Speaker accepts Cong rebel leader Umesh Jadhav’s resignation as MLA
Bengaluru, Apr 1: Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar Monday accepted the resignation of rebel Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav, who is taking on party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge as the BJP candidate from Gulbarga constituency in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress had petitioned the Speaker seeking disqualification of Jadhav along with other party rebel lawmakers Ramesh Jarkiholi, B Nagendra and Mahesh Kumathali under the anti-defection law.
"I am convinced that the decision (by Jadhav) has been taken of his own volition without being under duress or without falling for any allurements," Kumar said in his order.
The ruling came as a big relief to Jadhav as there was uncertainty over his political future with the Congress seeking disqualification under the anti-defection law.
On March 25, the speaker had conducted a public hearing too giving the voters of Chincholi, the assembly constituency Jadhav represented, a chance to express their views on his decision.
Even before the order could come, Jadhav joined the BJP on March 6 at Kalaburagi the day prime minister Narendra Modi addressed a gathering in the town.
Jadhav was upset with the Congress against the alleged dominance by Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, and his son Minister Priyank Kharge in the region.
He was against Priyank Kharge getting ministerial berth ahead of several senior Congress leaders including himself.
The four MLAs had kept the party on tenterhooks for several weeks, defying its whip twice to attend the Congress Legislative party meetings on January 18 and February 8 and had skipped the early part of the assembly budget session.
During the political turmoil that engulfed the state in January, following BJP's alleged attempts to topple the Congress-JD(S) coalition government by poaching their MLAs,the four MLAs had gone incommunicado and were said to be camping in Mumbai, with a plan to jump ship to the saffron party.
After they refused to fall in line, the Congress had petitioned the Speaker to disqualify them under the anti-defection Law.
However, they subsequently attended the session and voted in favour of the finance bill, with an intention not to violate the whip and avoid any stringent action.
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Trump tells Fox News he's no longer sending Witkoff, Kushner to Pakistan for Iran talks
Islamabad (AP): President Donald Trump says he told top US envoys not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, telling Fox News that "they can call us anytime they want.”
In a brief phone interview Saturday, Trump told Fox News that he told US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner “you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”
Trump also said of the US side “we have all the cards.”
His comments came after the White House said Friday that Witkoff and Kushner would be heading to Pakistan for another round of negotiations with Iran.
