Minister Priyank Kharge slams Centre over denial of permission for US visit
Bengaluru, Jun 19 (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday criticised the Centre for denying him permission to travel to the US to interact with multinational companies to attract investments to the state.
According to sources, Kharge was slated to lead a delegation to Boston for Bio 2025 and San Francisco for Design Automation Conference.
However, due to denial of permission, he was forced to cut short his ongoing trip and returned from Paris to Bengaluru on Wednesday night.
Kharge vowed to raise the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and seek its response for denying him permission.
“It seems that somewhere Centre is trying to curtail the fame of Karnataka,” the Minister, who holds Information Technology and Biotechnology portfolio, told reporters here.
He acknowledged the union government's authority to decline permission but stressed the need for a justification for the decision.
“Rejecting my official tour is improper,” Kharge added.
The minister said he would take it up with the Centre.
“We will not leave it just like that. I am going to write to the MEA seeking a valid explanation on why there was a denial of our delegation and a support from the Government of India,” Kharge said.
He also requested the Chief Minister to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kharge also said that he was visiting the US not to discuss politics but to attract investments.
“People in the USA have no time to listen to our politics. We are going there to invite them to invest in Karnataka. The investment that comes to Karnataka will not only benefit the state but also the Centre,” the Minister insisted.
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West Asia: India supplied 22,000 MT of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March, says MEA
New Delhi (PTI): Amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, India has supplied 22,000 metric tonnes of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March and has received a request from Seychelles and the Maldives to meet their energy requirements, the MEA said on Friday.
At his weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in his response to a query related to requests received from India's neighbouring countries for fuel amid the West Asia situation, also said that India is "finalising a government-to-government agreement" for the supply of oil and gas, which will play an important role in reinforcing energy security of Mauritius.
The conflict in West Asia has now stretched to nearly 50 days, with global ramifications.
"So, we have received requests from our neighbouring countries for supply of fuel, and these are being looked into, keeping in mind our own requirements, availability and refining capacity," Jaiswal told reporters.
He further said India has "supplied 22,000 metric tonnes of high-speed diesel to Bangladesh in March 2026, and further supplies have continued this month as well".
"You would recall that last month we had supplied 38 metric tonnes of petroleum products to Sri Lanka as well," he added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Mauritius last week, the MEA spokesperson said, adding, "We are finalising a government-to-government agreement for supply of oil and gas, which will play an important role in reinforcing the energy security of Mauritius".
As far as Nepal is concerned, there is an existing arrangement between Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation to supply petroleum products to Nepal as per its requirements. The supplies are continuing without any interruption, he said.
Energy supplies to Bhutan also continue according to the existing arrangement.
"As I had mentioned earlier, we have received a request from Seychelles and the Maldives to meet their energy requirements. We continue to be in touch with them in this regard, and are considering the request keeping in mind our own domestic requirements and availability of fuel.
"I would also like to add that our neighbouring country governments have expressed appreciation for the uninterrupted supply, fuel supply to them during the West Asian conflict," Jaiswal said.
Global oil and gas prices surged after Iran restricted the transit of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG trade.
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