Will not try to dislodge government, says Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said his party would not try and dislodge the ruling BJP government like the saffron party had done to his coalition government and opined that he did not think that mid-term polls would be held.
"The JD(S) will not try to dislodge the government like the saffron party did to unseat the coalition government.
Leaders of other parties may hanker after power, but not us. We fill function as an effective opposition party and hope the ruling BJP gives succor to the flood affected people,"he told reporters at Belagavi.
The JD(S) leader said he did not think there would be mid-term polls in Karnataka, as constantly being stated by leader of the opposition and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
This seemed to be more true after the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, he said.
His comments drew a sharp reaction from Siddaramaiah,who said the JD(S) leader's remarks that his party would not dislodge the government gave an impression that he would support the saffron party.
Siddaramaiah recalled that JD(S) had formed the government with BJP in 2005-06.
"What else can you expect from him? His statement gives that impression (that he supports BJP)," he told reporters in Bengaluru.
Siddaramaiah, who had on Saturday said his party was prepared to face the bypolls to 15 assembly constituencies in Karnataka if elections were held as per schedule on December 5, sought to know how BJP would remain in a majority if Congress won all 15 seats.
To this, Kumaraswamy said if the bypoll results led to the collapse of the BJP government, the general elections would be at least six months away.
His brand of politics, the JD(S) leader said, was not vengeance based, but to address the sufferings of people.
"How many farmers will die if Governors rule is imposed in the state? To avoid this, I only said that I am comtemplating whether the government should continue or not.
It is immaterial for me who should be the Chief Minister and whose government should continue," Kumaraswamy said.
Bypolls to 15 of 17 seats represented by disqualified Congress JD(S) MLAs, whose resignation and absence from trust vote led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government and made way for the BJP to come to power, will be held on December 5.
The then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had disqualified them as MLAs, ruling that those disqualified cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in 2023), which they have challenged in the Supreme Court.
BJP needs six seats to win a simple majority in the assembly and continue the government.
The B S Yediyurappa led BJP ministry assumed office on July 26, three days after the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) government with the defeat of the confidence motion moved by (then chief minister) Kumaraswamy in the assembly.
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India, China bear brunt of Trump's tougher visa policies: report
Washington (PTI): India and China bore the maximum brunt of tougher immigration policy unveiled by the Trump administration which issued 2.5 lakh fewer visas in the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to a media report.
From January to August 2025, the State Department approved 11 per cent fewer permanent resident and temporary visas compared with the same period a year before, according to State Department data released in early March.
These visas are generally issued for students, workers, and family members of citizens and legal residents.
The 11 per cent drop doesn't include tourist visas, which also fell during the same period, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
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According to the report, visas for Chinese and Indian nationals fell by about 84,000 compared with the same period in 2024, largely reflecting a drop-off in international students and workers from those countries.
Business and tourism visas declined by about 3.4 per cent in the first eight months of 2025 compared with that period a year earlier, a drop of nearly two lakh visas.
Between January and August 2024, the US had issued more than 3.44 lakh student visas, the number declined to a little over 2.38 lakh during the same period in 2025.
The family preference visa, which includes adult children and siblings of US citizens fell by more than 27 per cent or by over 44,000.
The visas issued to sea and airline workers also reduced by 30,876, while those issued for culture exchange visitors declined by 29,594.
The visas issued to fiance/spouse declined from 37,229 in the first eight months of 2024 to 18,894 for the period under review in 2025.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “President Trump was elected with a resounding mandate to put American citizens first and every policy decision he’s made has reflected that priority.”
In a statement to The Washington Post, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said: “A visa is a privilege, not a right. Unlike the Biden administration, President Trump is not willing to compromise the safety of American citizens to allow mass migration of unvetted foreign nationals into our country.”
