JDS candidate to contest from Shivamogga: Dinesh Gundu Rao
Bengaluru, October 15: KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao said that as per the decision of Congress-JDS coalition leaders, Madhu Bangarappa of JDS would fight it out against BJP candidate in Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency by-election with the support of the Congress.
Speaking to reporters at KPCC office here on Monday, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that Congress-JDS combine candidates would contest from three Lok Sabha and two Assembly constituencies in the by-election. Both Congress and JDS leaders would campaign together and all the leaders would be present during nomination filing. The Congress and JDS candidates would win in all the constituencies. In the last election, the Congress had got 4.28 lakh votes, BJP got 5.83 lakh votes and JDS got 2.51 lakh votes in Shivamogga where the Congress-JDS members were more in all local bodies. So, the local candidate would play a major role in this election, he said.
The Congress and JDS would win majority seats out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to oust the BJP which is detrimental to the country. In South India, the BJP has some strength in Karnataka. So, the Congress and JDS have their own strategy to counter the BJP, he said.
The decision was taken after taking former ministers Kagodu Thimmappa and Kimmane Rathnakar, MLA B.K. Sangameshwar into confidence to give up the seat to JDS. Minister R.V. Deshpande was nominated as incharge for Shivamogga constituency, while K.J. George for Mandya, D.K. Shivakumar for Ballary, Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwar for Jamakhandi, MP D.K. Suresh for Ramanagar constituencies, he said.
‘The anti-people government at the centre is curtailing the freedom of people. No one can express their opinions freely. It has created fear and intolerance in the country. The Prime Minister himself has involved in corruption. It is an open secret that the HAL management has been suppressing its employees over Rafale fighter jets deal’.
- Dinesh Gundu Rao, KPCC President
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Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat
Washington (AP): Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration's war in Iran.
Kent said on social media Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Kent, a former political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists, was confirmed to his post last July on a 52-44 vote.
As head of the National Counterterrorism Centre, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analysing and detecting terrorist threats.
Before entering President Donald Trump's administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He also served in the military, seeing 11 deployments as a Green Beret, followed by work at the CIA.
Democrats strongly opposed Kent's confirmation, pointing to his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to distance himself from a conspiracy theory that federal agents instigated the January 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, as well as false claims that Trump, a Republican, won the 2020 election over Democrat Joe Biden.
Democrats grilled Kent on his participation in a group chat on Signal that was used by Trump's national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.
Still, Republicans praised Kent's counterterrorism qualifications, pointing to his military and intelligence experience.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the GOP chair of the intelligence committee, said in a floor speech that Kent had "dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
