers on Tuesday asserted that the administration under Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's leadership would complete its full term.
The ministers also expressed confidence about the BJP coming back to power after the next assembly election.
"I want to say- just as the Narendra Modi government completed its five year term in the county and got elected once again,in the same way we will complete the term under Yediyurappa's leadership.
The next government will also be BJP," Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol told reporters.
Continuing to express doubts over the longevity of the BJP government, Siddaramaiah, who is the Congress Legislature Party leader, had recently asked his party workers to prepare for assembly polls.
Housing minister V Somanna said the government would complete its term and get the blessings of the people once again in the next elections under Yediyurappa's leadership.
"Siddaramaiah is an experienced politician. I don't know what his perspective is. As far as I know, this government has three year ten months time.
We will complete the term andfight the election under Yediyurappa's leadership to get the blessings of the people once again," Somanna told reporters.
He said the people of the state did not desire any election soon
As the Yediyurappa-led BJP government completed one month in office recently, Siddaramaiah had claimed that it may last one year at the most.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka hit back at Siddaramaiah, saying he was making such comments as he was unable to digest not being in power.
"He (Siddaramaiah) is unable to digest that his government has gone. He is unable to stay without power. He is saying all this out of his grief over losing power. There is no truth in what he is saying," he said.
Ashoka said Yediyurappa would be Chief Minister for three years and 10 months and honest efforts would be made to give good administration to the people.
Following the collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government, Yediyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister onJuly 26 and subsequently proved his majority on the floor of the assembly on July 29.
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as CM, Yediyurappa expanded his cabinet on August20 by inducting 17 Ministers, and a week after that allocated portfolios to them.
Both the cabinet expansion and allocation of portfolios thereafter, that saw appointment of three deputy Chief Ministers, had lead to discontent within the BJP.
Siddaramaiah has been repeatedly saying that the BJP government cannot survive for long as it has come to power with the help of 17 Congress-JD(S) disqualified MLAs.
Alleging that 17 of them favoured BJP for the sake of "power", Siddaramaaih has said, "With those who are not committed to a party's principles and programmes, with those who don't have political values if you form a government, how long can it survive?"
The absence of 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs during the trust vote had led to the collapse of the H D Kumaraswamy headed coalition government in July and helped the BJP come to power.
The then assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar had disqualified 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law, which they have challenged in the Supreme Court.
On getting relief from the apex court, some of them would be inducted into the cabinet as per the arrangement agreed upon, BJP sources have said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
