BJP party MLAs, Ministers in touch with Congress leaders, claims Basanagouda Patil Yatnal
Bengaluru, Jan 24: Pushing for a cabinet rejig soon, senior Karnataka BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Monday claimed that some MLAs and Ministers, especially those who joined the saffron party from other parties, are in touch with the Congress leadership, and will jump ship, once the 2023 assembly poll schedule is announced.
Meanwhile, giving credence to these claims, Congress leaders D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah said, several leaders from the BJP and JD(S) were in touch with them and that they would not divulge details.
"....several people have booked tickets to go to D K Shivakumar's house, Siddaramaiah's house, if you continue with them (as Ministers), where will the BJP survive? For BJP to survive, cabinet reshuffle has to take place at the earliest, good and effective people should be inducted," Yatnal said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the government has to function effectively to give a befitting reply to the Congress in the days to come.
"(BJP) Central leadership is aware as to which MLA will quit and who will remain, Prime Minister is also aware and they will take a suitable decision....I'm not saying all those who have joined BJP from other parties are not loyal, but few are there, once the election commission announces dates for polls, by the same afternoon they will resign from BJP and as Ministers and walk out," he added.
Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and state Congress President D K Shivakumar, not willing to divulge details, too claimed that several leaders from BJP and JD(S) were in touch with them.
"It is true that they are in contact with us, but I won't reveal names....it is true that people from both BJP and JD(S) are in touch....how many, who all, won't reveal," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
Stating that in politics such things cannot be discussed openly, Shivakumar reacting to Yatnal's claims said "they (BJP) leaders know what is happening within their party. Neither me, nor Siddaramaiah will be able to disclose the names of those who are talking to us.....ask Ministers who are talking to us, instead of me, why should we disclose. This is politics, it is our duty to maintain secrecy."
Of late several BJP legislators have even been advocating Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka Cabinet soon, to make way for new faces, and have noted that if it is done in March, it will be too late for ministers to make any mark, even in their own constituencies. These developments have come amid talks in party circles that the expansion or reshuffle of the cabinet is likely, only after the Assembly elections in five states.
With pressure mounting on him to expand or rejig his cabinet, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today indicated that he is waiting for the BJP leadership's consent on going ahead with the exercise, and was also trying to bring it to their notice.
Yatnal, who on Thursday had held a closed-door discussion with another senior legislator M P Renukacharya, today held a similar meeting with party MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and Mahesh Kumathalli.
He however called it a casual meeting for lunch at Jarkiholi's place and not intended at putting any pressure on the party to be inducted into the Ministry.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
