Kuwait's government resigns after grilling on infrastructure
Kuwait City: Kuwait's Cabinet submitted its resignation on Thursday, days after the country's minister of public works announced she would step down after being grilled by parliament.
Some elected lawmakers had accused Jenan Ramadan, who is also minister of state for housing, of failing to fix infrastructure and roads that were damaged in massive floods in 2018.
Ten lawmakers had filed a no-confidence motion against her, according to local media. Ramadan had claimed, however, that the problems plaguing her ministry are long-running and argued she should not be held responsible for issues that precede her time as minister.
There was also reportedly an effort underway among lawmakers to request to grill the country's powerful Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Shiekh Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah.
The government in Kuwait has resigned in the past, particularly when faced with no-confidence votes and requests to grill members of the ruling Al Sabah family.
Kuwait's state-run news agency, KUNA, reported that Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah formally submitted Cabinet's resignation to the country's ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah, without providing further detail.
The country's parliamentary elections are expected in early 2020.
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Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai misconstrued for political gains, says BJP MLA
Mumbai (PTI): BJP MLA R Tamil Selvan on Monday defended party leader K Annamalai's remarks about Mumbai, saying his statements, aimed at highlighting the city's global importance, had been deliberately misconstrued for political gains.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) last week demanded that Annamalai be arrested for his remark that "Bombay is not a Maharashtra city".
While campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections last week, former IPS officer and ex-Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai had said, "People want a triple engine government. This is the only metro city in the country where a triple engine is possible. Modi is in Delhi, Fadnavis is the chief minister, and now Mumbai will have a BJP mayor. Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city."
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Talking to reporters, Selvan, who represents the Sion Koliwada assembly constituency, said, "Our leader Annamalai described Mumbai as a city respected across the world. What he wanted to say was that Mumbai is becoming the world's number one city, mainly because of the blessings of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Be it the Metro project, road construction or the provision of services, Mumbai has emerged as an important city on the global front. Annamalai was talking in this context."
The BJP leader's words were being distorted for political gains, he said.
"How can anyone separate Mumbai from Maharashtra? Not even a prime minister will be able to do it. Annamalai did not say those words out of disrespect. He was only saying that Mumbai has a global identity," he said.
Responding to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's "Rasmalai" jibe at Annamalai, Selvan said, "Raj Thackeray is a senior leader, and many respect him. I still respect him, but he should respect others as well. I am also from Tamil Nadu, but I have won the assembly elections thrice with the support of around 90,000 Marathi voters. They did not see my background."
The BJP gives tickets to people who serve the society, he said.
Selvan claimed that he had worked extensively in Maharashtra, even in rural areas, and invoked icons such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Lokmanya Tilak in his speeches.
In a dig at his critics, the BJP MLA said, "Now people have seen who uses foul language against our chief minister, who works for the people's welfare. We oppose such use of foul language. CM Fadnavis will take appropriate action against such people."
