BJP leadership asks Karnataka ministers to start talking about development
Bengaluru, Apr 9: Amid the recent communal issues in Karnataka, the BJP central leadership has asked leaders of its state unit and ministers to bring the development agenda to the fore and showcase the achievements of the government, in the wake of assembly polls next year.
Several ministers are holding press conferences at the party office to list out their achievements.
Holding one such press meet on Saturday, senior minister K S Eshwarappa, who is in-charge of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department, accepted that it is being done as per the directions of the party leadership.
"Yes... (there is a direction from the high command)," he said in response to a question on ministers presenting their progress report to people through the media.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "When I go to my village or constituency, I have to tell people what was promised and what was delivered. Similarly, we are telling the people about our achievements, and asking them to give us their votes."
Accusing the opposition of trying to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims and only trying to create a propaganda out of it, the minister said, "Even Al-Qaeda got involved now..." in reference to the video in which the terror group chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri praised a Karnataka college student for confronting a group of students opposing hijab in her college.
He said the BJP is now using the media to showcase the government's achievements known to the people of the state.
Asked, amid communal issues, whether the focus has shifted to development after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state in the run-up to 2023 assembly polls, Eshwarappa said, "I have openly accepted...we are purposely placing development works before the people as elections are coming."
On the Congress accusing the BJP government of bringing out communal issues, as the ruling party has nothing to speak about development, he said, "Take down, we are listing out (our achievements). We are placing it department wise... we are not 'mouni babas' to keep quiet. When Congress raises communal issues like hijab, we will respond to them."
Shah, who was recently in the city, had set a target of winning 150 seats to Karnataka BJP leaders for the 2023 assembly elections in the state, where the ruling party is eyeing a successive term.
The state has been witnessing a series of communal issues from hijab issue to a call for banning loudspeakers at mosques for the last couple of months.
Amid such developments in the state, the central leadership has asked Karnataka leaders and ministers to also showcase developmental works and achievements, while responding to opposition's allegations on communal issues, a senior BJP functionary said.
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Markets continue to trade lower amid rising India-Pak tensions; Sensex tanks nearly 800 points
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Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty continued to trade sharply lower on Friday late morning session as tensions soared between India and Pakistan fuelling fears of a wider conflict.
India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles including in Jammu and Pathankot after foiling similar bids at 15 places in northern and western regions of the country, as tensions soared between the two countries.
The Indian armed forces on Wednesday had carried out precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’.
Extending its previous day's decline, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge tanked 771.01 points to 79,566.02 during the late morning trade. The NSE Nifty dropped 205.55 points to 24,068.25.
"Under normal circumstances, on a day like this, the market would have suffered deep cuts. But this is unlikely due to two reasons. One, the conflict, so far, has demonstrated India's clear superiority in conventional warfare, and therefore, further escalation of the conflict will inflict huge damage to Pakistan.
"The market is inherently resilient, supported by global and domestic macros. Weak dollar and potentially weakening US and Chinese economies are good for the Indian markets," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
Larsen & Toubro jumped 4 per cent after the firm reported a 25 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 5,497 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2025, supported by higher revenues and an exceptional gain.
Titan Company traded nearly 4 per cent higher after the Tata group firm reported a 13 per cent increase in its consolidated profit after tax at Rs 871 crore in the March quarter, driven by robust sales.
Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Asian Paints and Mahindra & Mahindra were also the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 2,007.96 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
"Profit-taking is likely to continue as investors fearing worse going ahead could trim their equity holdings despite the global mood remaining optimistic," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were quoting lower, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded higher.
US markets ended in the positive territory on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 63.17 a barrel.
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex declined by 411.97 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 80,334.81. The Nifty ended lower by 140.60 points or 0.58 per cent at 24,273.80.
