I am not contesting LS polls, says former PM HD Deve Gowda
Bengaluru, Jan 13: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Saturday said he will not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in view of his age.
The 90-year-old JD(S) supremo said he will campaign for candidates in the elections.
"I am not contesting the elections. I am now 90. Whichever seats we get, wherever it is necessary, I will go there. I have some strength to talk and have memory power. With that I will campaign," Gowda said in a press conference.
Regarding JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy contesting the Lok Sabha elections, the former prime minister said no decision has been taken yet.
He said whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi says will be followed.
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Gowda praised Modi for taking 11-day intense penance before the installation of the Lord Ram idol in the sanctum sanctorum of the newly built Ram temple in Ayodhya.
He said Modi has done lots of 'Punya' (virtues), which is why he will perform the consecration of the Ram temple with the utmost devotion and spiritual discipline.
The former prime minister said he would attend the consecration with his wife Chennamma on January 22.
The JD(S) joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year after a meeting Kumaraswamy, a former Chief Minister and Deve Gowda's son, had with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda in New Delhi.
Both parties have said they would fight the coming Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka together.
In the elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly in May last year, the JD(S) put up a poor show, winning only 19 seats. The Congress bagged 135 and the BJP 66.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
