K'taka leadership change no longer an issue, Cong high command decides such matters: Surjewala
Bengaluru, Jul 8 (PTI): AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday declined to comment on the ongoing discussions regarding leadership change in the state, suggesting that it is no longer pertinent and also indicated that such decisions rest with the party high command.
This even as the ruling Congress MLAs continue to openly discuss the prospect of a leadership change, despite warnings from the party leadership to refrain from making statements on the matter.
Addressing speculations surrounding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's visit to New Delhi, which some linked to the possibility of change in the CM, the Congress General Secretary clarified that the trip was for official government work and to present the state's case and demands to the central government.
"My PCC President (Shivakumar) has already taken note of the same. As far as leadership issues are concerned, I spoke to you last week along with the PCC President, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister. Whatever we had to say on that issue, we have already spoken," Surjewala told reporters in response to a question about MLAs openly making statements on leadership change and internal issues.
"Somebody can have a desire, like a journalist can have a desire to become the editor, but it is ultimately the owner of the television channel who will pick an editor. All I'm saying is, we have already spoken, I don't think so, that's an issue any longer."
Last week, Surjewala had said any news that is circulated in the media about leadership change is only a "figment of imagination", while AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had asserted that it is up to the party high command to decide on matters such as change of guard.
Amid intense speculations about CM change, Siddaramaiah had said he will be the Chief Minister for a full five-year term. In his reaction, Shivakumar indicated that he had no option and would stand by Siddaramaiah.
There has been speculation within political circles, especially within the ruling Congress, for some time now about the Chief Minister change later this year, citing power-sharing agreement involving incumbent Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
While Shivakumar is already in Delhi to meet with Union Ministers, Siddaramaiah will be travelling to the national capital on Wednesday and is scheduled to hold discussions with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to party sources, their meeting with Congress leadership during the visit cannot be ruled out.
Responding to a query on CM and Deputy CM's visit to Delhi amid leadership change rumours, Surjewala quipped, "they are not barred from travelling to Delhi".
"There is no injunction or stay. For government work and for pleading our (state) case before the Government of India, they often travel to Delhi, and they should be travelling and trying to persuade with all our might the Government of India, not to discriminate against and not give step-motherly treatment to people of Karnataka,"
"As far as our MLAs are concerned, many can have issues, I have asked them to give me in writing... we are resolving them one by one," he added.
Surjewala is in Karnataka once again, as part of the second phase of his one-on-one meetings with MLAs.
He explained that his visit to Karnataka is to gather feedback from party legislators on how the Congress government's guarantee schemes are performing in their respective constituencies and to identify areas for further improvement.
"To understand whether the district and taluk guarantee committees are able to reach out to people and settle the grievances or not, what our legislators have done to help the people and in terms of public development over two years," Surjewala said.
"Also, what more should be done and how should the government and the party be assisting them (MLAs). Also, what is the status of organisational preparedness in their respective assembly constituencies," he added.
Meanwhile, Ramanagara MLA H A Iqbal Hussain, who has been served a show cause notice by the party for making statements before the media that Shivakumar should become the CM said he stands by his statement and will reiterate it.
"... I have been asked not to violate the party discipline by discussing the matter in public. I won't discuss it. I stand by my statement and the same will be there in my reply to the show cause notice, which I will be sending today," he said.
Channapatna MLA C P Yogeshwara said he has no ambition to become a Minister, and instead desires to see Shivakumar elevated to the post of CM first.
"We are all saying it. All the MLAs from the district (Bengaluru South/Ramanagara) are unanimous that D K Shivakumar should become the CM, there is no difference of opinion on this...the high command has to decide. I support Shivakumar becoming the CM," he said.
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 hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
