Cabinet expansion or rejig: Ready to visit Delhi whenever BJP high command calls: CM Bommai
Bengaluru(PTI): With speculation about the much awaited expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet persisting, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday reiterated that he is ready to go to New Delhi to discuss it, as soon as the BJP central leadership calls him.
A day after Union Minister Amit Shah's visit to the city, the Chief Minister on Wednesday said that the senior leader will communicate to him the BJP central leadership's decision about the cabinet exercise.
With the state cabinet meeting scheduled to be held on May 5 being postponed to May 11, speculations are rife that it may be to accommodate expansion or reshuffle of the Ministry, amid reports that the BJP high command is expected to arrive at a decision in this regard before May 10.
"You (media) create things and you ask for clarification on all self made stories....I haven't said anything else...what he (Shah) has said is he will speak to all other leaders in Delhi and communicate to me, once he tells me, I'm ready to go (to Delhi), that's all," Bommai said on Thursday in response to a question on clarity about cabinet expansion or reshuffle.
Shah was in the city on Tuesday, during which he took part in various events, and attended lunch at Bommai's official residence where he was closeted with select state BJP leaders.
Shah's visit to the city came amid buzz over possible changes in the leadership, and pressure to rejig or expand the cabinet, ahead of the Assembly polls in 2023.
Several top BJP leaders have denied speculations about Bommai's replacement.
According to top BJP sources, Shah too is said to have asked Bommai to focus on development and election preparations, and leave the rest to the party leadership.
Amid murmurs in the BJP circles that a top-to-bottom overhaul of the cabinet cannot be ruled out, ministerial aspirants are hopeful that a decision is likely soon regarding cabinet expansion or reshuffle, and there are even talks that several incumbents could make way for fresh faces.
Bommai is under pressure from aspirants to expand or reshuffle his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the polls next year.
There are currently five positions vacant in the state cabinet, which has 29 ministers, including the chief minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.
Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka cabinet soon, to make way for new faces, ahead of the assembly elections.
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Compromised PM didn't sign trade deal with US, but a bargain for Adani's release: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of signing a trade deal with the US only to secure the "release" of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.
"Compromised PM did not strike a trade deal, but a bargain for Adani's release," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X, after reports that the US has agreed to settle the lawsuit that accused Adani of hiding alleged bribery.
The US government has agreed to settle the lawsuit filed against Adani, who is accused of duping investors by concealing that his company's huge solar energy project in India was being facilitated by an alleged bribery scheme, according to court filings published Thursday.
Reacting to the reports, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said it was now clear why the PM agreed to the "hopelessly one-sided Indo-US trade deal that was really a steal by the US".
"And it is also clear why he abruptly halted Operation Sindoor on May 10, 2025, acting on President Trump's threats rather than on our national interest. Reportedly, the Trump Administration is about to drop all charges of corruption against Modani," he said on X.
"How much more compromised can the PM get?" Ramesh asked.
In the lawsuit filed in late 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani, who is a director at the group's renewable energy unit Adani Green Energy Ltd, of agreeing to pay about USD 265 million in bribes to Indian government officials between approximately 2020 and 2024 to obtain lucrative solar energy supply contracts on terms that expected to yield USD 2 billion of profit over 20 years.
It was alleged in the lawsuit that Adani Group raised USD 2 billion in loans and bonds, including from US firms, on the backs of false and misleading statements related to the firm's anti-bribery practices and policies.
The ports-to-energy conglomerate had denied the allegations.
