CM Bommai says BJP's Karnataka unit focusing on RS, MLC elections
Hubballi (K'taka)(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the BJP is focusing on the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections and held a core committee meeting in this regard.
He also said the cabinet expansion will also be taken up following instructions from the party high command.
"We are currently preparing for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections. Yesterday itself, we had a core committee meeting in this regard. Seniors are monitoring it," Bommai told reporters on arriving in Hubballi.
Biennial elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka and two graduates' and teachers' constituencies each of the state Legislative Council will be held on June 10 and 13, respectively.
Also, biennial elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council for seven seats will be held on June 3.
The Chief Minister said during his visit to Delhi he had said that after the Supreme Court verdict on holding elections to local bodies, many governments may declare polls and several decisions are likely to be taken in this regard.
The reply was in reference to local body elections in some places, including Bengaluru civic body, which may be announced soon.
Regarding the state cabinet expansion, Bommai said he will once again contact the party high command over phone and based on the instruction, a cabinet reshuffle may be taken up.
There are five ministerial posts against the 34 sanctioned posts that are lying vacant in Karnataka and many ruling BJP legislators are aspiring to become ministers, BJP sources said.
To a query on reports that former chief minister B S Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice president B Y Vijayendra may make an entry to the legislative council and become a minister, he said everything is left to the party high command.
Regarding Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar meeting JD(S) MLA from Chamundeshwari constituency G T Deve Gowda to gain foothold in the old Mysuru region, the Chief Minister said many changes take place in politics.
To a question on opposition parties charging him as being a weak chief minister, Bommai said, "It's only you (journalists) who say this. We resolved the hijab issue, azaan issue and halal issue in a harmonious way. The azaan case was also resolved based on the Supreme Court guidelines. The hijab case was also resolved as per the court directions."
"We were able to solve disputes within the framework of law and as per the Supreme Court guidelines. We performed our duty in a perfect way," the Chief Minister said.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
