Cong to hold Padayatra from Nelyadi to BC Road from Jan 14-16: Ramanath Rai
Demand for resuming NH works from Addahole-BC Road
Mangaluru, Jan 3: Former minister Ramanath Rai said that the District Congress would take out a padayatra from January 14 to 16 demanding the government to resume the works of national highway from Addahole to BC Road on Bengaluru-Mangaluru road.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Rai said that party senior leaders would participate in the padayatre. On January 14, the padayatre would start from Nelyadi and reach Uppinangady where it would stay. The next day, it would resume its journey and conclude at Mani and on January 16, it would converge at BC Road. In all the three places, public rallies would be conducted, he said.
Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway was like a lifeline. It would connect the two cities. Then UPA government had approved the works from Hassan to BC Road and then union minister Oscar Fernandes had sanctioned for the 63 km road from Hassan to Marenahalli-Gundya. After first round of works, NLT Company had taken up the second phase work. As the company was bankrupt, the work was suspended, he said suspecting that the company might have bankrupted due to wrong economic policies of the Narendra Modi government.
The NHAI had to clear dues worth crores to the company which stopped the works due to paucity of funds. The incomplete work has been causing inconvenience to the people. So, the road works should be completed before rainy season. In order to draw the attention of the central government, the Congress has organized the padayatre, he said.
The district had seen lot of development works during the tenure of Srinivas Malya. But during the BJP government at the centre, the development works have come to grinding halt in the district. Airport and the port were facing the threat of privatization, he said.
MLC Harish Kumar, former MLA JR Lobo, Mayor Bhaskar K, Party leaders Shashidhar Hegde, Shalet Pinto, Naveen D’Souza, Venkappa Gowda, Dhananjay Addangaya, Shahul Hameed and others were present.
‘I won’t politicize Sabarimala issue’
Responding to a question Sabarimala issue, Rai said that he would not comment on the Supreme Court order and its pros and cons. When he was young, he had visited Sabarimala for more than 18 times. He had visited the temple with devotion, confidence, belief and harmony.
But now, he would not speak about the issue and its impact. He would not politicize the Sabarimala issue, Rai clarified.
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Canada's top envoy to US will resign before review of free trade agreement
Toronto (AP): Canada's ambassador to the US for the last six years said Tuesday she's resigning next year as the two major trading partners plan to review the free trade agreement.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman said in a letter it is the right time to put in place someone who will oversee talks about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is up review in 2026.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Hillman “prepared the foundations for Canada in the upcoming review" of the agreement.
Carney noted she's one of the longest-serving ambassadors to the United States in Canada's history.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent Hillman to the embassy as deputy ambassador in 2017. She became the first woman to represent Canada as ambassador in the US in 2019.
Hillman helped lead the trade negotiations during US President Donald Trump's first term as deputy and as ambassador worked with US and Chinese officials to win the release of two Canadians detained in China.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-US trade, and Hillman had been leading trade talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
US Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said on social media that Hillman has been an “awesome and well-respected” contributor to the US-Canada relationship.
“I value your friendship and wish you all the best in your next adventure. You will be missed,” Hoekstra said.
Trump ended trade talks with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the US, which upset the US president. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump's insistence that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Asked this week when trade talks would resume, Trump said, “we'll see.”
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada's exports go to the US Most exports to the US are exempted by the USMCA trade agreement but that deal is up for review.
Carney aims to double non-US trade over the next decade.
About 60% of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of US electricity imports as well.
Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
