Leaders hold breakfast meet, but farmers', pothole issues unresolved: BJP leader Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Tuesday took a swipe at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, alleging that while the two leaders were holding breakfast meetings to resolve internal issues, the Congress government had failed to address farmers’ concerns and the pothole menace across Karnataka.
Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, said the government had "lost the trust" of anganwadi workers, farmers, entrepreneurs, the working class and Dalits, and alleged that "the only thing happening under this government is a fight for power."
In a show of unity, Siddaramaiah visited Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday for breakfast, days after the two leaders met amid reports of an internal power tussle.
'Nati koli saaru' (country chicken curry), considered one of Siddaramaiah’s favourites, along with steaming hot idlis, was on the menu, official sources said.
Ashoka also objected to the chief minister consuming 'nati koli' on the day of Hanuma Jayanti celebrations, claiming that the act had "hurt the sentiments" of devotees.
He further recalled an earlier controversy in which Siddaramaiah had allegedly eaten meat before visiting the Dharmasthala temple.
"A few days ago, a breakfast was held at Siddaramaiah’s house, and now it has been held at D K Shivakumar’s house. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal have directed this drama," Ashoka told reporters.
Citing civic concerns, he said more than 580 people had died due to potholes in the last 10 months in the state. "If the time spent eating breakfast had been used to hold meetings with officials on filling potholes, innocent lives could have been saved," he said.
Ashoka added that the issues faced by sugarcane farmers regarding price fixation and problems at maize procurement centres remained unresolved. "But no breakfast meetings have been held on these matters," he added.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
