BSY reaches out to sulking MLAs as discontent continues to brew over Cabinet expansion
Bengaluru, Aug 21: A day after the expansion of the Karnataka cabinet with the induction of 17 Ministers, discontent among those who failed to secure Ministerial berths refused to die down on Wednesday, even as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa made attempts to douse the embers.
As the expansion brought an end to the nearly month long wait for the cabinet to take shape, it led to some heartburn in a section of the party as several MLAs continued to make no secret of their displeasure after missing the bus.
Yediyurappa has sought to reach out to the sulking MLAs, specifically eight-time Hukkeri MLA Umesh Katti, whom several legislators who could not make it to the Ministry reportedly met.
"For one hour yesterday I have spoken to him (Katti) in the presence of Basavaraj Bommai (Minister). Naturally he is pained at not getting an opportunity. I will try to find a remedy," Yediyurappa told reporters in Tumakuru.
On discontent expressed by Honnali MLA M P Renukacharya about a former legislator Laxman Savadi, who is neither a member of the Assembly nor the Council, being made the Minister, sidelining several sitting MLAs, he said "I will call Renukacharya and friends and talk to them."
On his part Katti said he is not discontented and no other disgruntled legislators were with him.
He told reporters that he met Yediyurappa and that he cannot reveal internal matters of the party to the media.
"I met him, he is my leader. I asked him why I was not made Minister. He told what he has to. I also told him what I had to...I have no discontent, I'm a responsible BJP legislator," he said.
Rubbishing reports that he and some other MLAs had met former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and were looking at the JD(S) as an option, he said, "If I'm made Minister I will work, if not as a legislator I will work...even this time I had put my efforts to become Minister.
...there are 224 MLAs in the state, among them only 34 can become Minister, if I don't have luck, what can I do?"
Renukacharya said he had never lobbied for a Minister's post, but was unhappy about those who have lost elections being made minister, referring to Savadi.
"I have discontent not regarding Yediyurappa or BJP...I have discontent because those who have lost elections have become Minister.
I'm not asking for myself, but for others, sitting MLAs could have been made Minister," he said.
Questioning why a senior MLA like Umesh Katti was not made a Minister, Renukacharya however said he would never go against the party or Yediyurappa and "will not go knocking at the doors of other party leaders."
"False information is being spread against me...if my self esteem is hurt, I will resign immediately, but will not go knocking at other's doors."
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as Chief Minister, Yediyurappa on Tuesday had expanded his ministry by inducting 17 ministers into his Cabinet.
Several other BJP MLAs like Ramappa Lamani of Shiragatti, Neharu Olekar of Haveri and Raju Gowda of Shorapur have also expressed disappointment over being left out in the expansion on Wednesday.
Many other aspirants who missed out,including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, C M Udasi and Raju Gowda met Yediyurappa.
According to sources, the Chief Minister is said to have pointed out that it was the central leadership which finalized the names to be included in the Cabinet.
While trying to convince senior legislators like Katti and Yatnal that they may be considered in the next phase, he told them that the larger share was given to Lingayats in the first phase, and including more members from the community would send a wrong message.
In the 18 member Ministry, including the Chief Minister, Lingayats strength is eight.
Accepting that some party leaders are miffed after the cabinet expansion, senior minister K S Eshwarappa said "small issues" are common in a family.
"BJP is like a family and all of us are brothers. We will discuss with them and resolve the issue," he said.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, he said "we will also have to give some berths to several legislators (disqualified MLAs) who have come from Congress and JD(S). So keeping aside some berths, BJP legislators have been made ministers."
Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 Ministers, including the Chief Minister.
With this "limited" expansion, 16 cabinet berths are vacant, leaving space for some of the disqualified former Congress and JDS MLAs, who helped bring down the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy to get on board.
Meanwhile, a few disqualified MLAs, including Ramesh Jarkiholi, Mahesh Kumatahalli, S T Somashekar, Byrati Basavaraj left for Delhi on Wednesday, amid reports that they had expressed keenness to meet BJP's central leadership on their political future.
However, K Sudhakar, one of the disqualified MLAs clarified that they were going to Delhi to meet the lawyers representing them in the Supreme Court, where their plea challenging the disqualification is pending.
But speculations are rife that they may make attempts to meet some top BJP leaders, with BJP leader C P Yogeshwar accompanying them to Delhi.
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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.
