No "political ties" between Congress, JD(S) for RS or 2023 Assembly poll: Siddaramaiah
Karwar, May 26: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday ruled out any "political relationship" between his party and the JD(S) either during the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls or the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka.
His statement gains significance, as none of the three parties has an adequate number of votes to win the fourth Rajya Sabha seat from the State Assembly.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly also made it clear that he would not go to national politics, and would remain active in the State.
"There will not be any relationship (alliance or understanding) with JD(S)...we (Congress) will not have any political relationship with JD(S)," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
The June 10 election to four Rajya Sabha seats is necessitated as the term of office of members -- Nirmala Sitharaman (Union Finance Minister) and K C Ramamurthy of BJP, and Jairam Ramesh and late Oscar Fernandes of Congress -- is due to expire on June 30. The last date of filing nominations is May 31.
A candidate needs 45 votes to win in this RS election, and based on the current party position in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP can win two seats and Congress one, official sources said, adding that the JD(S) can win one, provided it gets the support of either one of the national parties.
Similarly, in case the BJP or Congress wants to win the extra (fourth) seat, they will need JD(S)' support, they said.
According to party sources, Congress may once again field Jairam Ramesh from the State for the seat it can win on its own strength.
In reply to a question, the former Chief Minister said he would remain limited to Karnataka and would not go for national politics.
"I will remain in Karnataka politics and continue to voice the concerns of the State and its people," he added.
Siddaramaiah had earlier said that the 2023 Assembly election would be his last, but would continue to remain in politics.
It is no secret that Siddaramaiah, who was Chief Minister between 2013-2018, is nursing his ambition for a second term in office, if the party wins the next Assembly polls.
With State Congress president D K Shivakumar, too, having similar aspirations, it has triggered a game of one-upmanship between the two leaders.
Responding to a question on the demand from some section within the party for a "Dalit CM" on coming to power, the Congress Legislative Party leader said the Chief Ministerial candidate cannot be forced, and on party coming to power with a majority, newly elected MLAs would share their opinion, following which the high command would decide.
"A Chief Minister candidate cannot be forced. Dalits should also become CM, there is no second talk about it, others should also become. In a democratic system everyone is capable of becoming a CM, including Dalits, Muslims, Christians," he said.
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Taj Mahal top earning ASI monument through ticket sales from FY19-20 to FY23-24: Govt
New Delhi, Apr 3 (PTI): The iconic Taj Mahal in Agra earned the "highest income" through the sale of tickets among the ASI-protected monuments from FY19-20 to FY23-24, according to data shared by the government.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared the data in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha.
He was asked the amount that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has received from selling entry tickets to various monuments in the last five years, year-wise and monument-wise; and the monuments that have received the highest income through selling entry tickets in the last five years.
In his response, the minister shared the data in a tabular form for cycles of financial years ranging from FY19-20 to FY23-24.
According to the data, Taj Mahal earned the top slot for all five years.
The Mughal-era architectural wonder was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jehan in the 17th century and it is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
In FY19-20, the Agra Fort in Agra and Qutub Minar in Delhi were in the second and third positions.
In FY20-21, the Group of Monuments Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu and Sun Temple, Konark were in the second and third positions. In FY23-24, Qutub Minar and Red Fort of Delhi were in the second and third positions.
