No discontent on appointment of district in-charge Ministers: Karnataka CM Bommai
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said there is no discontent among his cabinet colleagues following the appointment of district in-charge Ministers, and that he has spoken to all of them before and after carrying out the exercise.
The Chief Minister's statement came even as few Ministers stopped short of openly expressing their displeasures over them not being assigned their home districts.
"I have spoken to everyone (Ministers) before appointing them as district in-charge Ministers and after that as well. It is our party's national policy that Ministers should be made in-charge of other districts, not their own," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the appointments have been made after detailed discussions with every one.
"No one expressed any kind of disgruntlement, there is no such thing..... I have spoken to all Ministers, there is no question of discontent. We are all together as one and have decided to work for the people and we are working towards it.... the talks about disgruntlement or discontent is far from truth," he added.
Almost six months into his government coming to office, Bommai on Monday had allocated districts among the Ministers of his Cabinet, of which they will be in-charge, while keeping the key Bengaluru urban district with himself.
Effecting a complete change from the previous B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government, the Chief Minister has not assigned any minister their home districts under which their Assembly constituency comes.
While at least two senior ministers- Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy have not been assigned any districts; three Ministers- B C Patil, K Gopalaiah and Shankar B Patil Munenakoppa have been allocated two districts each.
Noting that he would have been happy if he was made in-charge of Tumakuru, his home district, Law Minister Madhuswamy said, he himself has opted out of being Minister in-charge of any other district.
"When it is the party's decision that home districts should not be allocated to any Minister, there is no question of discontent, but I'm not in a position to work in any other district which I don't know, just ahead of election.....I decided to stay away from it," he said.
Another Minister MTB Nagaraj, who is made in-charge of Chikkaballapura district said, as he has represented a constituency that comes under Bengaluru rural district and understands the pulse there, it would have been better he was made in-charge there, but as it is the decision of CM and party leadership, he will abide by it.
Meanwhile, responding to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivaumar's claims that several leaders from other parties, especially from BJP are in touch with them, Bommai said, there is no question of anyone going out from the saffron party.
"It shows the amount of insecurity the Congress is facing, there is a fight between two leaders (Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah) there, there is a series coming out every month claiming who is with whom in their party, as a result of it they are making such claims," he said.
"There is no question of anyone going from the BJP, they (few leaders who are now Ministers in BJP govt) have come here stating that they don't want Congress, so there is no question of going there.....I don't want to comment on certain political developments that are taking place, but you will see things, wait for few days, you will see how BJP will get strengthen politically," he added.
Siddaramaiah today reiterated that few BJP and JD(S) leaders are in touch with him and he would not reveal their names.
Senior BJP legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal too on Monday had claimed that some MLAs and Ministers, especially those who joined the saffron party from other parties, are in touch with the Congress leadership, and will jump ship, once the 2023 assembly poll schedule is announced.
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PM Modi holds talks with Dutch counterpart Jetten; discusses trade, investment
The Hague (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten, focusing on trade, investment, and critical technologies.
Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday on the second leg of his five-nation tour. This is his second trip to the Netherlands, following his visit in 2017.
Ahead of the bilateral talks, Modi, along with Jetten, held discussions with prominent CEOs of leading Dutch companies across various sectors such as energy, ports, health, agriculture trade, and technology, among others.
Modi invited Dutch companies to explore opportunities in India, particularly in maritime, renewable energy, digital technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and healthcare sectors.
"We are continuously reducing compliance and increasing the ease of doing business. We have recently carried out next-generation reforms in taxation, labour code, and governance," he told the business leaders.
The prime minister added that manufacturing in India is becoming very cost-effective, and in the services sector, it has become the engine of efficiency and innovation.
"We invite all of you to design and innovate in India. There can be no better time for this than today," he said.
"Today's India is a symbol of scale and stability. In terms of scale, we are also the fastest-growing major economy in the world and the world's largest talent pool. Infrastructure, clean energy or connectivity – no one in the world can match India's speed," Modi said.
"And on the subject of stability, I have completed 12 years of serving as the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy. In these 12 years, with continuous reforms, we have transformed our economic DNA. Our direction has been clear – to give policy predictability to the private sector and increase opportunities for them," he added.
Modi said his government has opened up every sector for the private sector, be it space, mining or nuclear energy.
Ahead of the meeting, an agreement between ASML and Tata Electronics was signed in the presence of the two leaders.
The two prime ministers also called for early implementation of the India-EU-FTA.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi met King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Royal Palace and discussed close cooperation in digital technology, innovation, fintech and blue economy.
PM Modi's visit will build on the momentum of high-level engagements and close cooperation spanning diverse sectors, including defence, security, innovation, green hydrogen, semiconductors and a strategic partnership on water, the MEA said ahead of his visit.
The Netherlands is one of India's largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25. The European nation is India's fourth-largest investor with cumulative foreign direct investment of USD 55.6 billion.
From the Netherlands, the prime minister will travel to Sweden for a two-day trip from May 17 to 18.
