No action from Modi on 40% commission: Siddaramaiah
Ballari, Oct 15: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with inaction on the letter sent to him by a contractors association accusing the BJP government in Karnataka of charging 40 per cent commission on public work.
Addressing a public meeting in Ballari as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra completed 1,000 km, Siddaramaiah said the association president Kempanna wrote a letter to Modi a year ago stating that the BJP government has been demanding the commission.
"Today which government is called 40 per cent commission government? It's only the BJP government. It's not me who is saying this but the Contractors' Association president Kempanna who wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the BJP government in Karnataka has been demanding 40 per cent commission on every project," Siddaramaiah said.
The Congress leader's charge was a part of the party's campaign against the alleged corruption. The party recently launched the PayCM campaign with a QR code showing the image of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. It is a copy of the digital payment platform 'PayTM'.
"It's been one year since Kempanna wrote the letter but Narendra Modi did not take any action. Whenever we raise the issue he says, "Na Khaunga, Na Khane Doonga" (I will not eat and will not allow others to eat.)," the Congress stalwart alleged.
"Where are you Mr Narendra Modi? For the past one year you did not taken any action on the letter written by Mr Kempanna. Aren't you ashamed?" the former chief minister said.
The Congress leader said the only contribution by the BJP government in Ballari was looting natural resources by the mining barons.
"Who was part of the illegal mining? Who encouraged it? Because of our padayatra in 2010 from Bengaluru to Ballari, a situation was created to send former BJP minister G Janardhan Reddy to jail. Today also they (Reddy brothers) are facing many criminal cases," Siddaramaiah charged.
He launched an attack on the Ballari district-in-charge minister B Sriramulu for questioning the contribution of the first Prime Minister of the country Nehru by saying he has no right to question the Congress, which sacrificed too much right from the time of pre-independence.
Siddaramaiah claimed that the BJP started its Jana Sankalpa Yatra' after seeing the response to Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
"Due to the enormous support to Rahul Gandhi's march, these people (BJP) are trembling with fear that they will lose power. That's the reason that they are blabbering gibberish. The people of Karnataka have resolved to throw away your government and bring back the Congress government in Karnataka in 2023," he claimed.
The Congress leader said the BJP government in Karnataka amended the Land Reform Act to allow big corporates to directly purchase land from farmers.
Siddaramiah alleged that the RSS and the Sangh Parivar were politicising religions.
Not only in Karnataka but also across the country, the RSS is involved in the despicable work of dividing people on communal lines, he said.
"Today the RSS and its affiliate organisations are opposed to the national flag, national anthem, democracy and constitution of India.
Today the constitution and democracy are in danger," Siddaramaiah said as he called upon people to join the Congress party's effort to fight against them.
He said Rahul Gandhi's march was aimed at saving the Constitution.
"Today I kneel before Rahul Gandhi for his bold decision of taking out a march. Let us all join hand in hand," he said.
The Congress in Karnataka turned the Bharat Jodo Yatra into a major show of strength ahead of Assembly polls which is less than seven months away.
A large number of people turned up at the Municipal grounds in Ballari dotted with banners, posters, cutouts, flags and festoons. Elaborate security arrangements were made to ensure law and order though the event passed off peacefully.
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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.
