Om Birla attends swearing-in of new B'desh PM, says India stands ready to support BNP govt
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, and said India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation.
Separately, the speaker called on the new Bangladesh prime minister and conveyed the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also handed over an invitation from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman to visit India, officials said here.
“Glad to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka today. India stands ready to support Bangladesh’s endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation,” Birla posted on X.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said in a post on X, “Prime Minister Tarique Rahman conveys his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi to the visiting India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in of the new government.
“Speaker Birla conveyed wishes and an invitation to India. Both leaders expressed optimism to work together for the well-being of the people of Bangladesh and India, pursuing a people-centric menu of cooperation.”
Birla also met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and other leaders on the sidelines of the event.
Led by Rahman, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) swept to power with a two-thirds majority with 49.97 per cent votes and 209 seats in the polls held on February 12, results for which were declared on February 13.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, which was opposed to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, registered its best-ever performance with 31.76 per cent votes and 68 seats.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) secured the third-highest number of seats, six, and 3.05 per cent votes.
Bangladesh had invited Narendra Modi to the ceremony, but the prime minister could not attend the event as he was scheduled to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai on Tuesday.
On reaching Dhaka, Birla said the swearing-in of Rahman was an important moment that would strengthen people-to-people relations and shared democratic values between the two neighbours.
“Honoured to be in Dhaka representing India at the swearing-in ceremony of the new government led by Tarique Rahman as the prime minister. It's an important moment that will strengthen people-to-people ties and shared democratic values between our two nations,” Birla said.
Birla was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials.
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Distillery producing premium craft rum shuts down as LPG runs dry
Bengaluru (PTI): A craft rum distillery near Mysuru has temporarily shut its operations after failing to procure gas for its boilers, amid the ongoing LPG supply disruption triggered by the widening West Asia conflict, the unit's founder said.
Aruna Urs, founder of the distillery that produces Huli Spirits -- touted as India's first premium craft rum made from jaggery --announced the development on Thursday through his social media handle on X.
"Huli is closed from Monday as we are unable to procure LPG for our boiler. We had a public and a private supplier, and both managers categorically stated that the order from above is to only refill domestic canisters..." he added.
The premium, single-origin jaggery-based rum is produced at a micro-distillery located in Nanjangud taluk of Mysuru district.
Urs, however, did not mention how long the shutdown would continue.
Boilers are an essential component in the distillation process, and LPG is a critical component for the production.
Several small manufacturing units have been affected by the ongoing disruption caused by a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders in the market.
As a result, many restaurants, hotels and catering services have either shut their kitchens or are operating under strain using the limited stocks available.
