Bommai hints at alliance talks with JD(S) ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls
Hubballi (K'taka) (PTI): Senior BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday hinted at talks regarding the JD(S) joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The former Chief Minister said the results of the discussion will determine the future political developments.
"That is for the discussion between our leadership and JD(S) President H D Deve Gowda," Bommai said in response to a question on the possibility of JD(S) joining NDA.
Speaking to reporters here, he said JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has expressed certain feelings and the discussions will continue in that direction.
"The future political developments will be based on the result of those discussions," he added.
Recently, there have been enough indications from leaders of BJP and JD(S) about both parties coming to an understanding ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa had said his party and the JD(S) would fight the Congress government in the state together.
Kumaraswamy on his part had said a decision on an electoral understanding for the Lok Sabha polls will be taken when the situation arises.
The BJP swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka by winning 25 of the total 28 seats in the State, while an independent backed by it won in one seat. The Congress and JD(S) secured one seat each.
Responding to a question on the appointment of Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Bommai said, "Yes the appointment has not happened... most probably it may happen after July 18."
Even two weeks after the legislature session began, the BJP, which is the principal opposition party in the state, is yet to appoint the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
The party is facing criticism from various sections for the delay, including the ruling Congress in the state.
To a question about reports that senior BJP leader and former Minister V Somanna will be joining Congress, he said, they are mere speculations.
Asked about the possibility of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi coming to state for the launch of 'Gruha Lakshmi" scheme -- one of the poll guarantees of the government, which promises Rs 2,000 every month to women head of the family, Bommai said, "let her come, but the scheme has been goofed up, and that's the reason its rollout has been postponed time and again."
"There is no clarity in procedures even now. They say Aadhar card is needed, bank passbook is needed.. the government has no intention to completely implement the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which is a huge burden. So by postponing the dates their intention is to implement it to less beneficiaries for a short period of time. Women are expected to face a huge disillusionment on August 16 (during roll out)," he added.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
