Reservation Bill is BJP’s election gimmick: Siddaramaiah
Mysuru, Jan 9: “It’s not possible to discuss the issue of appointment to boards and corporations on streets. It will be discussed in the Coordination Committee meeting and solve it”, said former chief minister Siddaramaiah.
He told reporters here on Wednesday when he was asked about Minister HD Revanna’s displeasure over appointment to boards and corporation, that he would not speak about the issue on streets. He would convene a meeting of the Coordination Committee shortly and discuss the issue in detail, he added.
Seat sharing in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election would also be discussed in the Coordination Committee meeting, Siddaramaiah said.
Election gimmick
Blasting at the BJP leaders, Siddaramaiah said that presenting a Bill on giving 10 per cent reservation to upper general castes was just an election gimmick. He would welcome the move of giving reservation to the poor in the upper castes.
It was the BJP which has been opposing the reservation. But now, they have presented the Bill on reservation which is an election gimmick, he said.
Except the BJP backed organizations, all other labour organisations have participated in the Bharat Bandh called by the labour organizations. Their protest was justifiable. It was not Congress-sponsored. The central government should solve the problems of the labour sector, he said.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
