Siddaramaiah says he'll continue as Karnataka CM for 5 yrs if Congress high command decides
Mangaluru (PTI); Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said he would continue in office for the full five year term, subject to the Congress high command's decision.
There has been speculation about a possible change in leadership when the Congress government reaches the halfway mark of its five-year term in November—a phase being referred to by some as the "November revolution". However, amid the talk of a leadership change, Siddaramaiah has consistently reiterated that he will complete a full five-year term.
Responding to a question on whether he would remain chief minister for five years, Siddaramaiah told reporters, "If the high command decides."
Asked about his close confidant and former minister K N Rajanna's statement that Siddaramaiah should continue as CM for five years, he said, "It is his personal opinion".
On multiple chief ministerial aspirants within the Congress, Siddaramaiah said, "In a democracy, we cannot tell those in the race not to compete. It is their right. Anyone may claim to be a chief ministerial candidate, but ultimately, the high command will decide."
To another query as to why the issue of a change in leadership keeps surfacing, he replied, "It is because you (the media) keep asking."
Speculation about a leadership change within the ruling Congress has persisted for some time, with reports suggesting an alleged power-sharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
There was stiff competition between the two leaders for the top post after the Assembly election results in May 2023. The Congress high command had eventually convinced Shivakumar to take up the post of deputy CM.
At the time, reports indicated that a "rotational chief minister" arrangement had been agreed upon, under which Shivakumar would take over after two and a half years. However, the party has never officially confirmed this.
Earlier in the day, Rajanna, a Congress MLA from the Madhugiri constituency, told media in Bengaluru that Siddaramaiah was "indispensable" to the Congress.
"I have said it earlier in the Assembly—just as B S Yediyurappa is indispensable for the BJP and the Deve Gowda family for the JD(S), Siddaramaiah is indispensable for the Congress. Everyone accepts this as the truth, though some say nobody is indispensable to the party. From my experience, I can say Siddaramaiah is indeed indispensable to the Congress," he said.
Rajanna added that if the party high command allows Siddaramaiah to go ahead with a cabinet reshuffle as the government completes 2.5 years in office, his leadership will remain "unaffected". If permission is not granted, he said, there could be "political activities".
He also downplayed Shivakumar's visit to New Delhi, saying it might be related to a court case or personal matters. "He may meet the high command and Rahul Gandhi as the state Congress chief and will abide by the instructions they give," Rajanna said.
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Iran reimposes restrictions on Strait of Hormuz, accusing US of violating deal to reopen it
Cairo (AP): Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one of Iran's main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the US blockade remained in effect.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran's approval.
US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.
Truce in Lebanon could help US-Iran peace efforts
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The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating, and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Shortly before Trump's post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90 per cent of Hezbollah's missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
An end to Israel's war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week's ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that the deal did not cover Lebanon.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
