BJP’s bandh-call is political gimmick: UT Khader
Mangaluru: Chief Minister Kumaraswamy has already stated to fulfill the promises. Hence, the BJP’s move to call a state-bandh in the view of loan waiver, even before the cabinet formation, is a political gimmick; said former minister and MLA UT Khader.
Addressing a press conference at D.K district Congress office, he said, "There was no cabinet meeting held yet. Ministers have not been appointed. At this point, the BJP’s call for a state-bandh that they announced even before the trust vote is not a good move. The BJP does not speak about sky-rocketing petrol and diesel prices. Instead, they are playing politics.
When asked whether CM post will be shared for 30 months, Mr. Khader replied that the coalition government would complete its five-year term. However, the matter of choosing Chief Minister for this term is left to party high command.
When asked whether he will get ministership, Mr. Khader said, it is up to high command to decide. For the minister post, there is no competition in the district. “Though we belong to different parties, we both are good friends,” he said pointing BM Farooq.
“The suspicions over EVM that have been raised across the country will be taken seriously. It was not possible to prove the suspicions. However, It is important to think about this at booth level. At this stage nothing can be said about the party's conduct regarding EVM,” he informed.
“Booth and constituency level review will be held regarding the defeat of the Congress in the coastal region. We accept the people’s mandate,” he said.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
