Will contest against Congress if ticket is given to Rajendra Kumar: Former Minster Janardhan Poojary
Mangaluru: Senior Congress leader and former AICC General Secretary Janardhan Poojary on Thursday added that in case SDCC bank president Rajendra Kumar gets ticket from Congress party for the upcoming LS elections then he will contest against him.
Poojary labeled charges on corruption on Rajendra Kumar and added that he is not a primary member of the party. Poojary was speaking at a press conference in a private hotel in Mangaluru here.
Poojary further alleged that Kumar had paid money to senior leaders of the party in state for lobbying to get the LS ticket. He urged that the party at any cost should not give ticket to Kumar.
Elaborating on his plans in this regard, Poojary said “I will be going to Delhi in next couple of day. I will meet Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders including AK Antony and will make sure Kumar doesn’t get the ticket. If they go ahead and gives him the ticket then I will not keep quiet, I will contest against him”.
“I don’t have a problem in former minister Ramanath Rai, Vinaya Kumar Saroke, MLC B. K Hariprasad get the ticket. But Kumar should not get ticket. I also know that I’van D’Souza is lobbying for ticket and believes himself to be a ticket aspirant. He will not get the ticket. Even if he does I will also contest against him” former union minister added.
Former MLA Vijay Kumar Shetty and Karunakar Shetty were also present in the press conference here.
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CM Siddaramaiah meets PM Modi, seeks urgent clearances for two irrigation projects
New Delhi (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting rectification in short term farm loan limit, Rs 10,000 cr in financial support and urgent clearances for the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and Kalasa Bandhuri projects.
In the meeting in Parliament complex, Siddarmaiah pressed for several key interventions focusing on critical areas, including agriculture, water resources and urban infrastructure.
Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar, Energy Minister K J George and Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh accompanied the CM for the meeting.
The chief minister highlighted that NABARD has drastically cut the Short Term Agricultural Credit Limit for Karnataka from Rs 5,600 crore in 2023-24 to just Rs 2,340 crore in 2024-25, a 58 per cent reduction that could severely impact farmers' access to soft loans.
"I request you to look into this and direct the Finance Ministry to rectify this situation so that farmers in Karnataka continue to receive soft agricultural loans," Siddarmaiah said in a representation made to the PM.
He requested Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project, which promises to irrigate central Karnataka's drought-prone farmlands. The project has been pending since the 2023-24 Union Budget.
He also pushed for clearances of two critical water projects - the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir on the Kaveri river and the Kalasa Bandhuri project on the Mahadayi river -- both awaiting approvals from the Jal Shakti and Environment Ministries.
Highlighting Bengaluru's status as a tech hub and top GDP contributor, the state requested special assistance for urban and public transportation.
Additionally, Karnataka sought Rs 10,000 cr to develop infrastructure in 13 emerging city corporations.
On fiscal allocation, the CM complained of receiving an unfavourable deal from the 15th Finance Commission, which reduced its tax share by 1 per cent.
Siddaramaiah urged the government to provide compensation grants and ensure future finance commissions do not penalise states with significant tax contributions.
The Karnataka chief minister also met Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and congratulated her on being elected as an MP from Wayanad.
