BJP has no moral right to talk about 'Brand Bengaluru': CM Siddaramaiah
Belagavi(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday hit out at the opposition BJP questioning the contribution of the party in taking up development works in Bengaluru when its government was in power for four years in the state.
His comments came in response to the BJP's accusation that no development work was taking place in Bengaluru, the state capital.
"We came just six months ago. Before that, the BJP was in power for four years. Did they make 'Brand Bengaluru'? What did they do in four years," Siddaramaiah asked while talking to reporters here. 'Brand Bengaluru' is an initiative of the Congress government aimed at developing Bengaluru into a global city.
"They (BJP) couldn't even fill potholes. People (Judges) in the High Court were scolding them and passing strictures and comments as well. What moral right do they (BJP) have to talk about Bengaluru," the Chief Minister said.
Regarding the BJP's allegations that the governance has taken a beating as "all the ministers have camped" in Telangana (for election-related work of the Congress), Siddaramaiah clarified that only a few, and not all, have gone there.
"Some have gone. After all, we have to do politics as well. People there (in Telangana) had called them (Karnataka ministers)," the chief minister said.
Siddaramaiah said the Food and Civil Supplies Minister Muniyappa and Energy Minister K J George have returned, while Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan are still in Telangana, where the Congress won the Assembly elections.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
