10 CM aspirants in Karnataka Congress, am one of them, says Parameshwara
Tumakuru (PTI): Throwing his hat into the ring, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara acknowledged on Thursday that he is among the Chief Ministerial aspirants in the event of the party coming to power after the Assembly elections in Karnataka, slated in April-May.
The five-time MLA maintained that the party high command will decide on the next CM after the party wins the election, and said, given an opportunity he is ready.
Already, state Congress President D K Shivakumar and legislature party leader Siddaramaiah are nursing Chief Ministerial ambitions in the event of Congress coming to power and are quite vocal on their aspirations, resulting in political one upmanship between the two in the party.
"We don't appoint Chief Minister on the basis of one's caste; whoever is capable in the given situation, whoever has the capability to fulfill the party's mission and its principles, based on that, the CM will be chosen, not on the basis of whether someone is a dalit or from other caste," Parameshwara said responding to a question on possibility of a Dalit Chief Minister if Congress comes to power.
Asked about his Chief Ministerial aspiration, he said, "why am I doing politics? To come to power...everyone has aspirations, about 10 people have aspirations in our party, I'm also one among them."
Parameshwara, a Dalit, was Deputy Chief Minister during Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy.
He was also the longest-serving KPCC chief (eight years) and has a PhD in plant physiology from the Waite Agriculture Research Centre of the University of Adelaide.
Reacting to a question on him losing out in the race to become CM last time and if he could be seen in the race once again, Parameshwara merely said, on coming to power, the high command will decide, and whomever they decide everyone will accept, keeping trust in that person.
"Our purpose is to bring the party to power first, after that it is left to the high command, whomever they decide, we will accept it... everyone will have the aspiration, and given an opportunity I'm also ready to be a part of it," he said, to a query regarding him not pushing himself for the CM position.
Parameshwara, who represents Koratagere in Tumakuru district, had lost the 2013 assembly polls, when he was KPCC president. He was a contender for the chief minister's post then, but as he lost the elections, he was made an MLC and a minister in the Siddaramaiah-headed government.
Alleging that there were attempts by some in the Congress to block the rise of Dalit leaders, Parameshwara had in the past claimed that he has thrice been denied the CM post, as he belonged to the community.
Noting that prospects are "very good" for the Congress party, Parameshwara today said there is confidence that the party will 100 per cent form the government, and "all the surveys too are showing us ahead".
"This means the situation is favourable for the Congress.. we are confident of coming to power. We will come with full majority by crossing much more than the 113-mark and form the government," he said.
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Talks with Iran ended after 21 hours without reaching agreement, says US Vice President Vance
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Islamabad (PTI): US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the Islamabad Talks with Iran failed as the two sides could not bridge the gulf of differences despite hectic efforts spreading more than 21 hours.
Vance addressed a press conference here after “substantive discussions” in direct talks between the two sides -- the first since 1979 at this level --mediated by Pakistan.
“We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we have had a number of substantive discussions, that’s the good news,” Vance said.
“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” he added.
“We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not,” the US vice president said, adding that the Iranian delegation had “chosen not to accept our terms”.
He was asked to elaborate the main sticking points of what did the Iranians reject but he refused to go into specifics.
“I won’t go into all the details because I don’t want to negotiate in public after we negotiated for 21 hours in private. But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and that they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance said
He said stopping Iran from getting a "nuke" was the “core goal of the US president, and that’s what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations”.
Vance also praised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, terming them “incredible hosts”.
“Whatever shortcomings were in the negotiations were not because of Pakistanis, who did an amazing job and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap and get to a deal,” he said.
Separately, the spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, in an X message also confirmed that the two sides failed to make a deal and “numerous messages and texts have been exchanged between the two sides".
“In the past 24 hours, discussions were held on various dimensions of the main negotiation topics, including the Strait of Hormuz, the nuclear issue, war reparations, lifting of sanctions, and the complete end to the war against Iran and in the region,” he wrote.
“The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran’s legitimate rights and interests.”
Baqaei also expressed appreciation to the “government and the warm-hearted and noble people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for hosting the negotiations and their benevolent efforts in advancing this process”.
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