BJP ticket aspirants turn rebels?
Vijayapura: The rebellion within the BJP in the district is now spreading from one constituency to another where the party leaders have begun expressing anguish openly with regard to selection of candidates for the Assembly elections.
On Tuesday, at least a dozen BJP leaders of Indi taluk held a press conference to refute the claims that the BJP has decided to give ticket to the former MLA Ravikant Patil from Indi taluk, who had contested on KJP in the last Assembly election.
Mr. Patil lost to Yeshwantraigouda Patil of the Congress by a huge margin of over 30,000 votes.
“Mr. Patil has been spreading canards among the voters of the BJP in Indi that he has already been given ticket; the fact is the party has not finalised any candidate,” said Ravikant Bagali, a ticket aspirant. Demanding that the BJP not to give ticket to outsiders such as Mr. Patil, Mr. Bagali declared that if the party gives ticket to Mr. Patil, then one of the 12 party leaders would contest as rebel candidate.
The BJP State unit is already facing discontent in Muddebihal taluk where it has decided to give ticket to party-hopper A.S. Patil Nadahalli who earlier quit the Congress and then the Janata Dal (S) to join the BJP.
The party leader of Muddebihal had opposed his entry. However, going against their wish, the party has apparently decided to field Mr. Nadahalli from Muddebihal.
Rebellion intensifies in Vijyapura
Likewise, rebellion is also getting intense in Vijayapura city where several party leaders have already expressed anguish against the re-induction of MLC Basanagouda Patil Yatnal.
Mr. Yatnal, who was earlier sacked twice from the BJP for his anti-party activities, is now desperate to re-join the party which is being sternly opposed by BJP leaders, including MP Ramesh Jigajinagi, Arun Shahapur and the former MLA Appu Pattanshetty. The party now appears to have a bigger challenge in dousing the fire of rebellion before finalising its candidates.
Over 300 BJP workers and office-bearers of Devarahipparagi constituency, led by district general secretary Ravigouda Patil, have resigned to join the Janata Dal (S). They were angry as the BJP inducted party Devarahipparagi MLA and party-hopper A.S. Patil Nadahalli.
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Rupee falls 5 paise to close at 89.94 against US dollar after RBI cuts repo rate
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee on Friday gave up its initial gains and settled for the day lower by 5 paise at 89.94 (provisional) against US dollar, after the Reserve Bank cut key benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months.
Forex traders said the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) rate cut will weigh on the rupee, but RBI's decision to purchase government bonds worth up to Rs 1 lakh crore through open market operations (OMO), combined with a USD 5 billion buy-sell swap, will support the local currency.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 89.85 against the US dollar and gained ground, touching 89.69 in morning deals, registering a 20-paise gain from its previous close.
After the RBI's monetary policy announcement, the rupee lost ground and fell to 90.06 against the American currency, a 16-paise decline from its previous close of 89.89. The currency is down almost 5 per cent against the dollar this year, the worst performer in Asia.
The local unit finally settled for the day lower by 5 paise at 89.94 (provisional) against the American currency.
"Beyond the rate cut, RBI's decision to purchase government bonds worth up to Rs 1 lakh crore through OMO, combined with a USD 5 billion buy-sell swap, marks a decisive effort to restore durable liquidity and stabilize currency markets after the rupee's sharp depreciation," said Sachin Bajaj, Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer, Axis Max Life Insurance.
The RBI on Friday cut the key benchmark interest rate for the first time in six months and took steps to boost liquidity to support a "goldilocks" economy amid high US tariffs.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
"We don't target any price levels or any bands. We allow the markets to determine the prices. We believe that markets, especially in the long run, are very efficient. It's a very deep market," he said while replying to a question on rupee depreciation at a post-monetary policy press meet.
Malhotra said fluctuations in the market keep occurring, and the RBI's effort is always to reduce any abnormal or excessive volatility. "And that is what we will continue to endeavour," he added.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI announced three-year USD/INR Buy Sell swaps of USD 5 billion this month. When asked if this is aimed at checking rupee depreciation, Malhotra said, "It is a liquidity measure. It is not to support the rupee".
The governor further said the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and that the current account is manageable, and that, given the strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should witness strong capital flows going forward.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 98.96.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.02 per cent to USD 63.27 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 447.05 points to settle at 85,712.37, while the Nifty climbed 152.70 points to 26,186.45.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,944.19 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
