Parameshwara wants Congress High Command to appoint Karnataka chief, CLP leader at the earliest
Bengaluru: As leadership crisis continues in the Congress Karnataka unit, senior party leader G Parameshwara on Wednesday urged the high command to announce appointments for the posts of state president and legislature party leader at the earliest in order to function as an effective opposition.
Targeting the ruling BJP over the delay in ministry expansion, he predicted challenging days ahead of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, once the exercise is carried out.
"We have insisted the high command (Congress) to announce (appointees) soon.
As Delhi elections are on, most probably they are busy with it, but still I request once again our high command to clear this confusion soon, so that we can actively work as opposition to awaken this ineffective government in the state," Parameshwara said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said as there is legislature session from February 17, the party will have to raise issues like "collapse of administration and failure in implementing developmental work."
So the party cannot sit quiet with such a situation and the appointments to these posts should be made at the earliest so that workers can function effectively, he said.
"There may be difference of opinion amongst us, but keeping them aside we will have have to work together in the interest of the party," the senior leader said.
Pointing out that he had called a meeting of senior Congress leaders recently to evolve consensus to work together, Parameshwara said everyone has agreed to that and if the state president is appointed immediately, he can take the responsibility of taking everyone together.
CongressLegislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and stateCongresschief Dinesh Gundu Rao had quit their posts last month after the party posted a poor show, winning only two of the 15 seats in the Decemberbypolls while it had held 12 of them.
Recently power struggle within the state Congresshad come to the fore, with senior leaders openly contradicting each other on appointments for key vacant posts besides issues like splitting posts of Leader of Opposition and CLP leader and creation of multiple Working Presidents post.
While senior leader D K Shivakumar is seen as the front runner for the post of KPCC president, Siddaramaiah is said to have pushed for his confidant M B Patil. He is also said to have demanded four working presidents if his candidate is not considered for the KPCC chief post.
Aimed at retaining the posts that he had resigned from, Siddaramaiah had recently saidthe CongressLegislature Party (CLP) leader and Leader of Opposition (LOP) posts in the state should not be "separated", and be held by one person.
However, Parameshwara and another senior leader H K Patil who are aspiring for the CLP leader post have favoured the split.
Targeting the BJP leadership and Chief Minister Yediyurappa over the delay in the Ministry expansion, Parameshwara claimed there will be more confusion within the ruling party after the cabinet expansion.
"....17 (defectors), they have to give minister post, but now reports suggest 8 or 9 of them will be given, once the cabinet is expanded everything will be clear," he said.
"There will be more confusion after expansion as it will be difficult for Yediyurappa to convince anyone and there are a lot of challenges ahead of him, which is actually causing the delay in expansion, he added.
According to BJP sources, there are talks within the state BJP that the expansion of the Ministry was likely to take place on Friday, and Yediyurappa may travel to New Delhi on Thursday to get final approval from party high command.
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
