Another Independent Karna Minister resigns, supports BJP
Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister and Independent MLA R Shankar Monday resigned from the H D Kumaraswamy cabinet and extended support to the opposition BJP.
Shankar met state Governor Vajubhai Vala and conveyed his decision to support BJP, a communication from the Raj Bhavan said.
The Ranebennur MLA, who quit as Municipal Administration Minister, later left for Mumbai.
His move came shortly after another independent MLA and Minister H Nagesh resigned from the council of ministers and withdrew support to the 13-month old Kumaraswamy-led government.
The withdrawal of support by the two MLAs to the government has dealt another blow to the coalition which is tottering on the brink of collapse after 13 MLAs of the combine resigned Saturday.
With Shankar's decision, the BJP's numbers in the 224-member assembly has gone up to 107 while the strength of the ruling coalition has come down to 116 excluding the Speaker. The half-way mark is 113.
If the Speaker accepts the resignation of the 13 MLAs, the government numbers will fall to 103.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
