Portfolio allocation to 17 new ministers on Sunday: CM Yediyurappa
Bengaluru, Aug 24: The allocation of portfolios to 17 newly inducted ministers into his cabinet in Karnataka will take place after his return from New Delhi on Sunday, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Saturday.
Yediyurappa cited death of BJP stalwart and former finance minister Arun Jaitley, and his travel to Delhi on Sunday to pay his last respects to the departed leader as the reasons for the delay.
"I have had discussion with Amit Shah (BJP president).
Today I had to send the list (of portfolios) to the Governor.
As Arun Jaitley passed away, this was not the right time.
Tomorrow after coming from Delhi I will do it..everything is clear, there are no issues," Yediyurappa told reporters here.
Yediyurappa had earlier said allocation of portfolios will be done by Saturday post noon.
"I have had one-and-half hour long discussion with our national president and Home Minister Amit Shah regarding political developments in the state and other things.
By second half of the day who should be given what portfolio in the cabinet, will be finalised," he had told reporters here late last night after returning from Delhi .
Having a tight rope to walk by pacifying the disgruntled MLAs who missed out on Cabinet berth, coupled with allocation of portfolios to new ministers, Yediyurappa had left for Delhi on Thursday to consult BJP central leadership to deal with the situation.
Some disqualified former legislators of the Congress and JDS who helped bring down the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy reportedly are also piling pressure on Yediyurappa, seeking their pound of flesh and plum portfolios.
Amid all this, talks of having Deputy Chief Ministers and one more round of cabinet expansion soon to induct couple of disgruntled MLAs has gained momentum in BJP circles, party sources said, adding that "However, there is still no final decision on this."
On his return from Delhi, several Ministers including V Somanna and Suresh Kumar met Yediyurappa and held discussions on Saturday.
Independent MLA H Nagesh expressed hope about getting Energy portfolio.
"I will do good job if given power (Energy) department as I have worked in the sector and have experience.
I hope I will get good portfolio..," he told reporters.
More than three weeks after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister, Yediyurappa expanded his cabinet last Tuesday, inducting 17 Ministers.
Though the expansion brought an end 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.
With several MLAs openly expressing displeasure over being left out, Yediyurappa has been making attempts to douse the embers, by reaching out to them.
The Chief Minister on Saturday too tried to pacify eight time Hukkeri MLA Umesh Katti, around whom several disgruntled MLAs are reportedly rallying.
According to reports Katti has expressed his displeasure to Yediyurappa during the meeting, about induction of former legislator Laxman Savadi, who is neither a member of the Assembly not the Council, being made the Minister, allegedly in Savadis presence.
Kattis telephonic conversation with Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday night, which both of them termed as causal friendly conversation, had led to speculation about the former's next political move.
Another BJP MLA from Honnali M P Renukacharya too continued his attack on Savadi without naming him, but said, he will remain loyal to Yediyurappa and the party.
Yediyurappa has kept 16 Minister posts vacant to accommodate some more BJP members and from among those 17 disqualified former legislators who helped him come to power.
Meanwhile, few disqualified MLAs, who were in Delhi to meet lawyers representing them in the Supreme Court, where their plea challenging disqualification was pending, are returning to Bengaluru, sources said.
According to reports, they had expressed keenness to meet BJP's central leadership on their political future, but that did not happen.
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 said, noting that Yediyurappa has kept 16 berths still vacant.
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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.
