BJP MLA Umesh Katti claims 15 Cong-JDS MLAs in touch with him; Congress dismisses it
Bengaluru : Senior Karnataka BJP MLA Umesh Katti Wednesday claimed he was in touch with 15 disgruntled legislators of ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition and his party would welcome them if they chose to join it.
The eight-time MLA further claimed BJP would form a new government in the state by next week, drawing a strong reaction from state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao, who hit out at him for making "illusionary statements" to 'confuse' people.
The claim by Katti came in the midst of public display of anger by some ministerial aspirants from Congress who were left out in the recent cabinet expansion.
Senior MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, upset after being dropped from the H D Kumaraswamy ministry, has threatened to resign and said he would announce his future course of action later this week.
Chief Minister Kumaraswamy and senior Congress leaders and ministers have asserted that no MLA would resign and there was no threat to the stability of the six-month old government.
BJP state President B S Yeddyurappa separately said Wednesday that the party was not in touch with any disgruntled MLAs of Congress.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, Katti said: "Fifteen MLAs are in touch with me, I cannot divulge their names now, when time comes I will tell.
However, ruling out 'Operation Lotus' (engineering defections), Katti said, "we will welcome those who are pained in Congress and JD(S) and want to join our party. If they come, we will induct them into our party and form the government, he said.
Replying to a question, Katti said he would welcome if Ramesh Jarkiholi came to the BJP.
New government will be formed by the BJP in Karnataka by next week. How it will be formed, why it will be formed, dont think about it. When it is formed we will tell you, he added.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Commitee President Gundu Rao asked Katti not to confuse people by making such illusionary statements.
If it doesnt happen, Katti will have to resign if he has guts, he told reporters.
Reacting to Raos comments, Katti claimed that already eight to ten (Congress-JDS) MLAs were ready to resign.
"So as a party with 104 MLAs in the 224 member assembly, Im confident we can form the government," he said maintaining that the Congress-JDS government would fall "100 per cent".
Yeddyurappa said the BJP had nothing to do with the disgruntlement among the MLAs of the ruling combine.
"...if they are fighting internally, lets wait and watch what will happen at the end...till now no one has contacted us, nor we have contacted anybody and we don't require it also..." he told reporters here.
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ISRO, TIFR sign MoU for collaboration in space science, tech, exploration
Bengaluru (PTI): In a landmark event for India's space exploration programme, ISRO on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TIFR for scientific collaboration in the domain of space science, technology, and exploration, the space agency said.
The signing ceremony took place at ISRO Headquarters here, and was presided over by the space agency's Chairman V Narayanan.
In a statement, ISRO said that this event marks a historical milestone, as it establishes the formal framework for scientific collaboration between ISRO and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, organisations that have shared an "umbilical" relationship in space sciences for over several decades.
"While TIFR played a critical role in the formative days of the Indian space programme through early balloon experiments and mission-specific partnerships like AstroSat, this MoU provides a structured multi-year collaboration in ground and space-based scientific exploration of the outer space," the space agency said.
ISRO Chairman Narayanan in his presidential address stated that this MoU bridges a critical gap in the formal framework for science collaboration.
He highlighted that India is entering an era where science extends to exoplanetary study and the development of several national capabilities.
Collaboration between ISRO and TIFR would facilitate the materialisation of the nation's target to achieve excellence in space science in the global arena.
Ganesh Pillai, Scientific Secretary, ISRO recalled TIFR's role as the "cradle of Indian space scientists," noting its pivotal contributions to the early day's of the country's space programme, which paved the way to TIFR's contributions to the AstroSat mission.
Jayaram Chengalur, Director, TIFR emphasised that the institute will leverage national space and ground-based technological capabilities to propose projects that translate fundamental scientific knowledge into tangible advancements aligned with national initiatives.
According to ISRO, this partnership significantly enhances India's might in space exploration by fostering a seamless pipeline between academic excellence and space infrastructure. By co-developing indigenous hardware and joint testing facilities, the MoU reduces dependency on foreign entities.
Furthermore, this collaboration ensures that joint activities will place India at the forefront of global fundamental space science, it added.
