BY Vijayendra predicts major political development in Karnataka later this year
Mysuru, Jul 18 (PTI): Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Friday predicted a major political development in the state later this year, amid speculation about the chief minister change within the ruling Congress.
Ahead of the government's mega convention "Sadhana Samavesha" in Mysuru on July 19, he claimed that the event is part of Siddaramaiah's conspiracy to "blackmail or threaten" the Congress high command, using his AHINDA vote bank, against any move to replace him from the CM post.
AHINDA is a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits.
"Wait and see in November, or either before the Bihar election or after the Bihar election. It is certain that a major political development will take place in Karnataka. No one can stop it from happening," Vijayendra told reporters in response to a question on CM or leadership change developments in the ruling Congress.
Asked about the BJP's role in the predicted political developments, he said, "The BJP is functioning as an opposition in the state, and we are satisfied."
The state government is organising the Sadhana Samavesha, where development works worth over Rs 2,600 crore for Mysuru will be inaugurated and foundation stones will be laid, according to officials.
Siddaramaiah is known for holding conventions whenever he faces a threat to the CM's post. Tomorrow's event is part of a conspiracy to directly threaten the Congress high command, Vijayendra claimed.
"Recently, when Siddaramaiah went to Delhi, Rahul Gandhi did not give him an appointment. He directly met Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress President) and gave an interview to the national media where he threw a challenge at the Congress high command (by asserting he will be CM for five years).
"So, tomorrow's convention in Mysuru is not just a Sadhana Samavesha, there is a conspiracy to blackmail the Congress high command behind it," he said.
Further, questioning the CM as to why Sadhana Samavesha is being held, he said, "There is no such situation. What is your Sadhane (achievement)?"
Alleging that Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar's competition for free publicity led to stampede outside Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on June 4 killing eleven people, Vijayendra said both of them should have taken responsibility, but innocent police officers are being made the scapegoat.
"RCB is also being made a scapegoat using the retired Justice John Michael Cunha commission (the one-man inquiry commission constituted by the government to inquire into the stampede) report, to prove themselves (Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar) as innocent," he claimed and asked, is this the achievement for which the Sadhana Samavesha is being held?
Questioning the government about what is had achieved and done for Mysuru to hold the Sadhana Samavesha here, the state BJP chief said, "Sadhana Samavesha is not to commemorate the chief minister's achievements or the development of the state or for giving crores of money for Mysuru region. Instead, as the time has come for him (Siddaramaiah) to resign as the CM, to assert that he won't resign for any reason, this is a conspiracy to threaten the Congress high command."
Alleging that Siddramaiah holds conventions whenever there is a threat to his CM seat, he said, it is only then the CM remembers AHINDA communities, which is his strong support base and vote bank.
Using the AHINDA communities as his "capital", Siddaramaiah is conspiring to threaten Shivakumar and the Congress high command, he alleged.
Asked if the conspiracy will work out this time too, Vijayendra said there are limitations to any conspiracy. The Congress leaders themselves have been saying there is a power sharing understanding between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the high command level.
"The situation seems to have arisen for the CM to resign, so all this game is going on. We will get an answer to this in the days ahead," he added.
The Karnataka Congress has been under scrutiny over reports of a rotational chief minister arrangement between Shivakumar and current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following the party’s victory in the 2023 Assembly elections.
While both leaders have publicly denied any such formal agreement, speculation continues to persist within party circles.
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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.
