Kumaraswamy had cried and said he would resign, says Deve Gowda
Bengaluru, Aug 23: Continuing his attack against the Congress, JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda on Friday said his son H D Kumaraswamy had shed tears wanting to resign as Chief Minister of the coalition government, citing "trouble" from the alliance partner in running the administration.
Stating that he was "swallowing pain" all these days, the former Prime Minister said he had advised Kumaraswamy against resignation in the larger interest of the unity of secular parties.
"..I was swallowing pain of what all they (Congress) were doing, if I had come out in the open about it, it would have come across that Deve Gowda was responsible for the collapse of the government. Kumaraswamy had cried and said he would resign," Gowda said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "because of trouble from you (media) and they (Congress) gave, one day he came home and said, he will resign.
I told him, in the country the situation is Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) versus other secular parties, if we resign now, at the top level there (in Delhi) there may be danger, so withstand."
Gowda in the last couple of days has repeatedly hit our at Congress leadership as he blamed Congress legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, holding him responsible for the collapse of the coalition government,exactly one month ago.
Siddaramaiah earlier hit back at Gowda for accusing him of being responsible for the collapse of the coalition government, terming the allegation "baseless", "unscrupulous" and "politically motivated."
Holding Gowda and sons (Kumaraswamy and Revanna) responsible, he said taking unilateral decisions, not taking MLAs and ministers into confidence were the primary reasons for the governments collapse.
Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy said this was not the time to react to Siddaramaiah's allegations and he would respond at the right time.
"This is not the time to respond to allegations made by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah..At the time when secular forces have to unite, talks that may cause split is not healthy.
At an appropriate time I will certainly respond to everything," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
The coalition government collapsed on July 22 after the confidence motion moved Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy was defeated in the assembly, bringing to an end his 14-month long turbulent tenure marked by dissidence within the Congress.
Raising a banner of rebellion, 17 MLAs (14 from the Congress and 3 JDS) had resigned as legislators which culminated in the fall of the coalition government.
Congress and JD(S) considered as arch rivals, especially in old Mysuru region, had bitterly fought against each other during the 2018 assembly polls, but joined hands after the elections threw up a hung verdict to keep BJP, the single largest party in the 225 member assembly, out of power.
From day one, the government was facing trouble from within as barring the top leaders of both parties, their rank and file did not accept the alliance.
Reflecting strains in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy had said he was "not happy" being in the top post and was swallowing the pain like 'Vishakantha' (Lord Shiva), who drank poison.
Many legislators and also ministers from the Congress demanded that their legislature party chief Siddaramaiah be made the chief minister, which resulted in Kumaraswamy even threatening to step down.
Raising a banner of rebellion, seventeen MLAs (14 from the Congress and 3 JDS) had resigned which culminated in the fall of the coalition government.
Following the collapse, BJP under the leadership of B S Yediyurappa formed the government on July 26 and proved his majority in the assembly two days later.
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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.
